Effect of initial water-curing period and curing condition on the properties

of self-compacting concrete
Hui Zhao
a,
, Wei Sun
a
, Xiaoming Wu
b
, Bo Gao
b
a
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210096, China
b
Jiangsu Transportation Research Institute, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211112, China
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 20 August 2011
Accepted 24 September 2011
Available online 29 September 2011
Keywords:
A. Concrete
E. Mechanical properties
E. Environmental performance
a b s t r a c t
The effect of initial water-curing period and curing condition on properties of self-compacting concrete
(SCC) was studied. Six different curing regimes were applied to the specimens, the rst of which the sam-
ple was stored under initial water-curing periods of 3, 7, 14 days, in the remaining three regimes, the
samples were continuous full water (FW) curing condition, continuous full standard (FS) curing condition
and continuous full room (FR) curing condition. The mechanical properties of SCC under different initial
water-curing period and curing condition were tested, the relationship between compressive strength of
concrete and curing time was analyzed by linear regression, the strength-gaining rates of SCC were cal-
culated by using this regression equation, the durability properties of SCC, i.e. the carbonation depth, the
chloride ion diffusion coefcient of SCC, were also evaluated, the relationship between 28-days compres-
sive strength and 28-days carbonation depths of SCC under different initial water-curing period and cur-
ing condition was studied. The test results showed that it is necessary to apply water-curing to SCC for
the initial 7 days period to expose the pozzolanic activity, SCC under FR curing condition has a higher
compressive strength, exural strength, a lower carbonation depth and chloride ion diffusion coefcient
than SCC under FS, FW curing condition.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is a new category of high per-
formance concrete characterized by its ability to spread to places
under its own weight without the need of vibration, SCC can ll
the formwork and encapsulate reinforcement without any bleed-
ing or segregation [15], SCC can also lower the noise level on
the construction site and diminish the effect on the environment
[68]. The introduction of SCC represents a major technological ad-
vance, it leads to a better quality of concrete produced, a faster and
more economical concrete construction process.
Nearly 40 years ago, Philleo [9] has been recognized that initial
water-curing period and curing condition signicant affect the
strength and durability properties of concrete, it arises fromthe fact
that the properties development of concrete, i.e. mechanical and
durability properties, depends on the hydration of cement. After
the cementing material mixed with water, the factors of effect on
cement hydration are the availability of moisture and temperature,
proper curing can maintain a satisfactory moisture content and
temperature in concrete during its early stages, the loss of water
in concrete can reduce and hydration rate of cement can increase,
the total porosity of concrete reduces and the probability of the
pores being either blocked or narrowed down by continued forma-
tion of hydration products increases, as a result, the desired proper-
ties of concrete may develop [1014]. The over last two decades, the
inuence of initial water-curing period and curing condition on the
properties of concrete has some extensively studied. Ozer and
Ozkul [15] and Tan and Gjorv [16] show that initial water-curing
period has some effect on the compressive strength development
of ordinary Portland and pozzolanic cement concretes, it is neces-
sary to apply water-curing to concrete at least for the initial 7 days
to expose the pozzolanic activity. Ramezanianpour et al. [17] re-
ports the properties of concrete with slag, y ash and silica fume
at different water-curing period, the results indicate that the reduc-
tion in initial water-curing period results in lower compressive
strengths, higher porosity and more permeable. Guo et al. [18] as-
sess the effect of the initial water-curing period on the corrosion
behavior of concrete with y ash, the result indicates that the initial
water-curing period has important effect on steel bars corrosion
behaviors in concrete, with the increase of the initial water-curing
period, protective ability of concrete increase and concrete has a
better protective behaves at the initial water-curing for 14 days.
Al-Khaiat et al. [19] study the effect of initial water-curing period
on early strength and physical properties of lightweight concrete,
the results suggest that the compressive strength of concrete is less
sensitive to lack of initial water-curing period, while depth of water
0261-3069/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2011.09.053

Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 18913806637; fax: +86 025 52099339.

E-mail address: njzhaohui@jit.edu.cn (H. Zhao).
Materials and Design 35 (2012) 194200
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penetration is found to be more sensitive to the period of initial
water-curing. The research carried out by Sharon Huo and Ling
Ung Wong [20] indicate that water-curing condition can effectively
reduce evaporation rate of water and limit the development of
early-age shrinkage strains. Baim et al. and Cengiz Duran Atis and
Erhan Guneyisi et al. [2123] investigate compressive strength
development, sorptivity, carbonation depth and the chloride per-
meability of concrete cured both in air and in water, it is found that
water-curing samples has higher compressive strength and sorptiv-
ity, lower carbonation depth and the chloride permeability than
samples cured in air. The research carried out by Erhan Guneyisi
et al. [24] indicates that the water-curing condition is essential to
achieve higher strength and electrical resistivity, lower steel rein-
forcement corrosion for concrete. Al-Gahtani et al. [25] reports
the effect of curing methods on the properties of plain and blended
cement concretes, the test result indicate that the compressive
strength development of concrete cured by covering with wet bur-
lap is more rapid than concrete at water-curing and at acrylic-based
curing compounds, concrete cured by applying curing compounds
can decrease efciency plastic and drying shrinkage strain. Bushla-
ibi and Alshamsi [26] study the effect of curing condition on com-
pressive strength of high-strength concrete (HSC), this
investigation indicate that compressive strength of concrete stored
in the outdoor environment exhibit lower results than those stored
indoors for all curing regimes. Nowadays, some test results which
initial water-curing periods and curing conditions effect on the
properties of concrete have been established, however, the cur-
ing-related research are focused on ordinary concrete (OPC), light-
weight concrete (LWC), high-strength concrete (HSC) and high
performance concrete (HPC), information about the effect of initial
water-curing period and curing condition on the properties of self-
compacting concrete (SCC) is less documented, therefore, the effect
of initial water-curing period and curing conditions on the proper-
ties of SCC needs more investigate.
In this study, y ash (F) was used to replace 20% Portland ce-
ment. Six different curing regimes were applied to investigate
the effect of initial water-curing period and curing condition on
the properties of SCC. The properties of SCC under different initial
water-curing period and curing condition, i.e. the compressive
strength, the exural strength, the carbonation depth and the chlo-
ride ion diffusion coefcient of SCC, were investigated. Based on
these test results, the relationship between compressive strength
and curing time was analyzed by linear regression, the relationship
between 28-days compressive strength and 28-days carbonation
depths of SCC under different initial water-curing periods and cur-
ing condition was studied.
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials
2.1.1. Cement
Ordinary Portland cement (CEM
1
) according to BS EN 197 [27]
was used in this study. The chemical compositions and physical
properties of cement are presented in Table 1.
2.1.2. Fly ash (F)
Fly ash (F) was used as mineral admixture, which was produced
as a by-products during the generation of electricity from local
power plant.The chemical compositions and physical properties
of y ash (F) are given in Table 1.
2.1.3. Aggregate
Natural river sand ne aggregate with a maximum size of 5 mm
and 525 mm crushed stone coarse aggregate were used in this
study, the particle size distribution and physical properties of ne
aggregates and coarse aggregates are given in Table 2.
2.1.4. Superplasticize
In this study, a polycarboxylate (PCA) polymer with long comb-
type side chain was used as a superplasticizer, PCA superplasticizer
is the liquid product with a solid content of 20%.
2.2. Mixture proportions
The SCC mixture used in this work is designed at the cementing
material content for 460 kg/m
3
, which y ash (F) was used to
replace 20% Portland cement, the water-to-binder (W/B) ratio is
0.35, the amount of total aggregate was maintained at 1780 kg/
m
3
, the mix proportions of SCC is given in Table 3.
2.3. Experimental methods
2.3.1. Preparation of sample
The components of SCC mixture were batched by weight, ce-
ment and y ash were premixed with coarse aggregates and ne
aggregate for 1 min, then the entire amount of mixing water with
the dissolved PCA superplasticizer was added and mixed for 3 min,
nally, the SCC mixture was mixed for an additional 2 min, result-
ing in a total mixing period of 6 min. Before casting, a variety of
tests were conducted to determine properties of fresh SCC, i.e. ini-
tial slump ow, slump ow loss, segregation ratio, L-box test and
wet density, then SCC samples were cured at 20 C in molds
covered by a polyethylene lm to prevent moisture loss according
to GOST10180 [28], the samples were removed from the molds
after 24 h and divided into six equal groups to study the effect of
Table 1
The chemical compositions and physical properties of cement and y ash.
Chemical composition (%) Cement (C) Fly ash (F)
CaO 63.15 <3
SiO
2
19.61 56.79
Al
2
O
3
7.33 28.21
Fe
2
O
3
3.32 5.31
MgO 2.54 5.21
Na
2
O 0.13 0.45
K
2
O 0.39 1.34
SO
3
2.13 0.68
Loss on ignition 2.97 3.90
Specic gravity (g/cm
3
) 3.16 2.31
Blaine neness (cm
2
/g) 3519 3960
Table 2
The particle size distribution and physical properties of ne and coarse aggregates.
Sieve size (mm) Cumulative pass amount (%)
Fine aggregate Coarse aggregates
20 75.76
15 42.3
10 5.26
5 95.4 0.6
4.75 94.6
2.36 82.8
1.18 72.2
0.6 52.2
03 31
0.15 3.2
Fineness modulus 2.46
Physical properties
Density-OD (kg/m
3
) 2580 1635
Density-SSD (kg/m
3
) 2620 1680
Water absorption (%) 0.80 1.2
H. Zhao et al. / Materials and Design 35 (2012) 194200 195
initial water-curing period and curing condition on the properties
of SCC. Six different curing regimes of SCC using in this study are
shown in Table 4.
2.3.2. Experimental methods
2.3.2.1. Workability. The slump ow test of fresh SCC was con-
ducted according to BS EN 12350 Part 2 [29].The initial slump ow
value of fresh SCC is represented by the mean diameter (measured
in two perpendicular directions) of concrete after lifting the stan-
dard slump cone. The measurement of slump ow was repeated
once after the initial mixing 1 h, before the second slump ow test
was preformed, SCC mixture was mixed for 23 min by hand.
2.3.2.2. Segregation ratio. The GTM screen stability test method
developed by the French contractor (GTM) [30] was used to assess
the segregation resistance of fresh SCC. The method consisted of
taking 10 L of SCC and allowing the concrete to stand for 15 min
in bucket covered with a lid to prevent evaporation, then, half of
SCC mixture was poured onto 5 mm sieve of 350 mm diameter,
which sat on a sieve pan on a weighing scale. After 2 min, the mass
of mortar passed through the sieve was measured and expressed as
a percentage of the weight of the original sample on the sieve.
2.3.2.3. L-box test. The L-box test was performed in accordance
with FNARC standards. During the test, fresh SCC was allowed to
ow upon the release of a trap door from the vertical section to
the horizontal section by a few reinforcement bars of L-shape
box. The height of concrete at the end of the horizontal section
was compared to the height of concrete remaining in the vertical
section.
2.3.2.4. Wet density. The wet density of fresh SCC was determined
using BS EN 12350 Part 6 test method [31].
2.3.2.5. Compressive strength. The SCC samples of 100 mm
100 mm cube were prepared, the compressive strength test was
carried out at curing period of 1, 3, 7, 28 days according to BS EN
12390 Part 3 [32].
2.3.2.6. Flexural strength. The exural strength of SCC was deter-
mined using 150 mm 150 mm 550 mm prisms samples in
accordance with BS EN 12390 Part 5 [33] at the ages of 1, 3, 7,
28 days.
2.3.2.7. Accelerated carbonation. The three 100 mm 100 mm
300 mm prismatic samples of SCC curing 26 days were dried 48 h
at 60 C temperature according to GBJ 8285 standards [34], the
accelerated carbonation test of SCC samples was performed in a
chamber with a CO
2
concentration = 20 3%, RH = 70 5% and
T = 20 3 C, the half face of SCC samples was sealed with heating
the parafn, leaving the other face exposed to carbonation, then
samples were put into the accelerated carbonation chamber. The
accelerated carbonation test was carried out at 3, 7, 14 and 28 days
exposure durations.
2.3.2.8. Rapid chloride migration (RCM). The three u100 mm
200 mm cylinder samples of SCC were used for rapid chloride
migration (RCM) tests, the SCC samples were cured in a humidity
room at a temperature of 20 C with a relative humidity of
90 5% for 21 days according to NT BUILD355 [35], the test sam-
ples were prepared by rst cutting the cylinder samples into two
halves and cutting a 50 2 mm thick slice from one half, then
50 2 mm thick slice samples continued to cure 7 days immersing
in the water. In the test days, the samples were measured with the
voltage preset at 30 V for 24 h or 48 h, SCC sample pieces were split
and 0.1 N AgNO
3
was sprayed, twenty measurement points were
installed regularly on the split surface at the 5 mm interval to give
the mean penetration depth of chloride ion and the formula (1)
was used to calculate chloride ion diffusion coefcient (D
RCM0
).
D
RCM0
2:872 10
6
Thx
d
a

x
d
p

t
a 3:338 10
3

Th
p
1
where D
RCM0
is the chloride migration coefcient (m
2
/s), t the aver-
age value of the initial and nal temperatures in the anolyte solu-
tion (K), h the thickness of the specimen (m), x
d
the average value
of the penetration depth of chloride ion (mm), T the test duration
(s), and A is the faraday constant.
Table 3
Mix proportions of SCC.
Mix Binder (kg/m
3
) Aggregate (kg/m
3
) PCA superplasticizer dosage (%) Water (kg/m
3
) FA/TA (%)
C F Fine (FA) Coarse (CA) Total (TA)
T-1 368 92 693.81 1085.2 1780 1.4 161 39
Table 4
Curing regimes of SCC.
Sample symbol Curing description Duration of curing with place (day)
Mold Water-curing Standards-curing Room-curing
1921 C 100% RH 1921 C 95100% RH 2832 C 7585% RH
PW-3 Partial water cuing-3 1
3 0 25
PW-7 Partial water cuing-7 1
7 0 21
PW-14 Partial water cuing-14 1
14 0 14
FW Full water cuing 1
28 0 0
FS Full standard cuing 1
0 28 0
FR Full room cuing 1
0 0 28
196 H. Zhao et al. / Materials and Design 35 (2012) 194200
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Properties of fresh SCC
It can be observed from Table 5 that initial slump ow diameter
of SCC is 800 mm, after 1 h, the slump ow diameter of SCC keep at
the 750 mm, SCC has a lower slump ow loss with time elapsed.
From Table 5, it can also be seen that the segregation ratio of
SCC mixture for 7.8% is considered satisfactory, the blocking ratio
of SCC mixture in L-box test is between 0.80 and 0.90, it show that
SCC mixture prepared in this study achieve adequate passing abil-
ity and maintain sufcient resistance to segregation. At the same
time, the wet density of SCC mixtures is 2420 kg/m
3
, it is on the
range from 2350 kg/m
3
to 2450 kg/m
3
.
3.2. The effect of initial water-curing period and curing condition on
the mechanical properties of SCC
3.2.1. The effect of initial water-curing period and curing condition on
the compressive strength development of SCC
The compressive strength development of SCC under different
initial water-curing period and curing condition are presented in
Fig. 1, the test results show that the early compressive strength
development of SCC under different initial water-curing period
and curing condition is very rapid, 3-days and 7-days compressive
strength of SCC with different initial water-curing period can
achieve 5658%, 8286% of 28-days compressive strength, under
FW, FS and FR curing condition, the compressive strength of SCC
at curing periods of 3, 7 days can reach 5459%, 8687% of 28-days
compressive strength, the late compressive strength of SCC under
different initial water-curing period and curing condition is also
grow.
It also can be observed from Fig. 1 that the initial water-curing
period has a signicant effect on compressive strength of SCC at
curing period of 28 days, 28-days compressive strength of SCC is
increasing with the initial water-curing periods change from3 days
to 7 days, the initial water-curing period is more than 7 days, the
compressive strength of SCC at curing periods of 28 days present
a decreasing trend, SCC with the initial water-curing period for
7 days has a maximum 28-days compressive strength, so that we
can drawa concluded that an initial water-curing of 7 days and sub-
sequent room exposure are more benecial for compressive
strength development of SCC than initial water-curing for 3, 14,
28 days. The change of curing condition has also the effect on the
compressive strength of SCC at curing periods of 28 days, the 28-
days compressive strength of SCC under FR curing condition is
60.1 MPa, it is 104.78%, 102.91% compressive strength of SCC under
FS, FW curing condition at the same curing period, one possible
explanation for this is that FR curing condition has a higher curing
temperature (2832 C) and sufciently high ambient humidity
(7585% RH), FR curing condition accelerate the rate of cement
hydration and pozzolanic reactions in SCC [36,37].
3.2.2. The effect of initial water-curing period and curing condition on
the exural strength development of SCC
The exural strength development of SCC under different initial
water-curing period and curing condition are presented in Fig. 2.
The results indicate that the exural strength of SCC under differ-
ent initial water-curing period and curing condition is grow at cur-
ing period of 1, 3, 7, 28 days. It is also can be seen from Fig. 2 that
initial water-curing period of SCC has some effect on exural
strength of SCC at curing period of 28 days, 28-days exural
strength of SCC with initial water-curing period for 3, 7, 14 days
are 8.95 MPa, 9.24 MPa, 8.85 MPa, it is 103.11%, 106.45%, 101.96%
of 28-days exural strength of SCC under FW curing condition,
the maximum 28-days exural strength can be found for SCC with
the initial water-curing period for 7 days. The exural strength of
SCC under FS, FW and FR curing condition at curing period of
28 days can also be seen in Fig. 2, SCC under FR curing condition
has a higher exural strength than SCC under FS, FW curing condi-
tion at the same curing period.
3.2.3. The compressive strength development analysis of SCC under
different initial water-curing period and curing condition
In order to establish relationships between compressive
strength and curing time for SCC under different initial water-cur-
ing period and curing condition, linear regression was applied to
analyze relationship between compressive strength and curing
Table 5
The properties of fresh SCC.
Slump ow diameter (mm) Slump ow loss (%) Segregation ratio (%) L-box test Wet density (kg/m
3
)
Slump ow (0 h) Slump ow (after 1 h) Ratio (%) Time (s)
800 750 6.25 7.8 0.88 35.8 2420
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
20
30
40
50
60
70
C
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
v
e

s
t
r
e
n
g
t
h

(
M
P
a
)
curing time (day)
PW-3
PW-7
PW-14
FW
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
20
30
40
50
60
C
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
v
e

s
t
r
e
n
g
t
h

(
M
P
a
)
curing time (day)
FS
FW
FR
(a) Initial water-curing period (b) Curing condition
Fig. 1. The compressive strength development of SCC under different initial water-curing period and curing condition.
H. Zhao et al. / Materials and Design 35 (2012) 194200 197
time for SCC, regression equations were tested and logarithmic
relationships can be expressed as follow [3841]. For regression
analysis, the ranges of curing period from 1 days to 28 days were
used, the regression analysis data are shown in Table 6.
F
cu
a Ln t b 2
where F
cu
is compressive strength of SCC at an period of curing (in
days); a, b are constants at a given curing environment and constant
a shows a strength-gaining rate; Ln is base-e logarithm; t is total
curing time (in days).
It is observed from Table 6 that the variation of constant a,
which represents the strength-gaining rate, is sensitive to the ini-
tial water-curing period for SCC, the strength-gaining rate is
increasing with the initial water-curing period of SCC change from
3 days to 7 days, when the initial water-curing period is more than
7 days, the longer the initial water-curing period, the lower the
strength-gaining rate, so that 7 day initial water-curing is neces-
sary to expose sufcient pozzolanic reaction for SCC. Table 6 also
exhibits that the curing condition of SCC has some effect on the
strength-gaining rate of SCC, under varying curing condition, SCC
under FR curing condition has a higher strength-gaining rate than
SCC under FS, FW curing condition, it reects that the curing con-
dition has affected on pozzolanic reaction of cement [42,43].
3.3. The effect of initial water-curing period and curing condition on
the carbonation depth of SCC
3.3.1. The carbonation depth of SCC under different initial water-
curing period and curing condition
The test results show the carbonation depths of SCC under dif-
ferent initial water-curing period and curing condition are increas-
ing with all tested ages. The carbonation depths of SCC with initial
water-curing period for 3, 7, 14, 28 days are 0.067 mm, 1.5 mm,
2.06 mm, 4.87 mm and 0 mm, 0.6 mm, 1.40 mm, 2.9 mm and
0.166 mm, 1.63 mm, 2.4 mm, 5.21 mm and 0.26 mm, 1.7 mm,
2.93 mm, 6.59 mm, SCC with the initial water-curing period for
7 days has lowest carbonation depths at same measurements per-
iod. It can also be seen in Fig. 3 that the carbonation depth of SCC
under FR curing condition are 0.24 mm, 0.93 mm, 2.43 mm and
5.68 mm at 3, 7, 14, 28 days test ages, it has a lower carbonation
depth than that of SCC under FS, FW curing condition at the same
measurements period, it indicate that FR curing condition can mit-
igation effectively carbonation depth of SCC.
3.3.2. The analysis of relationship between 28-days compressive
strength and 28-days carbonation depths of SCC under different initial
water-curing period and curing condition
The relationship between 28-days compressive strength and
28-days carbonation depth obtained from of SCC under different
initial water-curing period and curing condition are presented in
Fig. 4. It can be seen from Fig. 4, a linear relations exists between
28-days compressive strength and 28-days carbonation depth,
the tting formula is y = 0.6574x + 44.798 with the high correla-
tion coefcients (R
2
= 0.9692).This relationship between 28-days
compressive strength and 28-days carbonation depth of SCC are
similar to those reported elsewhere [44,45].
3.4. The effect of initial water-curing period and curing condition on
the chloride ion diffusion coefcient of SCC
FromFig. 5, it can be seen that the change of initial water-curing
period and curing condition has effect on the chloride ion diffusion
coefcient of SCC, the chloride ion diffusion coefcient of SCC with
initial water-curing period for 3, 7, 14 days are 4.208 10
12
m
2
/s,
2.077 10
12
m
2
/s, 4.276 10
12
m
2
/s, the chloride ion diffusion
coefcient of SCCpresent a decreasing trendas the initial water-cur-
ing period change from3 days to 7 days, when the initial water-cur-
ing period is more than 7 days, there are a increase trend at the
chloride ion diffusion coefcient of SCC, SCC with the initial water-
curing period for 7 days has least the chloride ion diffusion coef-
cient, it may be attributedto the fact that SCC withinitial water-cur-
ing period for 7 days has a maximumcompressive strength and less
porosity in all harden SCC [4648]. At the same time, it also can be
seen in Fig. 5, SCC under FR curing condition has lowest chloride
ion diffusion coefcient for 3.098 10
12
m
2
/s, while chloride ion
diffusion coefcient of SCC under FS, FW curing condition are
4.603 10
12
m
2
/s and 4.426 10
12
m
2
/s, they almost has the
same ion diffusion coefcient.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
curing time (day)
F
l
e
x
u
r
a
l

s
t
r
e
n
g
t
h

(
M
P
a
)
PW-3
PW-7
PW-14
0
FW
5 10 15 20 25 30
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
F
l
e
x
u
r
a
l
s
t
r
e
n
g
t
h

(
M
P
a
)
curing time (day)
FS
FW
FR
(a) Initial water-curing period
(b) Curing condition
Fig. 2. The exural strength development of SCC under different initial water-curing period and curing condition.
Table 6
Regression analysis data of compressive strength and curing time for SCC under
different initial water-curing period and curing condition.
Sample SCC
Regression interval 1 days-28 days
Regression constants a b Correlation coefcients (R
2
)
Curing description (sample symbol)
Partial water cuing-3 (PW-3) 30.627 17.142 0.981
Partial water cuing-7 (PW-7) 31.966 17.327 0.9869
Partial water cuing-14 (PW-14) 30.426 17.026 0.9783
Full water cuing (FW) 28.673 17.419 0.9817
Full standard cuing (FS) 29.039 17.703 0.9872
Full Room cuing (FR) 30.631 16.788 0.9658
198 H. Zhao et al. / Materials and Design 35 (2012) 194200
4. Conclusions
The present investigation has shown that SCC mixture prepared
in this study has a lower slump ow loss with time elapsed, they
can achieve adequate passing ability and maintain sufcient resis-
tance to segregation.
The compressive strengths development of SCC under different
initial water-curing period and curing condition ranging from
33.8 MPa to 36.4 MPa, from 50.2 MPa to 52.6 MPa and from
57.9 MPa to 63.3 MPa at curing period of 3, 7, 28 days respectively.
The exural strength development of SCC under different initial
water-curing period and curing condition are from 4.97 MPa to
5.46 MPa, 7.53 MPa to 7.86 MPa and 8.68 MPa to 9.24 MPa at cur-
ing period of 3, 7, 28 days, respectively. SCC with the initial water-
curing period for 7 days has a maximum compressive strength,
exural strength, SCC under FR curing condition has a higher com-
pressive strength, exural strength than that under FS, FW curing
condition. SCC with the initial water-curing period for 7 days and
SCC under FR curing condition have a higher strength-gaining rate.
The carbonation depths of SCC are increasing with tested ages
from 3 days to 28 days, the lowest carbonation depth at test ages
of 3, 7, 14, 28 days was observed to be 0 mm, 0.6 mm, 1.4 mm
and 2.9 mm for SCC with the initial water-curing period for 7 days,
SCC under FR curing condition has a lower carbonation depth than
that with FS, FW curing condition. The 28-days compressive
strength and 28-days carbonation depth of SCC under different ini-
tial water-curing period and curing condition have a high
correlation.
The chloride ion diffusion coefcient of SCC with initial water-
curing period for 3, 7, 14 days are 4.208 10
12
m
2
/s, 2.077
10
12
m
2
/s, 4.276 10
12
m
2
/s, SCC with the initial water-curing
period for 7 days has least the chloride ion diffusion coefcient.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
C
a
r
b
o
n
a
t
i
o
n

d
e
p
t
h

(
m
m
)
PW-3
PW-7
FW
PW-14
Carbonation time (day)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
C
a
r
b
o
n
a
t
i
o
n

d
e
p
t
h

(
m
m
)
Carbonation time (day)
FW
FS
FR
(a) Initial water-curing period
(b) Curing condition
Fig. 3. The carbonation depth of SCC under different initial water-curing period and curing condition.
y = -0.6574x + 44.798
R
2
= 0.9692
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
5.5
6
6.5
7
57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64
Compressive strength (MPa)
C
a
r
b
o
n
a
t
i
o
n

d
e
p
t
h

(
m
m
)
Fig. 4. The relationship between 28-days compressive strength and 28-days
carbonation depth of SCC under different initial water-curing period and curing
condition.
PW-3 PW-7 PW-14 FW
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
FS FW FR
0
1
2
3
4
T
h
e

c
h
l
o
r
i
d
e

i
o
n

d
i
f
f
u
s
i
o
n

c
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t
(
1
0
-
1
2
(a) Initial water-curing periods
(b) Curing condition
)
T
h
e

c
h
l
o
r
i
d
e

i
o
n

d
i
f
f
u
s
i
o
n

c
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t
1
0
-
1
2
)
(
Fig. 5. The chloride ion diffusion coefcient of SCC under different initial water-curing period and curing condition.
H. Zhao et al. / Materials and Design 35 (2012) 194200 199
SCCunder FS, FWandFRcuringconditionhavechloride iondiffusion
coefcient for 4.603 10
12
m
2
/s, 4.426 10
12
m
2
/s, 3.098
10
12
, SCC under FR curing condition has lower chloride ion diffu-
sion coefcient than SCC under FS, FW curing condition.
Acknowledgments
This project was nancially supported by Western Trafc
Science and Technology Projects, No. 2006ZB01-2. The provision
of PCA superplasticizer by Jiangsu Bote New Materials Co., Ltd. is
gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank Wei Sun Professor,
who is the academician of China National Engineering Research
Institute, their sponsorship and support made this study possible.
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