Abstract
Tunnel construction in Korea has significantly increased since 2002. This is due to Korean government’s eco-friendly strategy to reduce lengthy and inefficient roadways in mountain areas, and to provide direct access to highway networks in congested urban area. Tunnel construction can be largely divided into two major processes; tunneling or removing of earth, and making of concrete wall and slab. For any concrete road construction, curing concrete is highly encouraged as it helps concrete to reach desired maximum strength and durability. However, it is also a tedious and time-consuming process. This paper provides data that support an idea of eliminating the curing of inner portion of the concrete slab in tunnel when the construction is conducted during certain time of the year and at certain geographical locations. It is a well-known fact that curing, which is a process to slow down evaporation of moisture within concrete, depends on environmental factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. This paper provides comparative analyses of these environmental data obtained from both outside and inside of ten tunnels around various geographic locations of Korea. Based on these results, this paper suggests that curing is not required for concrete slab inside relatively long tunnels.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bakhshi, M., Mobasher, B., and Zenouzi, M. (2012). “Model for earlyage rate of evaporation of cement-based materials.” ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics, Vol. 138, No. 11, pp. 1372–1380, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943–7889.0000435.
Dalton, J. (1802). “Experimental essays on evaporation.” Proceedings, Manchester Lit. Philos. Soc., pp. 536–602.
Gebler, S. H. and Jones, C. L. (2001). Guide to curing concrete, American Concrete Institute.
Groth, L. D., Meyer, A. H., and Ledbetter, P. E. (1974). Effects of temperature, wind and humidity on selected curing media, Texas Transportation Institute, Texas Highway Department.
Hover, K. C. (2006). “Evaporation of water from concrete surfaces.” ACI Materials Journal, Vol. 103, No. 5, pp. 384–389, DOI: 10.1021/ acslangmuir.5b04445.
Kolyvas, C. (2007). Curing of concrete, MSc Thesis, Delft University of Technology.
Korean Expressway Corporation (2014). A study on optimization for cement concrete pavement tunnel considering environment, Korea.
Lerch, W. (1957). “Plastic shrinkage.” ACI Journal, Proceedings, Vol. 53, No. 8, pp. 797–802.
Menzel, C. A. (1954). “Causes and prevention of crack development in plastic concrete.” Proceedings, Portland Cement Association Annual Meeting, pp. 130–136.
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (1960). Plastic cracking of concrete, Engineering Information, NRMCA, Silver Spring, Md.
Neville, A. M. (1995). Properties of concrete, 4th Edition, Harlow, London.
Uno, P. J. (1998). “Plastic shrinkage cracking and evaporation formulas.” ACI Materials Journal, Vol. 95, No. 4, pp. 365–375, DOI: N/A
U.S. Department of Transportation (2015). Guide for curing portland cement concrete pavements, Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology Website (http://wwwfhwadotgov/publications/ research/infrastructure/pavements/pccp/05038/002cfm).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jabonero, C., Ryu, S.W., Park, J.Y. et al. The analyses of environmental factors for curing concrete pavements inside tunnels. KSCE J Civ Eng 21, 766–773 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-016-0524-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-016-0524-3