Dear All
I request your opinion on whether self curing should be used for Coconut Shell Concrete with partial replacement of Course Aggregate with coconut shell.
Regards
Life John
Dear Life John,
The question is interesting. I would like to discuss it with the following way.
When the W/C ratio in concrete is very low i.e., cement content is very high and mineral admixtures such as fly ash, silica fume are present in the system (happens generally in case of HPC), the mineral admixtures react completely in the system and the demand for curing water increases rapidly. In such situation, if sufficient water is not available, early age cracking happens because of chemical shrinkage. Often in such situation, external curing water may not be sufficient to meet the rate of water required to satisfy the chemical shrinkage. This is because low density concrete generally provides very low permeability. 'Self curing' is often prescribed in such situation.
Since, coconut shells are generally used for lightweight, low strength and high W/C concrete, I think 'self curing' may not be required for such concrete.
- Badges
- Science topic