The American Concrete Institute (ACI) has released a paper called Effects of Surface Preparation and Curing on Joint Performance: A Preliminary Study.
Shreyas Panduranga Setty and David Trejo wrote the paper. The experiment assessed the influence of surface preparation and curing conditions on the shear strength and the rate of chloride transport into construction joints prepared with three surface characteristics and three curing conditions.
Results showed: “surface preparation had no statistically significant influence on shear strength but did have a statistically significant influence on the rate of chloride transport into the joint.”
Additional findings indicated: “the curing regime can significantly influence joint shear strength and chloride transport rates into the joint.”
ACI defines a construction joint as the interface between concrete placements created to facilitate construction which is present in most structure types.
According to ACI: “Some State Highway Agencies require these joints be cured and prepared. In some cases, this preparation and curing of joints results in significant costs.”
