• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.229-238
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• 2014

Typical high-performance concrete (HPC) mixtures are characterized by low water-cementitious material ratios, high cement contents, and the incorporation of admixtures. In spite of its superior properties in the hardened state, HPC suffers from many practical difficulties such as its sensitivity to early-age cracking (which is associated with self-desiccation and autogenous shrinkage). In this context, conventional curing procedures are not sufficiently effective to address these limitations. In order to overcome this issue, two strategies,which are based on the use of internal reservoirs of water, have been recently developed.One of these strategies is based on the use of lightweight aggregates (LWA), while the other is based on the use of superabsorbent polymers (SAP). This paper studies and compares the efficiency of the LWA and SAP approaches.Moreover, some of the theoretical aspects that should be taken into account to optimize their application for internal curing of HPC are also discussed. Two fine LWA's and one SAP are studied in terms of autogenous deformation and compressive strength. Increasing the amounts of LWAor SAP can lead to a reduction of the autogenous deformation and compressive strength (especially when adding large amounts). By selecting appropriate materials and controlling their amount, size, and porosity, highly efficient internal water curing can be ensured.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.309-324
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• 2024

Internal curing, a widely used method for mitigating early-age shrinkage in concrete, also offers notable advantages for concrete durability. This paper explores the potential of internal curing by partial replacement of sand with fine lightweight aggregate for enhancing the behavior of high-performance concrete at elevated temperatures. Such a technique may prove economical and safe for the construction of skyscrapers, where explosive spalling of high-performance concrete in fire is a potential hazard. To reach this aim, the physico-mechanical features of internally cured high-strength concrete specimens, including mass loss, compressive strength, strain at peak stress, modulus of elasticity, stress-strain curve, toughness, and flexural strength, were investigated under different temperature exposures; and to predict some of these mechanical properties, a number of equations were proposed. Based on the experimental results, an advanced stress-strain model was proposed for internally cured high-performance concrete at different temperature levels, the results of which agreed well with the test data. It was observed that the replacement of 10% of sand with pre-wetted fine lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA) not only did not reduce the compressive strength at ambient temperature, but also prevented explosive spalling and could retain 20% of its ambient compressive strength after heating up to 800℃. It was then concluded that internal curing is an excellent method to enhance the performance of high-strength concrete at elevated temperatures.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.50-59
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• 2020

Superabsorbent Polymer (SAP) expands inside concrete by absorbing water and contracts as it discharges water. Through this process, concrete can achieve the internal curing effect, but the space occupied by the expanded SAP remains as a void. In this study, the effects of SAP internal curing and voids were evaluated by evaluating the fundamental properties and chloride penetration resistance of SAP mixed concrete. Also, to evaluate the internal curing effect by SAP, the tests were carried out under water and sealed curing conditions, respectively. From the result, the compressive strength of water curing did not differ significantly according to the mixing ratio of SAP. In the case of sealed curing, however, the compressive strength tended to increase as the mixing ratio of SAP increased. The internal curing effect of sealed curing was considered to have influenced the increase in compressive strength. In the case of the chloride diffusion coefficient, the diffusion coefficient tended to decrease as the mixing ratio of SAP increased. In particular, as the sealed curing is applied, the chloride penetration resistance is further improved due to internal curing effect. If the curing conditions are different, it is considered inappropriate to estimate the chloride penetration resistance by the surface electrical resistivity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2022.04a
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• pp.140-141
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• 2022

CFD analysis was performed to analyze the temperature distribution of the inner space of the curing house according to blocking the opening of the gang-form with a tent in case of concrete pouring and heat curing of the apartment house during the winter season. If the gang-form opening is closed with a tent during internal heating using a hot air blower in the winter, the internal temperature rises compared to the non-reserved due to air-tightness of the curing spaces, and uniform temperature distribution can be ensured. In addition, it is possible to increase curing efficiency by reducing the amount of heat supplied and shortening the heating time.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.63-70
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• 2017

When industrial by-products like slag and fly ash are using in concrete with cement, it improves strength and durability against external deterioration factors by densifying the structure through potential hydraulic and pozzolanic reaction. But it has been pointed out that high dependence on the quality variation and the curing condition using a admixure material for concrete. In this study, the characteristics of internal micropore structure according to curing condition were analyzed for pastes and mortar specimens under using blast furnace slag powder. As a result, the variation of compressive strength and the internal microstructure were observed according to curing conditions by binder type. Particularly, using blast furnace slag powder, decrease in compressive strength were clearly observed in indoor and carbonation curing compared with water curing. The pore structure analysis also clearly observed the decrease of the gel pore existing in the CSH hydrate layer and the increase of the capillary pore in indoor and carbonation curing compared with water curing condition.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.86-94
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• 2020

When the Superabsorbent Polymer (SAP) is added into concrete, the slump decreases rapidly, deteriorating the workability, the internal curing effect can be obtained through the water absorption and discharge process, and the internal voids of the concrete are increased. In this study, the effects of internal curing and voids were evaluated by evaluating the compressive strength, freeze-thaw resistance, and chloride penetration resistance of SAP-adding concrete that secured workability using a water reducing agent. Also, the internal curing effect of SAP was evaluated by dividing the curing conditions of concrete into water curing and sealed curing. From the result, as the SAP adding ratio increased, the amount of water reducing agent increased, and as for the compressive strength, the SAP adding ratio of 1.5% showed the greatest compressive strength. In particular, in the case of sealed curing showed higher compressive strength than the water curing. It is considered that the compressive strength increased due to the reduction of the effective water-cement ratio and the internal curing effect. Adding 1.0~1.5% of SAP improved the freeze-thaw resistance similar to the case of adding the AE agent, and the addition of more than 1.0% of SAP improved the chloride penetration resistance. The optimal adding ratio of SAP is 1.5%, and the adding ratio of 2.0% or more adversely affects the compressive strength and freeze-thaw resistance.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.3173-3177
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• 2007

Recently, we have many problems on the process of the sludge. In past, the sewage sludge was treated by reclaimed land or thrown away in the sea. But these methods caused environmental pollution. Today, many researchers are studying various methods for reducing its volume. One of these method, this study is to reduce the moisture of sewage sludge and to solidify it using a dryer and curing equipment. In this research, we investigated about design parameter and operation condition of the equipment. The curing equipment reduces the percentage of water content from 30% of dryer to 10%. So, we have to study the curing characteristics and performance of curing equipment. For example, there are internal flow characteristics and change of the percentage of water content. And we investigated the change of data at outlet along the initial condition, temperature, humidity and air flow. Using this data, we achieve the experimental results of curing efficiency by each geometry and operating condition. And we also investigated numerical analysis of internal flow using CFD code. This research is basic study for optimal design of the curing equipment.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.87-93
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• 2018

The use of high-strength concrete in construction have been increasing steadily. However, high-strength concrete has a low water-binder ratio, and the problems such as cracks due to hydration heat and shrinkage during the hydration process at the early age. Recently, as a method to reduce the shrinkage of concrete, study of internal curing has carried out according to increasing about interest about it. In this study, the effect of compressive strength on the curing condition(drying, moist, water) was investigated by using artificial lightweight aggregate(LWA) in high strength and high volume mortar. As a result of autogenous shrinkage, the effect of shrinkage reduction was enhanced depending on the increasing of LWA replacement. According to the curing condition, the results of compressive strength showed the different trend. The compressive strength has increased on the drying and moisture condition and decreased on the water condition.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2022.11a
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• pp.175-176
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• 2022

By studying the characteristics of matrix insulated through heat generated through oxidation of iron powder, the basic research results on the possibility of buffering and applicability of Cold weather concrete as a curing method are presented. In order to prevent freezing due to a sharp decrease in temperature in the initial stage of curing, iron powder (Fe), powder activated carbon, which is a small amount of porous carbonaceous adsorbent, and salt (NaCl) as an oxidizing agent are replaced with iron powder admixture. As the curing temperature increases, the strength tends to increase, and when replacing the admixture at the same curing temperature, the strength slightly decreases. This is determined as a result of generating iron oxide through an oxidation reaction of iron powder, activated carbon, and NaCl generating a large amount of pores in the matrix. In addition, the internal temperature tends to increase as the mixing substitution rate increases, and it is judged that the oxidation heat of the iron powder mixture affects the increase of the internal temperature during curing. The higher the replacement rate of the iron powder mixture, the slightly lower the strength, but it is determined that freezing and melting that may occur in the early stage of curing can be prevented due to an increase in the initial internal temperature.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.339-345
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• 2018

We investigated the curing properties of cured coatings for a multi-focal UV-LED. The coatings are for LEDs that operate at multiple UV wavelengths, unlike conventional single-wavelength UV-LEDs. Using UV-LED light sources with wavelengths of 365, 395, 420, and 450 nm, we analyzed the optical characteristics such as the direction of light flux and light source. We also analyzed the curing characteristics at each UV-LED wavelength to optimize the LED for composite wavelengths. The curing performance state was predicted through computer simulation for when the multiple wavelengths of UV light sources are superimposed, and then actual LEDs were designed and fabricated. To improve the internal high-speed curing, a multi-spot module was fabricated, in which each LED is condensed, and multiple wavelengths are synthesized and condensed at the same position. The adhesive strength, surface hardness, and internal hardness of the curing agent were tested by varying the wavelength combination conditions. The surface hardening and internal hardening were compared and analyzed using a hardness tester and FT-IR analyzer. As a result, the characteristics of the surface and internal hardness were improved by a multi-spot method in which four wavelengths were overlapped in a UV-LED rather than a single wavelength.