An Experimental Investigation On Characteristic Properties Of Self Curing Concrete

Abstract

Curing of concrete plays a vital role of controlling movement of moisture from concrete newlineduring the process of hydration of cement. The sufficient amount of moisture supply is needed newlinein order to achieve adequate hydration so that the desired strength and performance can be newlineachieved and alterations in concrete volume due to shrinkage can be minimized. A water/cement newlineratio of about 0.23 is needed for the hydration and around 0.15 is required for filling the voids in newlinethe gel pores. In other words, a water/cement ratio of around 0.38 is necessary to hydrate all the newlinecement particles as well as to occupy space in gel pores. Even though the concrete mix contains newlinesufficient water, any moisture loss from the concrete decreases initial water/cement ratio and newlineresults in incomplete cement hydration, thereby hampering the concrete properties. Concrete newlinewhich undergoes quick drying exhibits significant early age drying shrinkage. newlineExternal curing methods are tedious, labour intensive and not sustainable due to the fact newlinethat plenty of water gets wasted because of evaporation and run-off. The penetration depth and newlineeffectiveness of external curing water applied to the surface of concrete are affected by the newlineconcrete quality to a great extent. As concrete permeability reduces during initial 2 to 3 days, newlineexternal water curing has limited capability of providing in-depth hydration to the cement newlineparticles because hydration products fill-in and disconnect the network of capillary pores. newlineCuring water of required quantity and quality is not easily available on construction sites; newlinemoreover, the lack of awareness about the importance of curing leads to curing for insufficient newlineperiod. For the construction industry, days are not far for switching over to alternative curing newlinesystems in order to save water for sustainable development and to bring about indoor as well as newlineoutdoor construction practices even in remote regions having paucity of water. newlineSelf-Curing, also known an Internal Curing, is a mechanism by virtue of which hydration newlineof cement oc