Effects of Steam Curing on the Resistance of Cementitious Materials to Chloride Penetration

The resistance to chloride penetration of cement-based material with different curing regimes was investigated by solution titration, XRD, LF-NMR and rapid chloride migration test. The results show that the curing regime has influences on the types and structure of the hydration products, which in turn affects their ability to bind chloride ions. The binding capacity of cementitious materials to chloride ions, porosity and chloride ion migration coefficient increased with the increase of water-cement ratio, while steam curing increased the porosity and chloride ion migration coefficient at the same time as it increased the chloride ion binding capacity of the materials. At lower water-cement ratios, the effect of steam curing on the resistance of cementitious materials to chloride ingress is negligible.