Investigation on the Internal Relative Humidity of Superabsorbent Polymer–Modified Concrete Exposed to Various Ambient Humidities at Early Age
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 35, Issue 4
Abstract
The drop in internal relative humidity (IRH) affects the early-age cracking risk of concrete. Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs), an internal curing material, are usually used to decrease the drop rate of IRH in concrete and the shrinkage-induced cracking risk of concrete. This study investigated the changes in IRH and distribution of IRH in SAP-modified concrete under sealed conditions and exposed to various ambient humidities. The test results showed that the use of SAPs and additional internal curing water can compensate for water consumption caused by self-desiccation and moisture diffusion (MD) and increase the IRH of concrete exposed to various ambient humidities. However, the degree to which SAPs mitigated the drop in IRH of concrete exposed to outside ambient decreased with increasing ambient humidity. The IRH of SAP-modified concrete increased, and the MD coefficient decreased nonlinearly with increasing ambient humidity. A model for predicting IRH of SAP-modified concrete exposed to various ambient humidities under the influence of self-desiccation and MD was proposed.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51879092) is gratefully acknowledged. The support of the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. B220203015) is also gratefully acknowledged.
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Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 35 • Issue 4 • April 2023
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Feb 14, 2022
Accepted: Aug 5, 2022
Published online: Jan 31, 2023
Published in print: Apr 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jun 30, 2023
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