Effect of wet curing duration on long-term performance of concrete in tidal zone of marine environment

A proper initial curing is a very simple and inexpensive alternative to improve concrete cover quality and accordingly extend the service life of reinforced concrete structures exposed to aggressive species. A current study investigates the effect of wet curing duration on chloride penetration in plain and blended cement concretes which subjected to tidal exposure condition in south of Iran for 5 years. The results show that wet curing extension preserves concrete against high rate of chloride penetration at early ages and decreases the difference between initial and long-term diffusion coefficients due to improvement of concrete cover quality. But, as the length of exposure period to marine environment increased the effects of initial wet curing became less pronounced. Furthermore, a relationship is developed between wet curing time and diffusion coefficient at early ages and the effect of curing length on time-to-corrosion initiation of concrete is addressed.Peer reviewedCivil and Environmental Engineerin

Use of raw-state bottom ash for aggregates in construction materials

The recycling of raw-state bottom ash as it is holds an advantage from an economic and environmental standpoint in that it omits pre-processes such as milling and wetting. Its physical and chemical properties are first characterized for the purpose, and then the use of raw-state bottom ash for aggregates in construction materials is proposed. Preplaced aggregate concrete or dry-mixing concrete scheme can be selectively applied according to the particle size requirement of bottom ash aggregate. Preplaced bottom ash aggregate concrete is produced by placing the bottom ash aggregate in formwork and injecting grout to fill the voids. To ensure the injectability of the grout, relatively large-sized particles, greater than 5mm, are recommended to be used. In the case of dry-mixing concrete, this is originally designed for manufacturing concrete masonry units and concrete blocks with a low water-to-cement ratio and consolidated zero-slump concrete using a mechanized vibrating mold. The experimental results show that bottom ash aggregate concrete has moderate compressive strength with a low density