Effect of Curing Temperature on Hardened Concrete Properties

Abstract

Often, concrete is not mixed or placed under ideal conditions. Particularly in the winter or the summer months, the temperature of fresh concrete is quite different from that of concrete mixed under laboratory conditions. This paper examines the influence of supplementary cementitious materials on the strength development (and other hardened properties) of concrete subjected to different curing regimens. The supplementary cementitious materials used in the research program were ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), fly ash, and a combination of both materials. The three curing regimens used were hot weather curing, standard curing, and cold weather curing. Under the conditions tested, the results show that the addition of GGBFS at a relatively low replacement rate can improve the hardened properties for each curing regimen. This improvement was noticeable not only at later ages but also at early ages. Mixtures that contained both materials (GGBFS and fly ash) performed as well as and, in most cases, better than mixtures that contained only portland cement in all curing regimens.