CV1013 Civil Engineering

Materials – Concrete

Curing

A/P Yang En-Hua

Office: N1-01b-56
: 6790 5291
: ehyang@ntu.edu.sg
 Order of Operations for Concrete
Specific operations must be performed in a certain order
• final quality is influenced by every step
I. mix design (proportioning)
II. trial mixes & testing
III. batching
------------------------------------------------------------start the clock
IV. mixing
V. transporting
VI. pouring (placing)
VII. vibrating (consolidating) Sampling and testing
-------------------------------------------------------------initial set here
VIII. finishing
-------------------------------------------------------------final set here
IX. curing
X.maintenance

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 Curing Concrete
• Curing is any procedure that maintains proper
moisture and temperature to ensure continuous
hydration
– Increased maturity
– Reduced capillary porosity
– Increased strength
• Hydration stops when humidity drops to below
80% and resumes when curing is resumed

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Degree of Hydration and Capillary Porosity
as a Function of Curing Time

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Compressive strength of PCC at
different ages & curing levels

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 Curing Approaches

1. Water curing: maintaining presence of

water in the concrete
2. Sealed curing: seal the surface so mix
water can’t escape
3. Heat & additional moisture

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 Maintaining Presence of Water
• Must water periodically
• Also provides cooling
• Methods
– Ponding: smaller jobs flat-work (floors and pavement)
and laboratory
– Spraying or fogging: expensive and a lot of water
– Wet coverings: burlap, cotton, rugs, etc.

Spraying Fogging Wet Covering

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 Sealed Curing

• Sealed curing: prevent

moisture loss only
– Impervious paper or plastic
sheets
– Membrane forming
compounds
– Leave forms in place

Plastic Sheets
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Membrane Forming Compounds

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 Heat Curing
• Insulate
• Steam
 Good for early strength gain and in freezing
weather

• Heating coils, electrically heated forms or

pads
 Usually in precast plants only

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 Method Selection
• Considerations:
– Availability of curing
materials
– Size and shape of
structure
– Production facilities (in-
place or precast)
– Aesthetic appearance
– Economics
• Curing – immediately after
final set to avoid surface
damage
• Curing period
– Minimum 7 days
– 70% of f’c (3 days for
high early strength)
– Other job requirements
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