Internal Curing Concrete

Dr Peter Taylor
With thanks to:
John Ries, ESCSI
Dale Bentz, NIST
Jason Weiss, Purdue
I nt er nal Cur i ng
Why?
How?
So What?
Where Next?
I nt er nal Cur i ng - Why
Curing is:
Provision of moisture and temperature
to allow hydration and minimize
dimensional change
Keep it wet
Keep it warm
Start early
stay late
Without curing we will increase risk of
Cracking
Scaling
A soft surface
What about strength?
I nt er nal Cur i ng - Why
I nt er nal Cur i ng - Why
Time
P
r
o
p
e
r
t
y
Continuous cure
Curing stops
Elevated temperature curing
Water
Unhydrated
cement
Capillary
pores
HCP
W/C = 0.40 W/C = 0.75 W/C = 0.25
I nt er nal Cur i ng - Why
I nt er nal Cur i ng - Why
Material should
Hold sufficient water
Hold the water until needed and not
effect w/c
Give up water at high RH (desorption)
Not adversely effect
the concrete quality
I nt er nal Cur i ng - How
Internal Curing - How
Super Absorbent Polymers
Internal Curing - How
Desorption
- Virtually all moisture available at 94% RH
Castro 2011
Water Moving From Aggregate
Paste
LWA
Interface
0. 0 mm 0.5 mm 0. 0 mm 0.5 mm
Detector
X-ray Source
Cement Paste
LWA
Water Can Move ~2 mm after some
time
Schlitter(2010)
Internal Curing - How
Its All About the Distribution
Henkensiefken (2008)
Coarse
LWA
Fine LWA
How Much?
LWA
f
LWA
S
CS C
M

*
* *
max

where
M
LWA
= mass of (dry) LWA needed per unit volume of concrete (kg/m
3
or lb/yd
3)
;
C
f
= cement factor (content) for concrete mixture (kg/m
3
or lb/yd
3
);
CS = chemical shrinkage of cement (mass of water/mass of cement);

max
= maximum expected degree of hydration of cement (0 to 1);
For ordinary Portland cement, the maximum expected degree of
hydration of cement can be assumed to be 1 for w/c 0.36 and to
be given by [(w/c)/0.36] for w/c < 0.36.
S = degree of saturation of aggregate (0 to 1);

LWA
= desorption of lightweight aggregate from saturation down to
93 % RH (mass water/mass dry LWA).
Bentz & Snyder (1999), Bentz, Lura, & Roberts (2005):
H
IwA
=
C

CS
mox
S
IwA
Simple IC Mixture Design
Need 7 lbs of IC water per 100 lbs of
cementitious
600 lbs cementitious = 42 lbs of IC water
Assume 18% LWA absorption in the field
Assume LWA at 55 lbs/cf
55 x .18 = 9.9 lb/cf water at 90% desorption 8.9
Need 42 lbs IC water / 8.9 = 4.7 cf of LWA
4.7 cf x 55 lb/cf = 259 lbs of LWA aggregate
NY State DOT Specifications
Proper amount of water
30% replacement of fine aggregate
Minimum 15% absorbed
moisture
Place under sprinkler
for minimum of 48 hours
Allow stockpiles to drain
for 12 to 15 hours
immediately prior to use
Internal Curing - How
Can we do without this?
Nope
Still have to
keep the
surface
hydrating
Thats where
the abuse
happens
Internal Curing - So What
Benefits
Better hydration & SCM reaction
Improved durability
Less cement
Less shrinkage, warping, cracking
Extended service life
Improved economics
Increased
sustainability
Internal Curing - So What
More Hydration
0.40 0.425 0.45 0.475 0.50
D
e
g
r
e
e

o
f

h
y
d
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
%
)
Mixture with
internal curing
Mixture without
internal curing
0
%






2
0
%







4
0
%







6
0
%






8
0
%
Water / cement ratio
Espinoza-Hajazin (2010)
Degree of hydration of cement @ 90 days, cured @ 50% RH
Internal Curing So What
Less Shrinkage (Sealed)
Henkensiefken (2009)
Internal Curing So What
Less Shrinkage = Less Cracking
Schlitter (2010)
Internal Curing So What
Less Shrinkage; Less Cracking
0 20 40 60 80
Time to Cracking, hours
Control IC
Byard (2010)
Internal Curing So What
Reduced Warping
Wei (2008)
Internal Curing So What
Lower Absorption
Henkensiefken (2009)
Internal Curing So What
Reduced Conductivity
Castro (2011)
Internal Curing So What
Lower Chloride Permeability (90 days)
0.40 0.425 0.45 0.475 0.50
C
h
a
r
g
e

p
a
s
s
e
d

(
c
o
u
l
o
m
b
s
)
Mixture with
internal curing
Mixture
without
internal curing
0
water / cement ratio
1200
2400
3600
Espinoza-Hajazin (2010)
Internal Curing - So What
Higher Compressive Strength
- Portland Cement Mortar
0.30 & 0.50 w/c
50% RH Curing
Golias (2010)
Internal Curing - How
Looks too easy
Need an extra stockpile
It has to be wet
Not produced in IA
Internal Curing So What
Service Life Prediction
Cusson (2010)
Internal Curing So What
Initial & Life Cycle Cost
Cusson (2010)
Paving in Texas, Bridges in New York & Indiana
UPRRIntermodalFacility
Constructed2005
NY: 9 built or under construction, 7
in design
IN: 33 bridges
Ex ampl es
Buchanan County - Bridge
Three span bridge at Pine Creek
One half conventional (both lanes)
Other half using Internal Curing Concrete
About 20% of fine aggregate replaced with
light weight aggregate
Other mix proportions unchanged
Internal Curing Whats Next
Buchanan County - Bridge
176 feet long, 40 wide
Three spans
Instrument two external spans
Similar mixtures Control Test
Unit weight 143 138
Slump 4.25 5.00
Air 6.5 6.8
Set time 276 272
7-day strength 4,760 4,820
28-day strength 5,910 7,070
28-day flex 660 715
Shrinkage 0.028 0.023
Buchanan County - Bridge
Task 1 - Test aggregate and mixture in ISU
lab and during construction
Fresh properties
Mechanical properties over time
Cracking potential
Permeability
Hydration rates
Moisture contents
Corrosion in the deck
Buchanan County - Bridge
Task 2 - Live Load Testing
After construction
Prior to traffic
One year post-construction
Strain transducers installed on the bottom of the
deck and the girders
Loaded with a fully loaded tandem axle dump
truck to evaluate the live load performance of the
structure
Buchanan County - Bridge
Concrete overlay
40-ft panels!
Hoping to monitor
Warping
Cracking
Buchanan County - Pavement
Fundamental concept makes sense
Lab data is promising
Field data looking good
Closing