A maturity approach to estimate compressive strength development of CO2-cured concrete blocks.

An alternative CO 2 curing method for precast concrete products has been proposed in order to achieve rapid strength development at early age, as well as to capture and store greenhouse gas (CO 2 ). In this paper, an experimental study for the development of a maturity approach is presented to estimate the strength development of carbonated concrete blocks. In order to promote the use of industrial flue gas containing CO 2 , a flow-through CO 2 curing regime at ambient pressure and temperature was employed using different atmospheric conditions, such as various CO 2 concentrations, RH values and gas flow rates. The experimental results showed that the compressive strength or maturity of the carbonated concrete blocks was affected by two factors: accelerated cement hydration and carbonation extent. A high CO 2 concentration, a fast gas flow rate and a moderate relative humidity were essential for enhancing the maturity and the strength development. The developed model based on the maturity approach may accurately predict the strength development of the carbonated concrete blocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]