High Early Concrete

(High Early Concrete)

high early concrete is a type of high-performance concrete that attains compressive strength at the initial 24 hours after site-pouring. It is used in fast-track paving, precast concrete elements and concrete works in colder regions to facilitate the rapid pace of construction.

The early strength of a concrete is an important factor in its durability. It determines whether or not the structure can withstand long-term load requirements and environmental conditions. It also plays a key role in construction turnaround times, labour costs and overheads.

There are several steps that can be taken to increase the early strength of concrete. These include: using a higher cement content; using an accelerator such as calcium chloride; and/or a water-reducing admixture.

One study evaluated the effects of nano calcium silicate hydrate as an early strength agent on the early strength development of concrete. The results showed that the early strength of autoclave-free concrete (ESC) accelerated to 60% at 1 day.

However, the early strength of ESC declined with ages and was weaker than that of SC. This indicates that the accelerated effect of nano C-S-H was not enough to provide a large strength increment in early age.

The research also found that the accelerated effect of nano C-S-H in ESC declined after 24 h and was not sufficient to meet the demand for a large early strength increment. Therefore, the researchers proposed a new approach to accelerate early strength development of concrete. This method is based on the use of an early-strength agent that increases the hydration process in the first 24 hours, which increases strength development over time.

(High Early Concrete)