The Experimental Study of Effect of Three Different Curing Methods on the Compressive Strength of Concrete

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of three curing methods — sprinkling, wet cloth covering with periodic spraying, and full water immersion — on the early-age (7-day) compressive strength of M25 grade concrete. Nine standard 150 mm × 300 mm cylindrical specimens were cast in three sub-batches due to mixer capacity limitations, divided into three curing groups of three specimens each, and tested for compressive strength at 7 days using a Universal Testing Machine, following GB/T 50081-2019. Sprinkling produced the highest average strength (18.98 MPa), narrowly ahead of full water immersion (18.52 MPa), while wet cloth covering produced the lowest average strength (16.62 MPa). Considerable within-group variability was observed in the immersion and wet cloth groups, which is discussed in relation to a mixing irregularity documented during batching. These early findings suggest that, under the practical laboratory conditions of this study, sprinkling and immersion performed comparably well, while wet cloth covering underperformed both — a partial departure from prior literature, which generally favors immersion above sprinkling. Given the early testing age and the observed batching irregularity, further testing at later curing ages under more tightly controlled batching conditions is recommended to confirm these trends.

Keywords: Concrete; Curing Methods; Compressive Strength; M25 Grade Concrete; Universal Testing Machine

Are you the author? Sign in to My NRF to share this abstract.