ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I bow my head in front of God Almighty for his boundless showers
of mercy towards me, in the perfect completion of this work. I bring forth this seminar
report with immense pleasure and gratitude.

I thank Dr. Z V Lakaparambil, Principal, Amal Jyothi College of Engineering

for the good will and encouragement extended to me.

I am also thankful to Prof. Sr. Claramma Rosary, Head of the Department of

Civil Engineering, for all kinds of help extended to me throughout the period of work.

I am grateful to our revered and learned, guide of the seminar, Ms. Grace Mary
Abraham, without whose guidance, and advice, it would not have been possible to
complete this work in this form. She has been prompt, sincere and deeply interested in
this work

Above all, my heart rises in gratitude to my parents and members of my family,

for the blessings and support that I have received throughout the days of this work,
before and after.

I thankfully remember all the faculty members and my friends who helped and
provided technical information, valuable suggestions and kind co-operation.

Thank you.

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 ABSTRACT

Internal curing is a topic that has been receiving a lot of attention in the concrete
industry recently. This seminar report includes concept of using several self-curing
agents to reduce water evaporation from concrete. A brief description of the mechanism
of internal curing are also included. The report also deals with the basic material
properties of Light Weight Aggregates, Wood Fiber, Polyethylene Glycol and their
mechanism in internal curing.There is also brief explanation on the methods of testing
by which internal curing can be measured is included.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Title
No.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT i

ABSTRACT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF TABLES vi

LIST OF FIGURES viii

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1

2.0 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL 2

CURING
3.0 MECHANISM OF INTERNAL CURING OF CONCRETE 3

4.0 CLASSIFICATION OF INTERNAL CURING BASED ON 5

METHODS ARE AVAILABLE

4.1 SATURATED LIGHTWEIGHT FINE AGGREGATES 5

4.1.2 MATERIALS AND PROPORTION 6

4.2 SUPER ABSORBENT POLYMERS 7

4.2.1 Background 7

4.2.2 Mechanism of swelling 7

4.3 POLYETHYLENE – GLYCOL 8

4.3.1 Mix Proportion Designations 9

4.3.2 Study On Mechanical Properties 9

4.4 SATURATED WOOD FIBERS 9

4.4.1 Materials 10

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5.0 CASE STUDY ON MATERIALS AS AN IC AGENT 11

5.1 SATURATED LIGHTWEIGHT FINE AGGREGATES 11

5.2 SUPER ABSORBENT POLYMERS 13

5.3 POLYETHYLENE – GLYCOL 14

6.0 EXPERIMENTAL TEST 16

6.1 MATERIALS 16

6.2 MIX DESIGN 17

6.3 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST 18

6.4 SPLIT TENSILE STRENGTH TEST 18

6.5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 19

7.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 20

8.0 CONCLUSION 21

REFERNCES 22

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 LIST OF TABLES

Tables Page No.

Table 4.1.1 Properties of Nature sand and LWFAs 6

Table 4.3.1 Properties of PEG (400) 9

Table 6.3.1 Test result for compressive strength 18

Table 6.3.2 Test results for split tensile strength 18

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figures Page No.

Fig 2.1 Illustration of difference between external and internal 2

curing

Fig 4.2.1 Schematic representation of SAP network in collapsed 7

and swollen state
Fig 4.2.2 Micrographs of SAP swelling process 8

Fig 4.3.1 Poly ethylene glycol 8

Fig 4.4.1 SEM micrographs of (a) TMP fibre and the products 11
of its chemical treatment; (b) holocellulose; (c) α-
cellulose; LEO 1530 thermally assisted field emission
scanning electron microscope.
Fig 6.1.1 Test setup for cube specimen 16

Fig 6.1.2 Test results for compressive strength 16

Fig 6.1.3 Chart for compressive strength 17

Fig 6.1.4 Test results for split tensile strength 17

Fig 6.1.5 Chart for split tensile strength 19

Fig 6.2.1 Compressive strength result for M60 20

Fig 6.2.2 Compressive strength result for M70 20

Fig 6.2.3 Split tensile strength result for M60 20

Fig 6.2.4 Split tensile strength result for M60 21

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