Effect of curing methods on the properties of plain and blended cement concretes

This paper reports result of a study conducted to investigate the effect of curing methods on the properties of plain and blended cement concretes. The concrete specimens were prepared with Type I, silica fume, and fly ash cement concretes. They were cured either by covering with wet burlap or by applying two types of curing compounds, namely water-based and acrylic-based. The effect of curing methods on the properties of plain and blended cement concretes was assessed by measuring plastic and drying shrinkage, compressive strength, and pulse velocity. Results indicated that the strength development in the concrete specimens cured by covering with wet burlap was more than that in the specimens cured by applying water - and acrylic-based curing compounds. Concrete specimens cured by applying curing compounds exhibited higher efficiency in decreasing plastic and drying shrinkage strain than specimens cured by covering with wet burlap. The performance of acrylic-based curing compound was better than that of water-based curing compound. The data developed in this study indicate that curing compounds could be utilized in situations where curing with water is difficult. Among the two curing compounds investigated, acrylic-based curing compound performed better than the water-based curing compound. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.