Title: Influence of Curing Methods on Moisture Loss and Drying Shrinkage of Shotcrete at Early Age
Author(s): Bruce Menu, Thomas Jacob-Vaillancourt, Marc Jolin, and Benoit Bissonnette
Publication: Materials Journal
Volume: 117
Issue: 4
Appears on pages(s): 95-103
Keywords: cracking; curing; drying; evaporation; moisture loss; shotcrete; shrinkage; surface protection
Date: 7/1/2020
Abstract:
The experimental program reported in this paper sought to evaluate the efficiency of a range of curing methods in view of minimizing the evaporation rate at the surface of freshly placed shotcrete and preventing the detrimental consequences of early-age shrinkage. CSA A23.1-14 states that severe drying conditions should be considered to exist when the surface moisture evaporation rate exceeds 0.50 kg/m2/h (0.1 lb/ft2/h). In fact, the environmental conditions that lead to such evaporation rates are regularly
experienced on construction sites, requiring that adequate protection of the concrete surface be carried out in a timely manner after placement. This research effort is aimed at quantifying the influence of selected curing methods upon the early-age moisture loss and the resulting shrinkage. The results show that early-age volume change of freshly sprayed shotcrete can be significantly reduced by adequate surface protection. Among the investigated methods, moist curing is found to be the most effective.