Internal curing is a practical way of supplying additional curing water throughout the concrete mixture thereby enhancing conventional surface curing. This is done by using water absorbed in the inclusions of prewetted ESCS lightweight aggregate that is drawn-out during the hydration process. This is commonly referred to as “curing concrete from the inside out.” Extensive research has shown that internal curing reduces autogenous shrinkage, drying shrinkage, plastic shrinkage and the cracking associated with all three. Research has also shown that internally cured concrete has lower restrained shrinkage cracking, reduced fluid absorption, improve compressive strength and reduced ion diffusion, all of which improves the concrete’s service life.
References
ACI Committees 213-308 R-13 (2013) (308-213)R-13 Report on Internally Cured Concrete Using Prewetted Absorptive Lightweight Aggregate. 12
ACI 231 R-10 (2010) 231R-10 Report on Early-Age Cracking: Causes, Measurement, and Mitigation. 46
Bella C Di, Villani C, Hausheer E, Weiss J (2012) Chloride Transport Measurements for a Plain and Internally Cured Concrete Mixture. ACI Spec Publ 290:1–16. doi: 10.14359/51684183
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Golias M, Weiss J, Bentz D (2013) Influence of Exposure Conditions on the Efficiency of Internal Curing in Concrete. Adv Civ Eng Mater 2:1–12. doi:10.1520/ACEM20120023
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