Why you need Insulated Concrete Curing Blankets
Frosts, abrupt drops in ambient temperatures, and prolonged periods of cold weather is common in our winter seasons. As a contractor you are forced to maximise your work-year due to more competition, lower profit margins and pressure to complete jobs early. To do this you must cope with the cold weather effects on curing of your freshly poured concrete job. Following are some of the cold weather challenges that you can overcome by using our insulated concrete blankets
To Shorten Concrete Curing (Setting) Time
Setting or curing of concrete is a chemical process and as in many chemical reactions the rate is temperature dependent. The lower the temperature, the slower is the process of setting of concrete. Even relatively mild cold weather can slow concrete curing. At 23°C you might be might be able to safely strip the formwork from concrete job in 4 days. But when temperature reduces down to 10°C, the same concrete job may take 8 days to reach a strength level that allows you to strip the formwork. The curing time would be much longer for temperatures below10°C. Following graphs show setting time of concrete at different temperatures for two mixes of concrete.
This data is based on results of a research published by Portland Cement Association. Ratios of concrete mix-A and mix-B are detailed in the publication. Please click here for the publication.
Please click to download publication
Longer curing time will force you to keep the formwork for a longer time and this slows down the progress of work and will delay the job. As a result, you may have to purchase additional formwork to reduce the delays to progress of your concrete work. Fortunately, there is a simple solution for this problem. You can use Fleximake insulated concrete curing blankets. Concrete curing process is an exothermic hydration reaction that generates heat. Our insulated concrete blankets help retain this heat and maintain a desirable temperature.
To Prevent Freezing of Your Concrete Job
At temperatures around above 0°C the curing of freshly poured concrete is very slow and there is the added danger of freezing the water in the concrete. If some of the water in the concrete freezes, the curing process might virtually stop. These interruptions to the hydration process could increase the porosity of the concrete and reduce the compression strength and stability of the concrete. In some cases, only the water near surface of the concrete freezes if ambient temperature drops below 0°C. But the temperature in the core of the concrete stays above freezing point due to heat generated in the hydration process. This difference causes high pressures in the concrete, which is no longer plastic and will result in scaling or spalling. This effect will be severe if concrete suffers several freezing and thawing cycles due to fluctuation in ambient temperatures. Our insulated concrete curing blankets are ideal to prevent freezing of your freshly poured concrete.
To Prevent Freezing of Grounds and Formwork (Prior to Pouring Concrete)
Concrete suppliers recommend that concrete should not be poured on frozen ground, or on to reinforcing steel or formwork which has a temperature near freezing point. You can use our insulated thermal blanket to keep these areas covered in preparation of pouring concrete to help avoid frozen grounds or near freezing point structures. If formwork areas are covered overnight, frosts will not delay pouring of the concrete in the following morning.
To Smoothen Undesirable Temperature Fluctuations
Rapid temperature changes in the freshly poured concrete can result in shrinkage, cracking, reduce in strength and durability. Some cases, extreme fluctuations in ambient temperatures during curing can negatively affect the properties of the concrete. Fleximake insulated concrete blankets can help smoothening these undesirable temperature fluctuations.
