Effect of Curing Methods And Environment on Properties of Concrete

The paper presents the effect of three different curing methods i.e. water curing, sealed curing , air curing and curing periods on  different concrete mixes on hardened properties of fly ash concrete and ordinary cement concrete at different regions in India in varied conditions of temperature, humidity and wind. The results showed that the strength of water & sealed cured samples are comparable. The behaviour of concrete against improper curing  is same for concrete with and without flyash. The relative values of Rapid Chloride Penetration Test (RCPT) are lowest for water cured samples but no correlation could be established on absolute values. For a given  design mix when range of temperature variation during curing period is high, effect is seen in compressive strength and  when a humidity variation is high, effect is seen in RCPT values