Compressive Strength Characteristics of Normal Strength Concrete Cured Using Colored Polythene Sheets

Abstract

Concrete performance is severely influenced when placed in extreme environmental conditions and hence certain measures are required to control it. The present paper proposes covering the structural members with colored polythene sheets which serves dual purpose of curing. Polythene sheets do not allow appreciable loss of water by evaporation and thus they do not delay or prevent hydration besides providing optimum temperature and humidity conditions for strength development and being water conservative. In present study concrete cubes were wrapped using five different colored polythene sheets for a period of 7-days. The study incorporates prevailing environmental conditions by relating effect of curing, including conventional methods like sprinkling and ponding on compressive strength of concrete at varied atmospheric temperatures, relative humidity and influence of available solar radiation. Significant compressive strength characteristics like initial tangent modulus and strain at peak stress are also determined for cubes at a period of 7-, 28-, and 180-days. The quality assessment of concrete cubes cast was carried out using ultrasonic pulse velocity test results. The study aims at developing a knowledge base to design an extensive decision making algorithm that identifies appropriate curing method in prevailing environmental conditions.