Possibility of Usage of Seawater for Mixing and Curing of Concrete in Salty Water Localities | ....

The goal of this study is to see if seawater can be used instead of freshwater in concrete mixing and curing in saltwater-prone areas. The study was prompted by a lack of freshwater in some parts of the world, particularly along coastlines where seawater is the sole source of water.

Seawater was gathered from a tourist beach in Port Harcourt, River State, Nigeria, and was used to mix and cure a set of concrete cubes (CSW). Freshwater from our Civil Engineering lab was utilised to mix and cure a control batch of concrete cubes (CFW). The maximum number of days to cure was 28.

Methodology: 150x150x150mm3 concrete cubes were made and cured with sea and freshwater, respectively. Compression Testing Machine was used to determine the compressive strength of such cubes. The sole variable tested was the water used in the concrete cubes' mixing and curing. The concrete's other components, such as cement, fine aggregate, and coarse aggregate, were kept the same.

The compressive strengths of concrete cubes combined and cured with seawater were found to be within permissible limits and slightly greater than those of cubes mixed and cured with fresh water at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. At the 28th day of curing, the difference in compressive strength between CSW and CFW was just 1.45 percent. As a result, the compressive strength was unaffected by the presence of seawater.

Conclusion: Given the small difference in compressive strength between the CSW and CFW at the 28th day of curing, it is suggested that saltwater be used for concrete mixing and curing in places where freshwater is unavailable, as long as the concrete is maintained essentially dry to avoid corrosion. Furthermore, while developing concrete structures, higher concrete covers can be given. Meanwhile, to improve the ingress resistance of concrete structures, careful and suitable design, well-supervised construction, and curing should be ensured. The long-term effects of seawater on the characteristics of concrete and reinforcements, on the other hand, have not been studied.

Please see the link :- https://www.journaljerr.com/index.php/JERR/article/view/17234