Effect of Wet Curing Duration on Long-Term Performance of Concrete in Tidal Zone of Marine Environment

A proper initial curing is a very simple and inexpensive alternative to improve concrete cover quality and accordingly extend the service life of reinforced concrete structures exposed to aggressive species. A current study investigates the effect of wet curing duration on chloride penetration in plain and blended cement concretes which subjected to tidal exposure condition in south of Iran for 5 years. The results show that wet curing extension preserves concrete against high rate of chloride penetration at early ages and decreases the difference between initial and long-term diffusion coefficients due to improvement of concrete cover quality. But, as the length of exposure period to marine environment increased the effects of initial wet curing became less pronounced. Furthermore, a relationship is developed between wet curing time and diffusion coefficient at early ages and the effect of curing length on time-to-corrosion initiation of concrete is addressed.