The Effects of Curing Methods on Early-age Strength of Sustainable Foamed Concrete

Abstract

Curing is a process aimed at keeping concrete saturated or nearly saturated, so as to ensure complete hydration process of cement. For curing to be done properly, the temperature, duration and condition remain key factors. The rate of hydration is usually controlled by the quality and quantities of the cementitious materials present in the mix as well as the moisture availability and environmental temperature. Lightweight foamed concrete is regarded as a sustainable construction material in the construction industry. Some well known major setbacks such as low tensile and compressive strength, low flexural strength, fractural toughness and increase shrinkage as the ages grows, have been reported with this type of concrete. This work is directed at potential ways of increasing the compressive strength of this material by varying the curing method. Therefore, observing the effects of these variables on the eventual compressive strength of the samples in the early-ages of the concrete. The study was conducted using foamed concrete of 1200kg/m3- 1600kg/m3 density and at the water cement ratio of 0.45. No additives or admixtures were used in this study. The samples were cured using three methods i. e. Water, air and moisture. At the end of the study, the compressive strength of the samples was analysed and the result shows that the samples cured by moisture has the highest compressive strength at 28 days.