Environmentally Sustainable Concrete Curing with Coloured Polythene Sheets

Sustainability is imperative to the welfare and continual growth of society. Concrete is one of the most widely used sustainable construction material. It is persistently undergoing contemporary developments due to its versatility. Presently, sustainability in concrete is being achieved by several techniques including partial replacement of cement with supplementary cementitious materials like fly ash. These high-volume fly ash mixtures incite meticulous study of curing method followed. It would be also be of substantial significance to seek for an environmentally sustainable curing method that works equally well for conventional concrete mixtures and fly ash mixtures. The present study addresses curing of concrete with coloured polythene sheets. The coloured polythene sheets reflect/absorb/transmit solar radiation to concrete members in a definite fraction depending upon their thickness and optical properties. The vital objective of present study lies in identifying a curing method that supplies optimum amount of solar radiation to a concrete member for desired compressive strength development.