A Comparative Study on the Effect of Curing on The Strength of Concrete
Ajay Goel1, Jyoti Narwal2, Vivek Verma3, Devender Sharma4, Bhupinder Singh5
1Ajay Goel, Student of M. Tech, Structural Engineering in Indo Global College of Engineering, Mohali, India.
2Jyoti Narwal, Student of M. Tech, Structural Engineering in Indo Global College of Engineering, Mohali, India.
3Vivek Verma, Assistant Professor in Indo Global College of Engineering, Mohali, India.
4Devender Sharma, Assistant Professor in Indo Global College of Engineering, Mohali, India.
5Bhupinder Singh, Assistant Professor in Indo Global College of Engineering, Mohali, India.
Manuscript received on July 24, 2013. | Revised Manuscript received on August 19, 2013. | Manuscript published on August 30, 2013. | PP: 401-406 | Volume-2, Issue-6, August 2013. | Retrieval Number: F2116082613/2013©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Curing is essential if concrete is to perform the intended function over the design life of the structure while excessive curing time may lead to the escalation of the construction cost of the project and unnecessary delays. Where there is a scarcity of water and on sloping surfaces where curing with water is difficult and in cases where large areas like pavements have to be cured, the use of curing compound may be resorted to. The parameters of the study include the curing period [ 3, 7, 28 and 56 day], curing method [Air curing, plastic films, immersion under water] and the type of cement [Portland pozzolona Cement(PPC) 43 grade,]. In this study specimens i.e. cube, cylinders, Beams were cast and cured under different conditions before testing. Test curing by air, nearly the same results as that of Plastic film but by immersion under water curing strength increase by age. The study demonstrates that the method and duration of curing greatly affects the strength characteristics of concrete. Hence quality control for proper field curing is of the utmost importance. From the test results, it was observed that there was an increase of 41.7 percent, 31.7 percent and 42.1 percent in compressive strength at 7 days when compared to its strength at 3 days for specimens air cured, cured with plastic film and immersion under water curing respectively. On further curing a decrease as compressive strength at 28 days compared to its strength at 7 days was observed for air curing and plastic film curing. The percentage decrease was higher for air cured specimens than plastic film cured specimens. For water curing an increase of 61 percent of compressive strength at 28 days over its strength at 7 days was observed. There was also increase of 40.2 percent, 52.61 percent and 30.72 percent in compressive strength at 56 days when compared to its strength at 3 days for all specimens.
Keywords: ASTM, IS, OPC, PPC.