SELF CURING CONCRETE

BY-
RAHUL DAS
STRUCTURAL ENGG
(17SE06003)
SCHOOL OF INFRASTRUCTURE
Introduction
 Construction industry is growing like day by day
even in remote area and desert regions

 Even India and other countries are facing lot of

problems in supplying drinking water to their
citizens.

 Hence construction industries are under pressure

in finding out alternative curing methods of curing
concrete.
What is curing?
 It is a process to prevent loss of moisture from concrete
Why curing is required?

o During hydation exothermic reaction occur

o Environmental factor
What is Self curing concrete ?
o S.C.C is the one which can cure itself by retaining its
moisture content.

o A concrete can be made to self cure either by adding

curing admixtures or by the application of curing
compounds.
S.C.C by adding admixtures

Various admixtures used are concure WB, conplast NC,

conplast C N and conplast S D 110 etc... Rheocure is the
curing admixture used in U K for plane concreting. The
admixtures used for curing concrete certain chloride
which will lead to corrosion of reinforcement. Hence its
use is restricted only within plain concrete.
S.C.C by adding curing compounds
Curing compounds available are wax based and resin
based. The curing compound applied on concrete acts as a
protective layer and seals the moisture content within the
concrete. The curing compounds available are CONCURE
WB, CONCURE LP 90 etc…
Methods of self curing concrete

 External self curing of concrete

 Internal self curing of concrete

What is external self curing of
concrete ?
External self curing concrete is the one which can cure itself
by retaining its moisture content within the concrete by the
application of curing compounds on the surface of the
concrete.
Applications of external self curing
concrete
 As a spray applied membrane to retain moisture in concrete for
effective curing.

 Suitable for all general concreting applications and of particular

benefit for large area concrete surfaces, such as airport runways,
roads and bridgeworks.

 It is also suitable for piece works. Where, it is difficult to curing.

 It is also suitable for tunnel lining work.

ESC compound is used in piece work
ESC compound is used in piece work
Advantages of external self curing
concrete
 Improved curing of concrete enhances cement hydration
and provides a more durable concrete.
 Lower maintenance.
 Control of moisture loss improves surface quality.
 Reducing permeability.
 Producing a hard wearing and dust free Surface.
 Minimizing potential for surface cracking and shrinkage.
 Fugitive colour provides visual guide during application.
 Water based, therefore, non-flammable.
 Increases early age strength.
 Spray application reduces labour costs and eliminates the
need for alternative curing systems.
Curing compound used
The curing compound used is “CONCURE WB” which is a product of Fosroc
chemicals.
Specifications of CONCURE WB
 Base –wax
 Shelf life – 12 months
 Coverage – 3.5 to 5 m2/litre
 Cost - Rs.90/litre

Features
 single application
 no other curing necessary
 easy and safe spray application
 endures hard wearing surface
CONCURE WB
Application procedure

The curing compound is applied by brush or by spraying

while the concrete is wet. In case of columns and beams the
application is done after the removal of formwork. On the
horizontal surface, the curing compound is applied upon
the complete disappearance of all bleeding water.
Materials used and their properties:

It is well known that strength of the concrete is

dependent on the properties of its ingredients. The
materials used in the present investigations are as follows.

 53 grade O.P.C.
 River sand as fine aggregate.
 Quarried and crushed stone as coarse aggregate.
 Potable water.
 TEST ON INGREDIENT MATERIALS

 Introduction:
The present investigation is carried out to study the
behavior of normal and self cured concrete and ingredient
material by using O.P.C. 53 grade cement. The tests were
carried out at the Concrete Laboratory of Civil Engineering
Department, AIT, Chikamaglur.
Test on cement:

 53 grade O.P.C. cement was used throughout the

investigations. The cement was tested according to B.I.S.
specifications to determine its various properties.
 The overall quantity of cement required for the
investigation was procured in a single lot and stored in the
appropriate manner.
 The specific gravity, normal consistency, initial setting
time, final setting time and compressive strength of
cement were found as per B.I.S specifications. The results
are tabulated in tables
 Results of test on cement

SL No. Particulars References

Type of cement 53 grade -------------
O.P.C.
.
1 Normal Consistency 34.00 % IS:269-1958

2 Specific Gravity 2.85 IS:269-1976

3 Setting time (in min) IS: 269-1976
(a) Initial setting time 80 min. Should more
(b) Final setting time 460 min. Than 30 min.
Should not be
More than 600min.
Compressive Strength of Cement

`
53 grade O.P.C.
In this type of cement, the 28 days cement strength is expected to
have a minimum value of 53 Mpa.

Size of the specimen=70.6mm X 70.6mm X 70.6mm

Sl.No. Particulars Compressive strength in N/mm2

Type of cement 3 days 7 days 28 days

1 53 grade O.P.C 30.20 45.70 59.80

Test on fine and coarse aggregates
Properties of the aggregate used

The specific gravity and fineness modulus of fine

aggregate and coarse aggregate was found according
to the norms of the Indian Standards.

Sl Particulars Fine Coarse Reference

No. Aggregate Aggregate
1 Specific gravity 2.50 2.60 IS:2386(partIII)-1963

2 Fineness modulus 2.85 7.13 Is:2836(partIII)-1963

IS:383-1970
IS:460-1962
3 Grading zone Zone II 20 mm and IS 383-1963
Downsize
 DESIGN OF CONCRETE MIX
(As per IS: 10262-2009)

Design stipulations:

Characteristic compressive strength required in the field at 28 days: 25N/mm2

Degree of quality control : Good
Type of exposure : Mild
Test data for materials

Cement used Ordinary Portland cement

Grade of cement 53 grade
Specific gravity of cement 2.85
Specific gravity of fine aggregate 2.50
Specific gravity of coarse aggregate 2.60
Slump value 90 to 100mm

Maximum size of aggregate 20mm

Fine aggregate falls into Zone-II
 Mix proportion for 1 m3 concrete

W/C ratio Water Cement Fine Coarse

In litre In Kg aggregate aggregate in
In Kg Kg

0.55 197 358.18 660.08 1073.72

1 1.84 3.00
TESTS ON FRESH CONCRETE

Slump test

Slump test gives an idea about consistency of concrete mix and

indirectly measures workability of the concrete.
Depending on the slump values of concrete can be classified
into different categories as per IS:1199-1959

Slump test values of concrete mixes

Sl.No. Grade of w/c ratio Slump (mm)
concrete
1 M25 O.P.C. 0.55 90
TESTS ON HARDENED CONCRETE

Details of the standard specimens

Type of test Type of specimen Dimensions (mm)

Compression test Cubes 150 x 150 x 150

Split tension test Cylinder 100 ᴓ x 200 depth

 Test for compressive strength
Average compressive strength of conventionally
cured concrete.
Average compressive strength of external
self cured concrete.
 Comparison between average compressive
strength of external self cured concrete
and conventionally cured concrete
It is observed that the increase in compressive strength of
external self cured concrete is about 22.10% at the age of 3
days, 5.24% at the age of 7 days and 3.32% at the age of
28 days as compare to conventional cured concrete.
 Test for split tensile strength

Average split strength of external self

cured concrete.
Average split strength of conventional
cured concrete.
 Comparison between average split tensile strength
of external self cured concrete and conventionally
cured concrete

It is observed that the increase in split tensile strength of external

self cured concrete is about 4.95% at the age of 3 days, 11.11%
at the age of 7 days and 20.94% at the age of 28 days as
compare to conventional cured concrete.
 CONCLUSION
The following conclusions are drawn based on the present
investigations.
The variation between concrete cured conventionally and with
self curing compound is about 3.32% for compression strength
and 20.94% for split tensile strength.
Hence self curing technique may be economically and efficiently
adapted in remote as well as in water scarcity areas.

The surface of the self cured cement paste is less permeable to

water vapour than that of normal cured cement paste.

Curing compound increases early strength of concrete than

normal cured concrete.

Concrete with curing compound gives smooth and fine finished

surface than concrete without curing compound.

About 100% of results have been attained in compressive

strength with small amount of water this method can be
implemented in construction field.
THANK YOU