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Curing of Concrete

Curing of concrete involves keeping concrete moist and maintaining the proper temperature for hydration to occur. This increases concrete's strength and durability by reducing cracks. It is important to begin curing after initial setting and continue for a period of time, using methods like water curing, membrane curing, or steam curing. The right curing time depends on factors like mix properties and climate, with final curing beginning after finishing is complete to prevent surface drying. Longer curing durations, typically 7-28 days, lead to higher strength and durability in concrete.

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309 views11 pages

Curing of Concrete

Curing of concrete involves keeping concrete moist and maintaining the proper temperature for hydration to occur. This increases concrete's strength and durability by reducing cracks. It is important to begin curing after initial setting and continue for a period of time, using methods like water curing, membrane curing, or steam curing. The right curing time depends on factors like mix properties and climate, with final curing beginning after finishing is complete to prevent surface drying. Longer curing durations, typically 7-28 days, lead to higher strength and durability in concrete.

Uploaded by

Neeraj Vashist
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CURING OF CONCRETE

• Curing of Concrete is a method by which the concrete is protected against loss of moisture required for
hydration and kept within the recommended temperature range. Curing will increase the strength and
decrease the permeability of hardened concrete. Curing is also helps in mitigating thermal and plastic cracks,
which can severely impact durability of structures.
• A curing practice involves keeping the concrete damp or moist until the hydration of concrete is complete
and strength is attained. Curing of concrete should begin soon after initial setting time of concrete or
formwork/shuttering is removed and must continue for a reasonable period of time as per the specified
standards, for the concrete to achieve its desired strength and durability.

• It is important to make sure an uninterrupted hydration of PCC & RC after concrete is placed and finished in
its position. Uniform temperature ought to be maintained throughout the concrete-section depth to avoid
thermal shrinkage cracks.
• Protecting measures are also required to control water loss from the concrete surface to prevent plastic
shrinkage cracks. In a nut shell, curing concrete is a process designed primarily to retain the concrete moist
till the end of hydration by monitoring loss of moisture and water from the body of concrete, during the
given period in which it gains strength.
Spray curing concrete slab

Membrane concrete curing


Why Curing of Concrete is Necessary?
• Enhance Hydration of Concrete to achieve desired Strength
• Improved durability of concrete by reducing cracks
• Higher serviceability performance by increasing abrasion resistance
• Improved microstructure by developing better hydrate gels and solid
mass.
Methods to Cure Concrete
• Depending upon the site constraints, type of structure and
other material parameters, different methods of curing are
adopted at site. Methods of curing concrete fall into the
following categories:
• Water curing
• Water curing prevents the water loss from the concrete surface by
uninterrupted wetting of the exposed surface of concrete. It’s done by
spraying or sprinkling water or curing agents over the concrete surface Curing by passing water through tubes
to ensure that the concrete surface is continuously moist. Moisture
from the body of concrete is retained from evaporating and
contributes to the strength-gain of concrete.
• Water curing methods are:

• Ponding
• Sprinkling, fogging & mist curing
• Wet coverings

Curing the concrete roof slab


Membrane Curing
• Membrane curing lessens moisture loss from the concrete surface by
wrapping it with an impermeable membrane. Curing compounds are
wax, acrylic and water based liquids. These are sprayed over fresh
concreting to create an impermeable membrane this will reduces the
loss of wetness from the concrete.
• Membrane curing methods are:

• Plastic sheeting
• Formwork
Steam Curing
• Steam curing keeps the surface moist and raises the
temperature of concrete to quicken the rate of strength
achievement. It is a process done to speed up the early
hardening of concrete and mortars by subjecting it to
steam and humidity. This method is most commonly used
for precast concrete plants where products are mass-
produced and the turnaround or striking time of the
formwork is very quick.
• It is witnessed that at construction sites, curing of concrete Steam curing in precast plant – Curing of
is left to the decision and comfort of the unskilled manual Concrete
worker. Site engineers and supervisors should put
additional effort to guarantee that curing is not overlooked
at site. They should arrange for the essential resources to
retain satisfactory levels of curing, by using best techniques
available.
Concrete Curing Time
• Curing of cement concrete is defined as the process of maintaining the
moisture and temperature conditions of concrete for hydration reaction to
normally so that concrete develops hardened properties over time. The main
components which needs to be taken care are moisture, heat and time during
curing process.
• What is the right time for curing of concrete?
• The time to start curing of concrete depends on the evaporation rate of
moisture from the concrete. The evaporation rate is influenced by wind,
radiant energy from sunshine, concrete temperature, climatic conditions,
relative humidity.
• The evaporation of moisture is driven by the difference in vapor pressure on
concrete surface and the in surrounding air. When the difference is high,
evaporation rate is high.
The right time of curing of concrete depends on:
• 1. Initial Curing – Bleeding of Concrete:

• When the concrete is placed and compacted, bleeding of water occurs and rises through the
surface of concrete due to settlement of concrete. The rate and duration of bleeding depends on
many factors including concrete mix properties, depth or thickness of concrete, method of
compaction of concrete etc.
• These bleed water starts to evaporate from the surface. When all the bleeding water has
disappeared from the surface, the drying of concrete starts, then initial curing of concrete is
required to minimize the moisture loss and prevent plastic shrinkage cracks to concrete before
and during finishing operations.

• The initial curing of concrete can be done by techniques such as fogging or using the evaporation
reducers, or by providing the sunshades and windscreens.
• 2. Intermediate curing:

• Intermediate curing is done when the concrete surface finishing operations has been carried out
before the final setting of concrete. This happens when the required surface texture of concrete
member is achieved rapidly or when the setting of concrete is delayed.

• 3. Final Curing:

• When the concrete is finished after the final setting of concrete, the final curing of concrete
should be done. This helps to prevent surface drying of concrete because the loss of moisture
from the concrete surface occurs immediately.
What is the duration of cement concrete curing?
• Curing of concrete for longer
duration increases the strength
and durability of concrete
structural member. The
following figure explains how the
compressive strength of
concrete increases with time
when it is cured for longer
duration.
Affects of improper curing in concrete

• Following are the major disadvantages of improper curing of


concrete:

• The chances of ingress of chlorides and atmospheric chemicals


are very high
• The compressive strength and flexural strengths are lowered.
• The cracks are formed due to plastic shrinkage, drying shrinkage
and thermal effects.
• The durability decreases due to higher permeability.
• The frost and weathering resistances are decreased.
• The rate of carbonation increases.
• The surfaces are coated with sand and dust and it leads to lower
the abrasion resistance.

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