Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-30T21:25:25.107Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Smart Additives for Self-Curing Concrete

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2012

Konstantin Kovler
Konstantin Kovler*
Affiliation:
National Building Research Institute – Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000, Israel
Get access

Abstract

Self-curing, or internal curing (IC), technology has been developed to counteract self-desiccation and autogenous shrinkage of high-strength/high-performance concrete (HSC/HPC), which is considered the "Achilles’ hill" of HSC/HPC [1]. According to ACI [2], IC refers to the process by which the hydration of cement continues because of the availability of internal water that is not part of the mixing water; while the internal water is made available by the pore system in structural lightweight aggregate (LWA) that absorbs and releases water. Recently ACI defined internal curing as “supplying water throughout a freshly placed cementitious mixture using reservoirs, via pre-wetted lightweight aggregates, that readily release water as needed for hydration or to replace moisture lost through evaporation or self-desiccation” [3]. Both definitions address the use of pre-wetted LWA as a self-curing (or internal curing) agent.

According to the definition of the RILEM Technical Committee TC-196 [4], IC implies introduction to the concrete mixture a component, which serves as a curing agent. This agent can be either a normal aggregate introduced into the concrete mixture in water-saturated state or a new component (for example, an additive or special aggregate). Similarly to the division accepted in external curing, RILEM TC-196 distinguishes between two categories of internal curing: (a) internal water curing (sometimes called “water entrainment”), when the curing agent performs as a water reservoir, which gradually releases water, and (b) internal sealing, when the curing agent is intended to delay/prevent loss of water from the hardening concrete. Although water-saturated porous aggregate is still the most popular material among IC agents, super-absorbent polymers (SAP), ceramic waste, recycled aggregate and wood-derived products show promising properties. In view of this, self-curing covers not only use of pre-wetted LWA, but also other methods of curing: water curing by means of variety of curing agents introduced in the concrete mix, and also the methods based on internal sealing.

The recent achievements in methods and materials for self-curing are reviewed, and the future trends in development of self-curing concrete are discussed.

Keywords

compositeadditiveschemical composition
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1488: Symposium 7B – Concrete with Smart Additives and Supplementary Cementitious Materials , 2012 , imrc12-1488-7b-008
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Neville, A. I. and Aïtcin, P. C. (1998). High performance concrete - An overview. Materials and Structures, 31, 111–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kovler, K. and Jensen, O. M. (Eds.). (2007). RILEM Report 41 "Internal Curing of Concrete". Bagneux, France: RILEM Publ. S.A.R.L.Google Scholar
Kovler, K. and Jensen, O. M. (2005). Novel technologies of concrete curing. Concrete International, 27(9), 39–42.Google Scholar
Tazawa, E. and Miyazawa, S. (1995). Experimental Study on Mechanism of Autogenous Shrinkage of Concrete. Cement and Concrete Research, 28(8), 1633–1638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldea, C. M., Shah, S. P. and Karr, A. (1999). Permeability of cracked concrete. Materials and Structures, 32, 366–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoff, G. (2002). The Use of Lightweight Fines for the Internal Curing of Concrete. Northeast Solite Corporation.Google Scholar
Bentz, D. P. and Weiss, W. J. (2011). Internal Curing: A 2010 State-of-the-Art Review, Report NISTIR 7765, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, O. M., Lura, P. and Kovler, K. (Eds.). (2006). RILEM Proc. PRO 52, Volume Changes of Hardening Concrete: Testing and Mitigation. Proc. Int. RILEM International Conference, Lyngby, Denmark. RILEM Publ. S.A.R.L., Bagneux, France.Google Scholar
Mohr, B. and Bentz, D. P. (eds.) (2008). ACI SP-256, Internal Curing of High-Performance Concretes: Laboratory and Field Experience, CD-ROM.Google Scholar
Jensen, O. M., Hasholt, M. T. and Laustsen, S. (eds.) (2010). RILEM Proc. PRO 74 "Use of Superabsorbent Polymers and Other New Additives in Concrete", Proc. International RILEM Conferences, Lyngby, Denmark, RILEM Publications S.A.R.L., Bagneux, France.Google Scholar
Brameshuber, W. (ed.) (2010). RILEM Proc. PRO 77 "Additions Improving Properties of Concrete (AdIPoC)", Proc. Intern. Conf. on Material Science (MatSci), Vol. III, Aachen, Germany, RILEM Publications S.A.R.L., Bagneux, France.Google Scholar
Mechtcherine, V. and Reinhardt, H.-W. (eds.) (2012) RILEM State of the Art Reports 2 "Application of Super Absorbent Polymers (SAP) in Concrete Construction", Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hasholt, M. T., Jensen, O. M., Kovler, K. and Zhutovsky, S. (2012). Can polymers mitigate autogenous shrinkage of internally cured concrete without compromising the strength? Construction and Building Materials, 26(6), 226–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, M. and Bremner, T. (2012). Performance of lightweight aggregate concrete containing slag after 25 years in a harsh marine environment. Cement and Concrete Research, 42(2), 358–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De la Varga, I., Castro, J., Bentz, D. and Weiss, J. (2012). Application of internal curing for mixtures containing high volumes of fly ash. Cement and Concrete Composites, 34(9), 1001–1008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Bella, C., Villani, C., Phares, N., Hausheer, E. and Weiss, J. (2012). Chloride transport and service life in internally cured concrete. Structures Congress 2012 (pp. 686–698). Chicago, Illinois, United States: American Society of Civil Engineers.Google Scholar
Browning, J., Darwin, D., Reynolds, D. and Pendergrass, B. (2011). Lightweight aggregate as internal curing agent to limit concrete shrinkage. ACI Materials Journal, 108(6), 638–644.Google Scholar
Reinhardt, H.-W. and Assmann, A. (2012). Effect of superabsorbent polymers on durability of concrete. Application of Super Absorbent Polymers (SAP) in Concrete Construction, Mechtcherine, V. and Reinhardt, H.-W. (Eds.), RILEM State of the Art Report (pp. 115–135).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Espinoza-Hijazin, G. and Lopez, M. (2011). Extending internal curing to concrete mixtures with W/C higher than 0.42. Construction and Building Materials, 25(3), 1236–1242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhutovsky, S. and Kovler, K. (2010). Combined effect of internal curing and shrinkage-reducing admixture on cracking potential of high-strength concrete. RILEM Proc. PRO 77 "Additions Improving Properties of Concrete (AdIPoC)", Brameshuber, W. (Ed.), Proc. Int. Conf. on Material Science (MatSci). III, pp. 165–174. Aachen, Germany. RILEM Publications S.A.R.L., Bagneux, France.Google Scholar
Jeon, J., Kanda, T., Momose, H. and Mihashi, H. (2012). Development of high-durability concrete with a smart artificial lightweight aggregate. Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology, 10(7), 231–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhutovsky, S. and Kovler, K. (2012). Effect of internal curing on durability-related properties of high performance concrete. Cement and Concrete Research, 42(1), 20–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhutovsky, S., Kovler, K.andBentur, A., Revisiting the protected paste volume concept for internal curing of high-strength concretes, Cement and Concrete Research, 41(9), 981–986.CrossRefGoogle Scholar