Effect of different curing regimes and durations on early strength development of reactive powder concrete

•Efficiency of various curing regimes have been compared.•Curing temperature has significant effect on strength development.•Ultra high strength is achieved under combined curing regime.•Formation of strength enhancing compounds is discerned with SEM and XRD.

The early strength development of Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) has been investigated under different curing regimes and compared with standard water curing condition. Four different curing regimes have been considered: ambient air curing, hot air curing, hot water bath curing and accelerated curing. The effect of hot air curing on strength development of RPC at different temperatures and durations are studied in detail. The present study is focused on the effect of combined curing regimes on the early strength development of RPC. Test results indicate that, among the four different curing regimes, hot water bath curing gives higher strength. The combined curing regime has considerably enhanced the compressive strength of RPC by about 63% as is evident by the rise in compressive strength from 110 MPa (standard curing) to 180 MPa (combined curing). Microstructure studies were also conducted to understand the arrangements of hydrated particles and development of other secondary hydrated products under different curing conditions using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy respectively.