Evaluation of curing time for micro concrete mixes containing silica fume, nano-silica and fly ash

Within the scope of the study, research on the use of silica fume (SF), nano silica (NS) and fly ash (FA) together or separately in the production of micro concrete is presented. It is aimed to examine the changes in mechanical properties because of water and air curing in mixtures produced using SF, FA, and NS. While cement dosage and water/binder ratio in the mixtures were chosen as 670 kg/m3 and 0.53 respectively, the amount of SF, FA and NS was limited to 150 kg/m3 in total. In the study, samples were produced using 40x40x160 mm prism molds. All samples were divided into two different groups after 7 days of water curing and water (1st group) and air (2nd group) were applied up to 56 days. Flexural and compressive strength tests were performed on the water and air cured specimens for 7-56 days and 28-56 days, respectively. In addition, the porosity and unit volume weight values of the samples were examined. The results show that both flexural and compressive strengths of micro concretes increased after 28 days thanks to water curing.