Use of Super Absorbing Polymers (SAP) for Internal Curing of Road Pavement

Abstract

During the hydration process, the conventional concrete with low w/c ratio experiences a considerable amount autogenously shrinkage deformation lead to an early age cracks and these premature cracks severely reduce the durability of a concrete. External water curing is one of the most conventional and well known applied curing methods to mitigate the autogenously shrinkage however once the capillary pores DE percolate, it will be more difficult to provide adequate external water for curing. Internal curing has proved as an effective method for mitigating the early age chemical shrinkage for the reason that they gradually released the absorbed water and maximize the hydration process. The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of internal curing as a complement to traditional curing in conventional concrete. Internal curing was achieved by super absorbent polymer (SAP) and the experimental parameter was percentage of  SAP substitution to regular sand. Experimental results revealed that internal curing water provide by the SAP, effectively reduce the early-age chemical shrinkage and significantly increase the compressive strength of concrete. It has been also found that incorporation of SAP beyond 45% lead to a decrease in the gain of compressive strength.