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CURING

Curing plays an important role in the strength development and durability of concrete. It involves maintaining moisture and temperature conditions for an extended period after placement to allow hydration to continue. Proper curing ensures adequate strength, volume stability, and resistance to weathering is achieved. The required curing time depends on mixture proportions, member size, weather conditions, and future exposure. Curing methods include ponding, covering with wet burlap or plastic, applying curing compounds, using steam or heat, and insulating blankets. Curing is especially important in cold and hot weather due to effects on hydration rates. Curing of test specimens also has standardized methods to ensure reliable strength data.

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99 views6 pages

CURING

Curing plays an important role in the strength development and durability of concrete. It involves maintaining moisture and temperature conditions for an extended period after placement to allow hydration to continue. Proper curing ensures adequate strength, volume stability, and resistance to weathering is achieved. The required curing time depends on mixture proportions, member size, weather conditions, and future exposure. Curing methods include ponding, covering with wet burlap or plastic, applying curing compounds, using steam or heat, and insulating blankets. Curing is especially important in cold and hot weather due to effects on hydration rates. Curing of test specimens also has standardized methods to ensure reliable strength data.

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Azri
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© © All Rights Reserved
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CURING

Curing plays an important role on strength development and durability of concrete. Curing
takes place immediately after concrete placing and finishing, and involves maintenance of
desired moisture and temperature conditions, both at depth and near the surface, for extended
periods of time. Properly cured concrete has an adequate amount of moisture for continued
hydration and development of strength, volume stability, resistance to freezing and thawing,
and abrasion and scaling resistance.

The length of adequate curing time is dependent on the following factors:

 Mixture proportions
 Specified strength
 Size and shape of concrete member
 Ambient weather conditions
 Future exposure conditions
There are three main functions of curing:

1) Maintaining mixing water in concrete during the early hardening process

Ponding and immersion


Ponding is typically used to cure flat surfaces on smaller jobs. Care should be taken to
maintain curing water temperature at not more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the
concrete to prevent cracking due to thermal stresses. Immersion is mainly used in the
laboratory for curing concrete test specimens.

Spraying and fogging


Spraying and fogging are used when the ambient temperatures are well above freezing and
the humidity is low. Fogging can minimize plastic shrinkage cracking until the concrete
attains final set.

Saturated wet coverings


Wet coverings saturated with water should be used after concrete has hardened enough to
prevent surface damage. They should be kept constantly wet.

Left in Place Forms


Left in place forms usually provide satisfactory protection against moisture loss for formed
concrete surfaces. The forms are usually left in place as long as the construction schedule
allows. If the forms are made of wood, they should be kept moist, especially during hot, dry
weather.
2) Reducing the loss of mixing water from the surface of the concrete

Covering concrete with impervious paper or plastic sheets


Impervious paper and plastic sheets can be applied on thoroughly wetted concrete. The
concrete surface should be hard enough to prevent surface damage from placement activities.

Applying membrane-forming curing compounds


Membrane-forming curing compounds are used to retard or reduce evaporation of moisture
from concrete. They can be clear or translucent and white pigmented. White-pigmented
compounds are recommended for hot and sunny weather conditions to reflect solar radiation.
Curing compounds should be applied immediately after final finishing. Curing compound
shall comply with ASTM C3094 or ASTM C13155.
3) Accelerating strength gain using heat and additional moisture

Live steam
Live steam at atmospheric pressure and high-pressure steam in autoclaves are the two
methods of steam curing. Steam temperature for live steam at atmospheric pressure should be
kept at about 140 degrees Fahrenheit or less until the desired concrete strength is achieved.

Heating coils
Heating coils are usually used as embedded elements near the surface of concrete elements.
Their purpose is to protect concrete from freezing during cold weather concreting.

Electrical heated forms or pads


Electrical heated forms or pads are primarily used by precast concrete producers.

Concrete blankets
Concrete insulation blankets are used to cover and insulate concrete surfaces subjected to
freezing temperatures during the curing period. The concrete should be hard enough to
prevent surface damage when covering with concrete blankets.
Other forms of curing include internal moist curing with lightweight aggregates or absorbent
polymer particles. For mass concrete elements (usually thicker than 3 feet), a thermal control
plan is usually developed to help control thermal stresses. Additional information can be
found in ACI Committee 308 report Guide to Curing Concrete3. For specialty concretes, it is
recommended to refer to other ACI reports as follows:

 Refractory concrete ACI 547.1R


 Refractory concrete ACI 547.1R
 Insulating concrete ACI 523.1R
 Expansive cement concrete ACI 223
 Roller-compacted concrete ACI 207.5R
 Architectural concrete ACI 303R
 Shotcrete ACI 506.2
 Fiber-reinforced concrete ACI 544.3R
 Vertical slipform construction ACI 313

Curing in either cold or hot weather requires additional attention. In cold weather, some of
the procedures include heated enclosures, evaporation reducers, curing compounds, and
insulating blankets. The temperature of fresh concrete shall be above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
The curing period for cold weather concrete is longer than the standard period due to reduced
rate of strength gain. Compressive strength of concrete cured and maintained at 50 degrees
Fahrenheit is expected to gain strength half as quickly as concrete cured at 73 degrees
Fahrenheit. In hot weather, curing and protection are critical due to rapid moisture loss from
fresh concrete. The curing actually starts before concrete is placed by wetting substrate
surfaces with water. Sunscreens, windscreens, fogging, and evaporation retardants can be
used for hot weather concrete placements. Since concrete strength gain in hot weather is
faster, curing period may be reduced. Additional information can be found in ACI
306.1, Standard Specification for Cold Weather Concreting, ACI 306R, Cold Weather
Concreting, ACI 305.1, Specification for Hot Weather Concreting, and ACI 305R, Hot
Weather Concreting
Curing Concrete Test Specimens

Curing of concrete test specimens is usually different from concrete placed during
construction. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has developed two
standards for making and curing concrete specimens. ASTM C1926 is intended for laboratory
samples while ASTM C317 is intended for field samples. Both documents provide
standardized requirements for making, curing, protecting, and transporting concrete test
specimens under field or laboratory conditions, respectively.

ASTM C192 provides procedures for evaluation of different mixtures in laboratory


conditions. It is usually used in the initial stage of the project, or for research purposes.

ASTM C31 is used for acceptance testing and can also be used as a decision tool for form or
shoring removal. Depending on its intended purpose, the standard defines two curing
regimes: standard curing for acceptance testing and field curing for form/shoring removal.
Variation in standard curing of test specimens can dramatically affect measured concrete
properties. According to the National Ready Mix Concrete Association8 (NRMCA), strength
for concrete air cured for one day followed by 27 days moist cured will be approximately 8
percent lower than for concrete moist cured for the entire period. The strength reduction is 11
percent and 18 percent for concrete specimens initially cured in air for three days and seven
days, respectively. For the same air/moist curing combinations, but 100 degrees
Fahrenheit air curing temperature, the 28-day strength will be approximately 11 percent, 22
percent, and 26 percent lower, respectively.

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