Impact of curing time on the compressive strength of self-compacting concrete with high fly ash content

Abstract

This paper presents the experimental findings on the influence of curing duration on the compressive strength of self-compacting concrete (SCC) with a high proportion of fly ash. The SCC mixtures examined had fly ash content ratios of 0%, 50%, and 60% by volume of powder. The concrete samples were subjected to water immersion curing for periods of 28 and 90 days. The experimental data revealed that prolonging the curing duration positively impacted the compressive strength of SCC with high fly ash content at later stages. Specifically, when the water immersion curing period was extended from 28 to 90 days, the compressive strength values at 90 days of the mixtures with 50% and 60% fly ash content increased 3.7% and 8.7%, respectively. Conversely, for the samples without fly ash, extending the curing period from 28 to 90 days resulted in a negligible increase in terms of compressive strength, approximately 0.99%.

Keywords: Self-compacting concrete; fly ash; curing time; workability; compressive strength of concrete.