Monday, March 9, 2015

IS CURING COMPOUND SUITABLE FOR ALL CONCRETE ?

CURING COMPOUND



For concrete structures with low water-cement ratio (i.e. less than 0.4), it may not be suitable to use curing compound for curing.

When hydration takes place, the relative humidity of interior concrete drops which leads to self-desiccation and drying-out. With no external supply of water, the cement paste can self-desiccate in such an extent that the hydration process stops. As such, curing compounds may not be sufficient to retain enough water in the concrete. In this case, wet curing is a better choice which serves to provide an external source of water.