Self-Curing Concrete under Sulfate Attack

Self-curing concrete SC is a concrete type that can be cured without using any external curing regimes. It can perform by several methods such as using lightweight aggregate or chemical agents. In this research chemical curing agent is used to produce SC. This paper reports the results of a research study conducted to evaluate the effect of sulfates on the performance of self-curing concrete compared to ordinary concrete. Samples are immersed in sodium sulfate Na²SO⁴solution of 4% concentration. Results are measured in terms of compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength and mass loss. It was found that the rate of strength loss is noticed at ordinary concrete compared to SC concrete. Sulfate resistance is improved when using self-curing concrete. This improvement appears to be dependent on using a chemical curing agent.