Effect of Curing Methods on Density and Compressive Strength of Concrete
Akeem Ayinde Raheem, Aliu Adebayo Soyingbe, Amaka John Emenike

Abstract
This study considered the effect of different methods of curing on density and compressive strength of concrete. Concrete cube specimens of mix 1:2:4 were prepared with water-cement ratio of 0.65. The cubes were cured using six methods (air curing, water-submerged curing, spray curing, polythene curing, moist sand curing and burlap curing) until testing ages of 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days when their densities and compressive strengths were determined. The results showed that densities of the specimens ranged from 2432.59 to 2502.72 Kg/m3. Also, moist sand curing method produced concrete specimens with the highest 28-day compressive strength of 30.5N/mm2 followed by the burlap curing method with a value of 24.4N/mm2. Air curing method showed a 15% reduction in strength after 21-days thereby resulting in the lowest 28-day compressive strength of 17.8 N/mm2. It was concluded that there exists a weak positive correlation between density and compressive strength of concrete specimens.
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