Influence of curing temperature on the mechanical properties of high-performance concrete

Abstract

As part of the research focused on high-performance concrete (HPC) at our workplace, the impact of temperature curing on compression strength of HPC has been investigated. Four sets of samples (100 x 100 x 100 mm cubes, 30 samples in each set) were produced with the same mix design. Each set was cured with a different temperature: 20°C (reference samples), 50°C and 80°C (high and very high temperature curing) and 10°C (simulation of concreting in winter conditions). The curing was always carried out in a water bath with a given temperature during the whole time of maturing of the samples. Samples were tested in 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 days of age. In each time step, three cubes were tested for compression strength and three cubes for tensile splitting strength. The results of the primary research are the time records of the increase of both strengths.