The Effect of Curing Conditions (In Situ vs. Laboratory) on Compressive Strength Development of High Strength Concrete

During the construction of the bridge near Štrba village, concrete was needed to achieve the cube strength of 35 N/mm2 after 48 hours to allow the prestressing works. However, the question remained how to practically verify the real strength achieved in the structure after such a short time. Whereas the specimens were cured in accordance with valid standards at 20 °C in water, it was doubtful whether the real strength of the concrete structure, which is hardening at ambient temperatures around 2 °C, corresponds to these measured strengths. It was questionable how to cure the specimens to get as close to the real strengths as possible.