Compressive Strength of Uncured Concrete Cylinders Fully Wrapped with Post-Tensioned Metal Straps.

During a national lockdown and curfew, most concrete projects are left without curing; therefore, the building elements need to be strengthened. An effective strengthening method is the use of post-tensioned metal strip (PTMS), which is a relatively new method. In this study, the effectiveness of PTMS in strengthening cylindrical samples without curing was tested. Fifteen cylinders were cast, 12 of which were left without curing for 28 days. Three samples that did not undergo strengthening were used as control samples. The remaining specimens were strengthened using one, two, three, and 5 layers of PTMS. To compare the strengths of the cylinders, three cylinders from the same batch were prepared and cured for 28 days. We found that the compressive strength of the cylinders increased by 39%, 57%, 84%, and 125% when the samples were strengthened using one, two, three, and full layers of PTMS, respectively. Additionally, the failure of the cylinders became ductile as the number of layers increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]