Heat damage of steam curing on the surface layer of concrete

Abstract

In practice, the quality of concrete cover and the homogeneity of concrete are very important factors for the performance of structural concrete elements. Thus a series of experiments is carried out to investigate the excessive heat-damage effect of steam curing on the exposed surface layer of concrete in this study. Measures to prevent heat damage are also proposed. Results indicate that, due to the heat-damage effect caused by elevated temperature, there is a larger gradient distribution in the pore structure and water sorptivity between the exposed surface and the interior of the steam-cured concrete compared to normal-cured concrete. Using a moisture fabric sheet can effectively reduce such damage. The heating effect at elevated temperatures during the steam curing period results in excessive deformation of the exposed surface layer of concrete and thus more damage of the microstructure for the exposure surface than for the interior of the concrete.