Laboratory and field evaluation of concrete paving curing effectiveness.

685146223Technical report; Sept. 2003-Aug. 2006.PDFTech ReportFHWA/TX-10/0-5106-3Project 0-5106Concrete curingEvaluationLaboratory testsField testsTexasTexas Transportation InstituteYe, DanMukhopadhyay, AnalZollinger, Dan G.Texas Transportation InstituteTexas. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Technology Implementation OfficeNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-MaterialsNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Pavement Management and PerformanceUS Transportation CollectionEnsuring that sufficient water is available in hydrating concrete is of great importance to produce durableconcrete and achieve both short- and long-term performance of concrete pavement. Excessive early-ageevaporation from the surface of concrete pavement often results in high porosity delaminated and lowstrength concrete. Application of curing compounds in concrete paving is widely used to minimizeevaporation. However, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) standard specifications forpavement construction (Item 526) only defines the use of the membrane curing in terms of keycharacteristics such as percent solids, density, viscosity, color, and the application rate, but does not specifycuring performance or limits on the rate of evaporation.This research utilized several techniques to evaluate curing effectiveness from both a moisture retention andphysical properties standpoint, to develop a laboratory-based curing evaluation protocol that has applicationto the field.A series of tests were carried out to identify factors controlling curing quality under field conditions