Influence of casting delay on concrete compressive strength
Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn-36830, AL, USA
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This research aims to evaluate the effect of evaporation and casting delay (delaying in pouring concrete after mixing, up to 120 minutes) on the concrete compressive strength (CCS) after 7, 14, and 28 days. To examine this, Portland Composite Cement (PCC) and Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) were utilized with water-cement (w/c) ratios of 0.5 and 0.6. The CCS was assessed for four distinct casting delay durations (0, 30, 60, and 120 minutes) and for two conditions: with and without evaporation. A total of 288 cylinders (4”×8”) were made, and a CCS test was conducted. The test findings showed that, for a w/c of 0.6, using a casting delay of 120 minutes increased the CCS of specimens made with OPC cement by about 23%, 22.5%, and 2% at 28, 14, and 7 days, respectively, when evaporation was allowed. However, with a w/c of 0.5, it increased 28%, 42%, and 21% at 28, 14, and 7 days, respectively. The strength test results revealed increases of 18.9%, 36%, and 17.8% for 0.5 w/c when evaporation was prohibited. Specimens made with PCC (w/c of 0.5 and 0.6) showed opposite results, with strength decreasing with casting delay for both evaporation and non-evaporation conditions. At 0.6 w/c, the strength decreased by 6.4%, 6.2%, and 28.3% at 28, 14, and 7 days when evaporation was allowed, and the strength decreased by 5%, 2%, and 11.3% at 28, 14, and 7 days when evaporation was not allowed. Compared to OPC, the PCC exhibits a very slight increase in strength.
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