NISTIR 7765

Internal Curing: A 2010 State-of-theArt Review

Dale P. Bentz

W. Jason Weiss

 

NISTIR 7765

Internal Curing: A 2010 State-of-theArt Review

Dale P. Bentz

Materials and Construction Research Division

Engineering Laboratory

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-7313

W. Jason Weiss

School of Civil Engineering

Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN 47907

February 2011

U.S. Department of Commerce

Gary Locke, Secretary

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Patrick D. Gallagher, Director

iii

Abstract

The American Concrete Institute in 2010 defined internal curing as “supplying water 

throughout a freshly placed cementitious mixture using reservoirs, via pre-wetted lightweight 

aggregates, that readily release water as needed for hydration or to replace moisture lost through 

evaporation or self-desiccation” (American Concrete Institute, 2010). While internal curing has 

been inadvertently included in many lightweight concretes produced within the past 100 years, it 

is only within the first decade of the 21st century that this technology has been intentionally 

incorporated into concrete mixtures at the proportioning stage, using a variety of materials 

including pre-wetted lightweight aggregates, pre-wetted crushed returned concrete fines, 

superabsorbent polymers, and pre-wetted wood fibers. This report provides a state-of-the-art 

review of the subject of internal curing, first addressing its history and theory, and then 

proceeding to summarize published guidance on implementing internal curing in practice and 

published research on its influence on the performance properties of concrete. The ongoing 

exploration of extensions of the internal curing concept that employ the internal reservoirs to 

contain materials other than water are reviewed. Finally, the critical issue of sustainability is 

addressed. An extensive internal curing bibliography that is also available over the Internet is 

included in an appendix. The report is mainly focused on the utilization of pre-wetted 

lightweight aggregates as the internal reservoirs due to this being the current established practice 

within the U.S.
iv
v

Table of Contents

Abstract........................................................................................................................................................ iii

List of Figures............................................................................................................................................... vi

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................ ix

1 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................................1

2 Internal Curing in the Past .........................................................................................................................2

3 Internal Curing in Theory ...........................................................................................................................4

4 Internal Curing in Practice: Proportioning .................................................................................................7

4.1 Mixture Proportioning with Internal Curing .......................................................................................7

4.2 LWA Characterization for Internal Curing.........................................................................................12

4.3 LWA Spatial Distribution for Internal Curing ....................................................................................18

5 Internal Curing in Present Practice: Lab Studies......................................................................................21

5.1 Plastic Shrinkage ...............................................................................................................................21

5.2 Autogenous Deformation and Internal Relative Humidity ...............................................................23

5.3 Drying Shrinkage ...............................................................................................................................27

5.4 Degree of Hydration and Isothermal Calorimetry ............................................................................29

5.5 Strength and Elastic Modulus...........................................................................................................31

5.6 Creep.................................................................................................................................................37

5.7 Curling and Warping .........................................................................................................................37

5.8 Microstructure ..................................................................................................................................38

5.9 Restrained Shrinkage and Thermal Cracking ....................................................................................42

5.10 Transport Coefficients and Service Life ..........................................................................................44

5.11 Freeze/Thaw Degradation ..............................................................................................................50

5.12 Alkali-Silica Reaction .......................................................................................................................50

6 Internal Curing in Production: Ready-Mix Operations.............................................................................52

7 Internal Curing in Present Practice: Field Experiences ............................................................................53

8 Internal Curing in the Future....................................................................................................................58

8.1 Crushed Returned Concrete Fine Aggregates (CCA) for Internal Curing ..........................................58

8.2 LWA as Reservoirs for Admixtures and Phase Change Materials.....................................................62

9 Internal Curing in Perspective..................................................................................................................64

10 Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................65

11 References .............................................................................................................................................66

Appendix A – Internal Curing Bibliography.................................................................................................73
vi

List of Figures

Figure 1: Illustration of the difference between external and internal curing. The water-filled inclusions 

should be distributed uniformly and spaced close enough to provide coverage for the entire paste system. 

(Castro, De la Varga, Golias, & Weiss, 2010)..............................................................................................3

Figure 2. Relationship between relative humidity and the radius of emptying pores according to equations 

(2) and (4). ....................................................................................................................................................5

Figure 3. An illustration of chemical and autogenous shrinkage in a paste with w/c=0.30 during the first 7 

d of hydration at 23 °C (Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009). ................................................8

Figure 4. Mixture proportioning nomograph in SI units.............................................................................10

Figure 5. Mixture proportioning nomograph in English units. ...................................................................11

Figure 6. Illustration of potential for undercuring with internal curing. Blue indicates water-filled pores 

within the internal curing reservoir or hydrating cement paste, while grey indicates empty pores............12

Figure 7. Typical time-dependent water absorption of LWA (Castro, Keiser, Golias, & Weiss, 2011). ...13

Figure 8. An illustration of desirable and undesirable aggregate desorption behavior (Castro, 2011).......15

Figure 9. Left: Three-dimensional color-coded image of original data set subtracted from that obtained 

after 1 day of hydration. Aqua-colored globules indicate regions where LWA particles have lost water to 

the surrounding cement paste. The 3-D volume is 4.6 mm x 4.6 mm x 4.7 mm. Right: Two-dimensional 

image (4.6 mm x 4.6 mm) of a portion of the original mortar microstructure with the locations of the 

evacuated water (in aqua) superimposed to provide further verification of the water movement from the 

LWA into the surrounding cement paste (Bentz, Halleck, Grader, & Roberts, 2006)................................16

Figure 10. Comparison of measured chemical shrinkage volume fraction to scaled emptied LWA pore

volume fraction vs. time (Bentz, Halleck, Grader, & Roberts, 2006a).......................................................16

Figure 11. An example of neutron tomography to assess water movement between lightweight aggregate 

and cement paste during internal curing (Trtik, et al., 2011). Cement paste specimen is 6 mm by 13 mm. 

The two indicated times in the lower right corner of each frame correspond to the times that were 

subtracted to create the shown image. ........................................................................................................17

Figure 12. Example two-dimensional image (3 cm x 3 cm) from internal curing simulation (Bentz, Lura, 

& Roberts, 2005).........................................................................................................................................19

Figure 13. Volume of protected paste in concrete where 30 % of the aggregate by volume is replaced with 

different coarse aggregate or sand with different fineness modulus values (Henkensiefken, Nantung, & 

Weiss, 2009). ..............................................................................................................................................20

Figure 14. Probability distribution of crack width occurrences in concrete with different replacement 

volumes of pre-wetted LWA as indicated in the legend (Henkensiefken, Briatka, Bentz, Nantung, & 

Weiss, 2010). ..............................................................................................................................................22

Figure 15. A conceptual illustration of the role of water-filled lightweight aggregate at the surface of a 

concrete exposed to drying immediately after placement (Henkensiefken, Briatka, Bentz, Nantung, & 

Weiss, 2010). ..............................................................................................................................................22

Figure 16. Internal relative humidity (left) and autogenous deformation measurements (right) on silica 

fume blended cement mortars with and without internal curing (Geiker, Bentz, & Jensen, 2004). ...........24
vii

Figure 17. Internal relative humidity (top) and autogenous deformation measurements (bottom) on 

w/c=0.3 cement mortars with various levels of pre-wetted LWA replacement to provide internal curing 

(Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009).....................................................................................25

Figure 18. Restrained shrinkage results for mortars with various levels of internal curing under sealed 

curing conditions. A sharp rise in the strain curve indicates the occurrence of cracking in the specimen 

(Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009).....................................................................................27

Figure 19. Mass loss (top) and measured deformation (bottom) of free shrinkage specimens of mortars 

with various levels of internal curing under unsealed curing conditions (Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, 

& Weiss, 2009). ..........................................................................................................................................28

Figure 20. Restrained shrinkage results for mortars with various levels of internal curing in unsealed 

curing conditions. A sharp vertical rise in the strain curve indicates occurrence of cracking in the 

specimen (Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009).....................................................................29

Figure 21. Measured degree of hydration for w/c=0.3 mortars with and without internal curing under 

sealed curing conditions (Bentz, Halleck, Grader, & Roberts, 2006).........................................................30

Figure 22. Effect of changing internal curing LWA replacement level on measured cumulative heat 

release for a blended cement/fly ash mortar (de la Varga, Castro, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted). ...............30

Figure 23. Influence of w/c and internal curing on the degree of hydration (Castro, 2011).......................31

Figure 24. Measured tensile strength (left) and elastic modulus (right) for mortars cured under sealed 

conditions, with various levels of internal curing supplied by two different pre-wetted LWA (denoted as 

K and H) (Raoufi, Schlitter, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted)...........................................................................32

Figure 25. Influence of internal curing on compressive strength of high volume fly ash mortars cured 

under sealed conditions (de la Varga, Castro, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted)................................................34

Figure 26. Influence of curing conditions on compressive strength development in plain (P) and 

internally-cured (IC) mortars (Golias, 2010). .............................................................................................35

Figure 27. Influence of internal curing on elastic modulus of sealed specimens (Golias, 2010)................36

Figure 28. An illustration of composite theory to describe the influence of LWA on stiffness (Golias, 

2010). Ep and Ea are the elastic moduli of the paste and aggregate, respectively......................................36

Figure 29. Influence of reduced elastic modulus on residual stress development (Raoufi, Schlitter, Bentz, 

& Weiss, submitted)....................................................................................................................................37

Figure 30. Influence of external drying and self-desiccation on the moisture gradients in a slab 

(Neithalath, Pease, Moon, Rajabipour, Weiss, & Attiogbe, 2005). Arrows indicate the progression of 

time. ............................................................................................................................................................38

Figure 31 - BSE/SEM images of mortar microstructures for silica fume blended cement without (top) and 

with (bottom) internal curing at low (left) and high (right) magnifications (Bentz & Stutzman, 2008). 

Scale bar for each image is located in lower right corner...........................................................................39

Figure 32. BSE/SEM images of mortar microstructures for slag blended cement without (top) and with 

(bottom) internal curing at low (left) and high (right) magnifications (Bentz & Stutzman, 2008). Scale bar 

for each image is located in lower right corner...........................................................................................40

Figure 33. BSE/SEM images of mortar microstructures for fly ash blended cement without (top) and with 

(bottom) internal curing at low(left) and high (right) magnifications (Bentz & Stutzman, 2008). Scale bar 

for each image is located in lower right corner...........................................................................................41

Figure 34. Influence of internal curing on restrained shrinkage cracking (Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, 

& Weiss, 2009) ...........................................................................................................................................42
viii

Figure 35. Influence of internal curing on restrained shrinkage and cracking for mixtures containing a 

Class C fly ash (de la Varga, Castro, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted). ............................................................43

Figure 36. Influence of internal curing on the residual stress development and reserve stress capacity. A 

plain mixture is shown on the left and a mixture containing internal curing on the right (Schlitter, Bentz, 

& Weiss, 2011). ..........................................................................................................................................44

Figure 37. The temperature change permitted before cracking occurs in mortars with w/c=0.3, illustrating 

a benefit of internal curing (mixtures M30-12 and M30-24) (Schlitter, Bentz, & Weiss, 2011)................44

Figure 38. Comparison of model mortars with normal weight sand particles only (left) with their 

surrounding ITZs and with a 50:50 blend (volume basis) of sand and LWA (right). Both the volume 

fraction of ITZ (grey) paste and its percolation are reduced by the incorporation of the LWA (Bentz, 

2009). ..........................................................................................................................................................46

Figure 39. The diffusivity ratio S/Sc (proportional to the diffusion coefficient) for w/c=0.4 mortars with 

and without internal curing, first cured for 28 d, and then exposed to a 1 mol/L chloride ion solution 

(Bentz, Snyder, & Peltz, 2010). ..................................................................................................................46

Figure 40. Sorption test on samples cured for (a) 1d, (b) 7 d, (c) 28 d, and (d) 90 d. Results are shown for 

plain mortars with 55 % sand and three w/c (0.25, 0.3, and 0.35) and for two w/c=0.35 mortars with 

internal curing (LWA replacements of 11 % and 23.7 %). Error bars indicate standard deviation for the 

three specimens evaluated for each mixture (Henkensiefken, Castro, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009). .47

Figure 41. Influence of internal curing on water absorption (Henkensiefken, Castro, Bentz, Nantung, & 

Weiss, 2009). Solid line is provided to indicate a general tendency in the data........................................48

Figure 42. Influence of internal curing on electrical conductivity. Results are shown for plain mortars 

with 55 % sand and three w/c (0.25, 0.3, and 0.35) and for two w/c=0.35 mortars with internal curing 

(LWA replacements of 11 % and 23.7 % by volume) (Henkensiefken, Castro, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 

2009). Solid line is provided to indicate a general tendency in the data....................................................48

Figure 43. Influence of internal curing on water absorption and electrical conductivity for samples with 

different w/c (Castro, 2011). .......................................................................................................................49

Figure 44. Influence of non-reactive aggregate (denoted by N) and LWA (denoted by m) replacement on 

ASR expansion (Shin, et al., 2010).............................................................................................................51

Figure 45. Internally cured concrete being cast at Bartell Road in New York (Wolfe, 2010)....................54

Figure 46. Internally cured concrete bridge deck being cast near Bloomington, IN (Di Bella, Schlitter, & 

Weiss, 2010). ..............................................................................................................................................55

Figure 47. Wet burlap being used on the internally cured concrete bridge deck near Bloomington, IN (Di 

Bella, Schlitter, & Weiss, 2010). ................................................................................................................56

Figure 48. Plastic sheeting being used to cover the wet burlap on the internally cured concrete bridge deck 

near Bloomington, IN (Di Bella, Schlitter, & Weiss, 2010).......................................................................57

Figure 49. Autogenous deformation in microstrain (με) vs. time for mortar mixtures with and without 

internal curing using various LWA/CCA blends. A typical standard deviation between three specimens is 

illustrated by the error bars on the LWA-1 data points (Kim & Bentz, 2008)............................................60

Figure 50. Reduction in chloride penetration depth for concretes with viscosity-enhancing admixture 

and/or internal curing, cured for 56 d and evaluated according to AASHTO TP64 (Standard Method of 

Test for Predicting Chloride Penetration of Hydraulic Cement Concrete by the Rapid Migration 

Procedure). Average standard deviation in penetration depth was 1.4 mm for two replicate specimens, 

with an average coefficient of variation of 17 %. .......................................................................................63
ix

List of Tables

Table 1. Desorption Behavior of Expanded Shale (4-12), Clay (1-3), and Slate (13 and 14) Aggregates 

Available in North America (Castro, Keiser, Golias, & Weiss, 2011). .....................................................14

Table 2. Distance of Water Travel from the Surfaces of Internal Reservoirs (Bentz, Koenders, Monnig, 

Reinhardt, van Breugel, & Ye, 2007) .........................................................................................................18

Table 3. ‘Protected Paste’ Volume as a Function of Distance from the LWA Surfaces (Bentz, Lura, & 

Roberts, 2005).............................................................................................................................................19

Table 4. Measured Mortar Cube Compressive Strengths for Various Mixtures Cured under Sealed 

Conditions (SF=silica fume, FA=fly ash) (Bentz, 2007)............................................................................33

Table 5. Mortar Mixture Proportions for NIST/NRMCA study (Kim & Bentz, 2008)..............................59

Table 6. Measured Particle Size Distributions after Removing Minus 200 Sieve Fraction (Kim & Bentz, 

2008)...........................................................................................................................................................59

Table 7. Fine Aggregate Properties (Kim & Bentz, 2008) .........................................................................60

Table 8. Autogenous Deformation Results for Mortar Mixtures (Kim & Bentz, 2008).............................61

Table 9. Compressive Strength Results for Mortar Cubes Cured under Sealed Conditions (Kim & Bentz, 

2008)...........................................................................................................................................................61
x
1

1 Introduction

In the 21st century, internal curing has emerged as a new technology that holds promise 

for producing concrete with increased resistance to early-age cracking and enhanced durability. 

Since concrete service life is a key component of providing a sustainable infrastructure, internal 

curing can provide a positive contribution to increasing the sustainability of our nation’s 

infrastructure. In 2010, the American Concrete Institute (ACI) defined internal curing in its ACI 

Terminology Guide as “supplying water throughout a freshly placed cementitious mixture using 

reservoirs, via pre-wetted lightweight aggregates, that readily release water as needed for 

hydration or to replace moisture lost through evaporation or self-desiccation (American Concrete 

Institute, 2010).” This definition succinctly identifies the two major objectives of internal 

curing, maximizing hydration and minimizing self-desiccation (and its accompanying stresses 

that may produce early-age cracking). The two major objectives of the present report are to 

provide a 2010 perspective on the state-of-the-art and the state-of-the-practice of internal curing 

and to comment on emerging developments and future extensions of the internal curing concept.

In 2002, Hoff prepared a detailed review of the state-of-the-art of internal curing as of 

that time (Hoff, 2002). Five years later, RILEM committee ICC – Internal Curing of Concrete 

published its state-of-the-art review in book form (RILEM, 2007). That same year, a session at 

the ACI fall convention in Puerto Rico was dedicated to “Internal Curing of High Performance 

Concretes: Laboratory and Field Experiences,” from which an ACI-SP was published in CD 

form (American Concrete Institute, 2008). The present report will extend these efforts by

covering the salient features of internal curing for both the researcher and the practitioner from 

its inception through 2010.
2

2 Internal Curing in the Past

Because lightweight concretes have commonly, if inadvertently, included internal curing, 

it is beneficial to begin with a brief review of the history of lightweight concrete. Lightweight 

concrete using natural lightweight aggregate dates back to Roman times, with one of the most 

prominent examples being the Pantheon in Rome (Bremner & Ries, 2009). The dome of the 

Pantheon was constructed using a lightweight concrete with natural vesicular aggregates, where 

the density of the concrete was reduced as its height within the dome increased (Bremner & Ries, 

2009). 

Artificial or manmade lightweight aggregates (LWAs) owe their development and 

acceptance in the U.S. to Stephen J. Hayde, who received a patent for a firing process to produce 

lightweight aggregates from clay, shale, and slate rocks in 1918 (Bremner & Ries, 2009). 

During World War I, Hayde allowed the U.S. government to use his patent at no cost in the 

production of lightweight aggregates for concrete ships (Bremner & Ries, 2009). Concrete ship 

production continued into World War II, with many of these concrete ships still floating to this 

day. While these ships and several bridge structures that provided fifty years or more of service 

are a testimony to the generally high durability of lightweight concrete (Holm, Bremner, & 

Newman, 1984), any contribution of internal curing to this performance remained unclaimed 

until many years later.

The first published recognition of the internal curing potential of lightweight aggregates 

was likely that of Paul Klieger in 1957, who wrote “Lightweight aggregates absorb considerable 

water during mixing which apparently can transfer to the paste during hydration (Klieger, 

1957).” It is appropriate that the title of Klieger’s paper included the phrase “high strength 

concrete”, as it was the search for proper curing and an avoidance of self-desiccation in high 

strength concrete that prompted renowned concrete technologist Robert Philleo to write these 

prophetic words in 1991, “Either the basic nature of Portland cement must be changed so that 

self-desiccation is reduced, or a way must be found to get curing water into the interior of highstrength structural members. The latter is possible through the use of saturated lightweight 

aggregate. However, people striving for high strengths are not eager to use lightweight 

aggregate. A partial replacement of fine aggregate with saturated lightweight fines might offer a 

promising solution. (Philleo, 1991)” (italics added for emphasis). This concept is illustrated 

schematically in Figure 1 where external curing water is only able to penetrate several mm into

low water to cement ratio concrete, whereas internal curing enables the water to be distributed 

more equally across the cross section. By the mid-1990s, a variety of research groups in 

Germany (Weber & Reinhardt, 1995), the Netherlands (van Breugel & de Vries, 1998), and 

Israel (Bentur, Igarishi, & Kovler, 1999) had followed through on Philleo’s concept by actively 

investigating internal curing via the use of pre-wetted lightweight aggregates. In the years soon 

after that, other materials that could function as internal water reservoirs, such as superabsorbent 

polymers (SAP) (Jensen & Hansen, 2001) (Jensen & Hansen, 2002) and pre-wetted wood fibers 

(Mohr, Premenko, Nanko, & Kurtis, 2005) were also investigated. As with many new 

technologies, the path from research to practice has been a slow one, but as of 2010, hundreds of 
3

thousands of cubic meters of concrete containing pre-wetted LWA for internal curing have been 

successfully placed throughout the U.S. (Villareal, 2008).

Figure 1: Illustration of the difference between external and internal curing. The waterfilled inclusions should be distributed uniformly and spaced close enough to provide 

coverage for the entire paste system. (Castro, De la Varga, Golias, & Weiss, 2010). External curing Internal curing

Initial specimen After curing

External water

Water penetration

c

Normal aggregate Water filled intrusion Cured zone
4

3 Internal Curing in Theory

The need for internal curing emanates directly from the basic nature of cement hydration 

reactions. As a mixture of cement and water reacts to form crystalline and gel hydration 

products, the water incorporated into these hydration products generally occupies less space than 

water in its bulk form. Thus, the hydration (and pozzolanic) reactions are accompanied by a net 

chemical shrinkage as the products occupy less space than the reactants. As an example, 

equation (1) shows a generally accepted reaction stoichiometry for the hydration of tricalcium 

silicate, the major component of Portland cement (cement oxide notation is employed where 

C=CaO, S=SiO2, and H=H2O):

C3S +5.3H  C1.7SH4 + 1.3 CH (1)

 71.1 95.8 107.8 43

When the molar volumes (Bentz, 1997) shown below the reaction are considered, one can 

calculate that the hydration of tricalcium silicate involves a net reduction of 9.6 % on a volume 

basis or about 0.07 mL/g C3S (7 % on a mass of water needed to mass of C3S basis). 

Prior to setting, this chemical shrinkage will produce an equivalent physical shrinkage of 

the three-dimensional microstructure (Barcelo, Boivin, Rigaud, Acker, Clavaud, & Boulay, 

1999) (Sant, et al., 2009). However, after a cement paste sets and develops a finite resistance to 

deformation, the chemical shrinkage, in the absence of an additional source of water, will 

produce a self-desiccation, as partially-filled pores will be created within the microstructure

(Lura, Couch, Jensen, & Weiss, 2009). The pore solution menisci remaining in partially filled 

pores will create a measurable capillary pressure, directly proportional to the surface tension of 

the pore solution and inversely proportional to the size of the largest partially filled pore. 

Equation (2) shows Young’s equation (Alberty & Daniels, 1980) that describes this relationship:

σ=(-2γcosθ)/r (2)

where σ is the capillary pressure or stress, γ is the surface tension of the pore solution, θ is the 

contact angle, and r is the pore radius. From equation (2), it is clear that two viable paths to 

reducing the magnitude of these capillary stresses are to reduce the surface tension of the pore 

solution by using a shrinkage-reducing admixture (Shah, Weiss, & Yang, 1998) (Bentz, Geiker, 

& Hansen, 2001), or to increase the size of the pores being emptied, by providing sacrificial 

reservoirs of water in larger scale pores within the microstructure (i.e., internal curing). When 

these sacrificial larger pores are not present, the capillary stresses will rapidly increase over time, 

as smaller and smaller pores within the hydrating cement paste empty, even as the continuing 

hydration further reduces the size of the remaining water-filled capillary pores.

This capillary pressure will concurrently produce a measurable shrinkage of the 

microstructure that can be estimated using a modified version of MacKenzie’s equation 

(Mackenzie, 1950) (Bentz, Garboczi, & Quenard, 1998):
5

ε=(σS/3)[(1/K)-(1/Ks)] (3)

where ε is the measured linear strain, K is the bulk modulus of the porous material, Ks is the 

modulus of its solid backbone, and S is the level of saturation in the pore space (0 to 1). When 

these autogenous stresses and strains become substantial enough, they may contribute to, or by 

themselves cause, early-age cracking that will compromise the intended design and service life

of a concrete structure by providing open pathways for the ingress of deleterious species.

As self-desiccation occurs and σ increases, there will be a concurrent reduction in the 

internal relative humidity of the hydrating cement paste, as indicated by the Kelvin equation

(Alberty & Daniels, 1980):

σ=[RTln(RH)]/Vm (4)

where R is the universal gas constant, T is absolute temperature, RH is relative humidity, and Vm

is the molar volume of the pore solution. Equation (4) implies that the need for internal curing, 

as well as the efficiency of a particular internal curing system, can be quantified by measuring 

the internal relative humidity of a hydrating cement-based system. When equation (4) is 

combined with equation (2), a relationship between relative humidity and the size of the pores 

being emptied is established (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Relationship between relative humidity and the radius of emptying pores

according to equations (2) and (4).

Based on the above analysis, the objective of internal curing is to provide a source of 

readily-available additional water so that the capillary porosity of the hydrating cement paste 

remains saturated, thus minimizing the autogenous stresses and strains. This additional water will 

also promote a maximization of the hydration of the cement and pozzolans in the mixture, 

potentially contributing to increased strengths and reduced transport coefficients. 

Conventionally, some of this additional water has been provided by external curing techniques 

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0.1 1 10 100 1000

Relative Humidity (%)

Kelvin radius (nm)
6

such as ponding, fogging, misting, and the application of wet burlap. However, in the 

higher-performance concretes that are now being used, the capillary porosity becomes 

disconnected during the first few days of hydration (Powers, Copeland, & Mann, 1959), such 

that this external water may only penetrate a few mm into the concrete from the curing-applied 

surfaces (Bentz, 2002), while the interior of the concrete undergoes substantial self-desiccation. 

The goal of internal curing is to provide additional water in the proper amount and with a proper 

spatial distribution so that the entire three-dimensional microstructure of hydrating cement paste 

remains saturated and autogenous stress free. 
7

4 Internal Curing in Practice: Proportioning

4.1 Mixture Proportioning with Internal Curing

Mixture proportioning with internal curing provides the necessary additional water to 

prolong the time during which saturated conditions are maintained within the hydrating cement 

paste. The maintenance of these saturated conditions will both contribute to an increase in the 

achieved degree of reaction of the cement and any pozzolans, and also minimize the 

development of autogenous stresses and strains that contribute to early-age cracking. Three key 

questions to consider in this design process are thus: 1) How much internal curing water (or what 

amount of internal reservoirs) is necessary for a given set of mixture proportions, 2) How far 

from the surfaces of the internal reservoirs into the surrounding cement paste can the needed 

water readily travel, and 3) How are the internal reservoirs spatially distributed within the threedimensional structure of the mortar or concrete specimen? These questions will be addressed in 

the present and two following subsections of this report.

Assuming that water is not lost to the surrounding environment via evaporation, etc., the 

answer to the first question is found in a quantitative analysis of the mixture proportions and 

their expected chemical shrinkage, along with the absorption capacity, desorption isotherm, and 

saturation state of the internal reservoirs. Simply by equating the water demand of the hydrating 

mixture to the supply that is readily available from the internal reservoirs, an equation for the 

mass (or volume) of required internal reservoirs can be developed; equation (5) provides this 

relationship and shows the solution obtained for the required mass of dry LWA, MLWA, being 

employed as the internal reservoirs (Bentz & Snyder, 1999) (Bentz, Lura, & Roberts, 2005): 

Cf*CS*αmax=S*ΦLWA*MLWA

(5)

MLWA=(Cf*CS*αmax)/(S*ΦLWA).

In the top form of the equation, the left-hand side represents the water demand of the concrete 

mixture and is composed of the cement (or binder) factor of the concrete mixture, Cf, the 

chemical shrinkage of the binder at 100 % reaction, CS, and the expected maximum degree of 

reaction for the binder, αmax, ranging from 0 to 1. The right-hand side represents the water being 

supplied by a mass, MLWA, of the internal reservoirs, based on their saturation level relative to a 

quantified ‘pre-wetted’ condition, S, and the measured sorption capacity of the internal 

reservoirs, ΦLWA, when in this pre-wetted condition. 

In a pure Portland cement system, for a water-to-cement mass ratio (w/c) of 0.36 or

greater, the expected maximum degree of hydration can be set to 1. For a lower w/c, it can be 

approximated by (w/c)/0.36 (Bentz, Lura, & Roberts, 2005). When a binary or ternary blend is 

employed as the binder, the numerator can be replaced by a summation of the individual water 

demands for each of the binder components (i=1, 2, 3 for cement, fly ash, and slag, for example), 

as:
8

Water_demand=∑i Cf

i

* CSi* αi

max (6)

While a typical chemical shrinkage for Portland cement is on the order of 0.07 mL/g cement, the 

values for fly ash and slag can be 2 and 3 times greater, respectively (Bentz, 2007). For silica 

fume, it may be as much as 0.22 mL/g (Jensen, 1993). For any binder of interest, the chemical 

shrinkage of a paste specimen can be measured using the ASTM C1608 standard test method

(ASTM International, 2007). An example of measured chemical shrinkage for a w/c=0.30

ordinary portland cement paste is presented in Figure 3.

Figure 3. An illustration of chemical and autogenous shrinkage in a paste with w/c=0.30 

during the first 7 d of hydration at 23 °C (Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009).

Considering the sorption capacity of the internal reservoirs, ΦLWA would best be 

quantified as the measured desorption of the LWA from a pre-wetted condition down to a 

relative humidity in the range of 93 % to 97 % (Bentz, Lura, & Roberts, 2005). This would 

assure that the water in the LWA can be readily released at high relative humidities, thus 

minimizing the self-desiccation of the concrete. The relative humidities of 93 % and 97 % have 

been selected because they may be achieved by employing saturated solutions (slurries) of the 

salts potassium nitrate (KNO3) and potassium sulfate (K2SO4), respectively (Greenspan, 1977). 

Because of the complexities of and lack of standard test methods for accurately determining the 

sorption characteristics of LWAs, this topic will be explored in more detail in the subsection on 

LWA characterization to follow. This same approach could be employed when using crushed 

returned concrete aggregates as the internal curing reservoirs (Kim & Bentz, 2008); for SAP, 

typically the numerator of equation (5) could be computed to determine the water demand of the 

mixture and the dosage of SAP then determined based on knowledge of the SAP’s swelling 

(absorption) characteristics in pore solution (Jensen & Hansen, 2001).
9

Once equation (5) is utilized to compute the needed quantity of LWA, the final 

replacement of normal weight aggregates (NWAs) by LWAs should be performed on a volume 

basis, due to their significant differences in density (Bentz, Lura, & Roberts, 2005). Generally, 

the size distribution of NWAs being replaced should be selected so that the combined overall 

gradation is conducive for quality concrete. In some cases, this would best be achieved by 

having the NWA being replaced and the LWA of similar gradations. In other cases, the LWA

gradation has been specifically selected to compensate for deficiencies in the NWA gradation, 

which otherwise produced an essentially gap-graded mixture (Villarreal & Crocker, 2007).

Nomographs for implementing the mixture proportioning strategy of equation (5) have 

also been developed. Both SI and English units versions are available at the NIST internal 

curing web site, http://concrete.nist.gov/internalcuring.html, and are reproduced in Figure 4 and 

Figure 5, respectively. When it is expected that water will be lost to the environment during the 

mixing, transport, placing, and curing of a concrete mixture, equation (5) will underestimate the 

additional water requirements of the mixture and a modification will be needed to include an 

estimate of the evaporated water in these additional water requirements (Radlinska, Rajabipour, 

Bucher, Henkensiefken, Sant, & Weiss, 2008) (Golias, 2010).

One final issue to address concerning mixture proportioning for internal curing is the 

potential for either ‘undercuring’ or ‘overcuring.’ The former can occur when the water 

provided by internal curing is less than that recommended by equation (5) and only maintains

saturated conditions for some finite period of time, when some of the internal curing water is 

removed by surface evaporation, or when the internal curing water is not sufficiently welldistributed throughout the three-dimensional microstructure. The latter may potentially occur 

when water ponding or wet burlap is used to provide external curing to a concrete proportioned 

with internal curing. Figure 6 illustrates a potential outcome of undercuring, as the water 

initially provided by the internal curing substantially reduces the pore sizes within the hydrating 

cement paste due to a more complete hydration, which in turn leads to a greater RH reduction 

and higher internal stress generation when these pores begin to empty. While this increased RH 

reduction has been observed in at least one set of experiments (Cusson & Hoogeveen, 2008), the 

impact on early-age cracking may be minimal, due to the simultaneous enhanced strength 

development of the specimen with the (undersupplied) internal curing. 

When a concrete is proportioned for internal curing according to equation (5), all of the 

requisite additional water is included in the internal reservoirs. If additional water is provided at 

the surface of the concrete, a portion of the water in the internal reservoirs may remain in place 

as opposed to migrating to the hydrating cement paste. If such a specimen were exposed to 

freezing conditions before this water has had a chance to move out of the internal reservoirs, its 

durability might be compromised. When internal curing is proportioned for a concrete mixture 

following the approach of equation (5), external curing is best utilized to seal up the exterior 

surfaces so that the internal curing water will remain within the concrete to serve its intended 

purposes. 
10

Figure 4. Mixture proportioning nomograph in SI units.
11

Figure 5. Mixture proportioning nomograph in English units.
12

Figure 6. Illustration of potential for undercuring with internal curing. Blue indicates 

water-filled pores within the internal curing reservoir or hydrating cement paste, while 

grey indicates empty pores.

4.2 LWA Characterization for Internal Curing

For LWA to function successfully as an internal curing reservoir, the pores containing the 

water must be larger than those in the surrounding cement paste, so that water will preferentially 

move from the LWA to the hydrating cement. Previously, X-ray absorption studies of cementbased materials have indicated that during drying, water will preferentially move from coarser 

pores to finer ones, regardless of whether the coarser pores are present due to an increased w/c

for a single cement or due to a coarser cement at a constant w/c (Bentz, Hansen, Madsen, Vallee, 

& Griesel, 2001). In the case of internal curing, the coarser pores are present due to the 

intentional incorporation of internal water reservoirs during the mixture proportioning. This 

ability of the LWA to release water at high relative humidities can also be quantified by 

measuring the absorption/desorption properties of the LWA particles. Thus, while it is clear that 

the absorption/desorption properties of LWA are critical to its successful performance as an 

internal curing reservoir, a standard test method for evaluating these properties does not currently 

exist. 

Empty and Full Pores

Saturated curing Sealed curing

RH = 98 % RH = 93 %

Sufficient Internal curing

Pores in IC reservoir Pores in cement paste

RH = 97 %

Insufficient Internal curing

Pores in cement paste

RH = 90 %

Pores in IC reservoir

Better hydration

Only pores in 

reservoirs empty

Some increase in 

hydration

Pores in both reservoirs

and paste empty

Pores in cement paste Pores in cement paste

Less hydration

Largest pores in 

paste empty
13

In practice, ASTM C127-07 (Standard Test Method for Density, Relative Density

(Specific Gravity), and Absorption of Coarse Aggregate) and ASTM C128-07 (Standard Test 

Method for Density, Relative Density (Specific Gravity), and Absorption of Fine Aggregate) are 

commonly employed, although both test methods explicitly state in their respective Scope 

sections, “This test method is not intended to be used for lightweight aggregates.” Both 

standards present test methods to produce a sample of an aggregate that is in so-called “Saturated 

Surface Dry (SSD)” conditions, a state that is much more easily achieved and reproduced for

(low absorption) NWAs than for their higher absorption LWA counterparts. While ASTM C128 

uses the ‘cone method’ to determine the moisture content, alternative tests using cobalt chloride 

or a ‘paper towel method’ can provide similar information without the complexities associated 

with the angular nature of the particles (Castro, Henkensiefken, Nantung, Bentz, & Weiss, 2010). 

Additionally, the absorption of many LWAs will continue at an ever decreasing rate over the 

course of many days, so that absorption properties must be clarified with a time descriptor, such 

as reporting the 24 h absorption capacity of a specific LWA (Figure 7). For determining the 

desorption properties of a pre-wetted LWA, ASTM C1498-04a (Standard Test Method for 

Hygroscopic Sorption Isotherms of Building Materials) provides valuable guidance and a general 

purpose methodology based on saturated salt solutions, in the absence of a more specific 

standardized test method for LWAs (ASTM International, 2004).

Figure 7. Typical time-dependent water absorption of LWA (Castro, Keiser, Golias, & 

Weiss, 2011).

For a wide variety of readily available expanded shales, clays, and slates, testing from an 

oven dry state produces a relative absorption (S) that scales with time (t) according to

equation (7), where A is typically a value between 0.07 and 0.13 for times of up to 48 h (Castro, 

Keiser, Golias, & Weiss, 2011).

S=tA (7)

Table 1 shows typical 24 h absorption values for a variety of LWAs from North America. It can 

be noticed that absorption varies between 6 % and 31 %. Despite the limitations mentioned here, 

0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48

Elapsed time (h)

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

N

orm

aliz

e

d

w

ater a

b

s

orptio

n

(M

a

s

s

of w

ater/2

4

h

a

b

s

orptio

n)

Vacuum Saturation 1.385
14

it is clear from equation (5) that the amount of LWA required for internal curing is inversely 

proportional to its absorption (or desorption) capacity. Thus, to provide the same amount of 

additional water for internal curing, LWA with a desorption capacity of 30 % will require only 

1/3 of the mass of LWA required for LWA with a capacity of 10 %. This assumes, however, that 

both LWAs provide an adequate spatial distribution of particles to rapidly provide water to a 

majority of the surrounding hydrating cement paste, as will be discussed in subsequent sections. 

When internal curing has been selected for a concrete mixture, the judicious selection of a 

specific LWA for internal curing can produce a considerable cost savings for the ready-mix 

concrete producer.

Table 1. Desorption Behavior of Expanded Shale (4-12), Clay (1-3), and Slate (13 and 14) 

Aggregates Available in North America (Castro, Keiser, Golias, & Weiss, 2011).

While several studies have used saturated salt solutions to control the relative humidity 

over pre-wetted LWAs to examine their mass loss or desorption (Bentz, Lura, & Roberts, 2005)

(Radlinska, Rajabipour, Bucher, Henkensiefken, Sant, & Weiss, 2008), Castro et al. (Castro, 

Keiser, Golias, & Weiss, 2011) employed dynamic vapor desorption in which the sample was 

placed in a high resolution balance in an air stream within a carefully controlled relative 

humidity environment, to measure its desorption isotherm. These measurements indicated that 

approximately 90 % of the 24-h absorbed water is readily released at high relative humidities 

(> 93 %) from nearly all of the examined LWAs currently produced in the U.S. This is not true,

however, for all porous materials as shown in Figure 8. While the ideal aggregate shows a 

release of approximately 90 % of its water, the less than ideal aggregate shows a release of only 

60 % to 70 %. As a result, an approximately 25 % increase in the volume of the less than ideal 

aggregate would be required for equivalent internal curing performance. While the dynamic 

desorption approach provides data below 98 % relative humidity, alternative methods may be 

applied at higher relative humidities. Pour-Ghaz et al. (Pour-Ghaz, Castro, Kladivko, & Weiss, 

2010) used a pressure plate method suggested by Johansson (Johansson, 2010) to examine the 

desorption of aggregates at these higher relative humidities. This method also has the advantage 

LWA # 24-hr absorption(%) 99.9* 99.6* 98.9* 98** 96** 94**

1 15.30 ~ ~ ~ 0.20 0.14 0.11

2 30.50 0.70 0.69 0.61 0.17 0.10 0.06

3 17.70 0.87 0.70 0.52 0.24 0.16 0.12

4 17.50 0.91 0.61 0.45 0.20 0.12 0.09

5 14.10 0.61 0.48 0.50 0.08 0.04 0.03

6 10.00 ~ ~ ~ 0.11 0.06 0.04

7 15.60 0.78 0.54 0.48 0.17 0.08 0.05

8 15.00 0.69 0.57 0.61 0.18 0.08 0.06

9 15.70 0.63 0.44 0.39 0.10 0.06 0.04

10 19.50 0.87 0.68 0.48 0.29 0.20 0.15

11 18.10 0.93 0.68 0.47 0.29 0.21 0.17

12 18.50 0.94 0.77 0.54 0.28 0.19 0.14

13 12.20 0.91 0.50 0.36 0.14 0.07 0.05

14 6.00 0.93 0.52 0.38 0.10 0.06 0.04

* Determined from the Pressure Plate Method over a Range of Aggregate Sizes

** Determined from Dynamic Vapor Desporption (Castro 2011)

Relative Humidity (%)
15

of being able to test a larger sample, however the testing requires a longer duration 

(approximately 1 week) for each relative humidity selected.

Figure 8. An illustration of desirable and undesirable aggregate desorption behavior 

(Castro, 2011).

While questions as to the best method for quantitatively measuring the sorption properties 

of LWA remain, the question of whether water contained within the LWAs does indeed migrate 

to the surrounding cement paste during curing has been addressed by using either X-ray 

microtomography or neutron tomography techniques. For example, in August 2005, studies 

were conducted at the Center for Quantitative Imaging at the Pennsylvania State University to 

directly observe water movement during the first three days of the curing of a w/c=0.3 mortar

specimen containing pre-wetted fine LWA (Bentz, Halleck, Grader, & Roberts, 2006). As 

shown in Figure 9, much of the water within the pre-wetted LWA was observed to depart during 

the first day of (rapid) hydration of the cementitious matrix. Furthermore, a quantitative analysis 

of the volume fraction of water migrating from the LWAs exhibited a one-to-one agreement with 

the measured chemical shrinkage of the cement paste as shown in Figure 10 (Bentz, Halleck, 

Grader, & Roberts, 2006a), illustrating that the internal curing law of “supply and demand” was 

adequately met in this case.

Lura et al. used two-dimensional X-ray analysis to estimate water movement; however,

their approach used a relatively large X-ray spot size (Lura, Bentz, Lange, Kovler, Bentur, & van 

Breugel, 2003). Henkensiefken et al. used an X-ray camera with improved resolution to detect 

water movement from LWA to a paste with a w/c of 0.30 (Henkensiefken, Nantung, & Weiss, 

2009). While initially the water movement appeared uniform throughout the specimen, at an age 

of 24 h, the distance the water moved was estimated to be 2 mm.

80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100

Relative Humidity (%)

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

M

oisture

C

o

nte

nt

(M

a

s

s

of w

ater/2

4

h

a

b

s

orptio

n)

Bad Desorption Behavior

Good Desorption Behavior

Undesirable desorption behavior

Desirable desorption behavior
16

Figure 9. Left: Three-dimensional color-coded image of original data set subtracted from 

that obtained after 1 day of hydration. Aqua-colored globules indicate regions where LWA 

particles have lost water to the surrounding cement paste. The 3-D volume is 4.6 mm x 4.6 

mm x 4.7 mm. Right: Two-dimensional image (4.6 mm x 4.6 mm) of a portion of the 

original mortar microstructure with the locations of the evacuated water (in aqua) 

superimposed to provide further verification of the water movement from the LWA into 

the surrounding cement paste (Bentz, Halleck, Grader, & Roberts, 2006).

Figure 10. Comparison of measured chemical shrinkage volume fraction to scaled emptied 

LWA pore volume fraction vs. time (Bentz, Halleck, Grader, & Roberts, 2006a).

More recently, Trtik et al. have tested a sealed cement paste that contained both a 

pre-wetted LWA (24 h of absorption) and an oven-dry LWA particle using neutron radiography 

between 0.5 h and 20 h (specific sampling times were 0.5 h, 3.1 h, 7.3 h, 11.2 h, 14.4 h, 

0.000

0.005

0.010

0.015

0.020

0.025

0.030

0 12 24 36 48

Time (h)

Volume fraction or CS

Scaled <=3900 Chemical shrinkage
17

and 20.4 h) (Trtik, et al., 2011). Changes in local water distribution were evaluated by 

subtracting the subsequent neutron tomographies from the initial observation. In addition to the 

neutron tomography, a high-resolution image of the sample was subsequently captured by X-ray 

tomography so that these images could be synchronized. Figure 11 illustrates a two-dimensional

slice from the neutron images at various ages, with the cement paste appearing as the light grey

rectangle in the center of the images. The dry LWA is visible as the darker inclusion in the top 

part of the cross-section, while the pre-wetted LWA is on the bottom and cannot be easily 

distinguished in the first images after mixing. With the progress of hydration (moving left to 

right across the top and bottom rows), water is released from the LWA aggregate to the cement 

paste. Locations in which the neutron signal increased correspond with water being absorbed 

from the paste and are shown in red, while the locations where the neutron signal decreased 

correspond with the release of water to the paste and are shown in blue. Water released from the 

LWA traveled at least 3 mm from the LWA into the cement paste in the first day. There was 

nearly no measurable gradient in the water content of the cement paste with distance from the 

LWA, suggesting that the internal curing process is fast and that the water is distributed 

homogeneously from the LWA to at least 3 mm into the hydrating paste. When an oven-dry 

LWA was inserted dry into the paste, the oven dry LWA first absorbed pore solution from the 

cement paste. This absorption took place until as late as 3 h after mixing. A portion of this water 

was then released back into the paste after setting.

Figure 11. An example of neutron tomography to assess water movement between 

lightweight aggregate and cement paste during internal curing (Trtik, et al., 2011). Cement 

paste specimen is 6 mm by 13 mm. The two indicated times in the lower right corner of 

each frame correspond to the times that were subtracted to create the shown image.
18

4.3 LWA Spatial Distribution for Internal Curing

The two remaining questions to consider are what is a reasonable estimate of the distance 

that water can travel from the internal reservoirs into the hydrating cement paste and what 

fraction of the hydrating cement paste is therefore ‘protected’ by being within this estimated

distance of the surface of an internal reservoir? An estimate for the expected water travel 

distance can be obtained by equating the projected water flow rate to the value needed to 

maintain saturation in the surrounding cement paste at its current rate of hydration. A web-based 

form for performing this estimate, based on extending the analysis first developed by Weber and 

Reinhardt (Weber & Reinhardt, 1999), is available at the NIST internal curing web site,

http://concrete.nist.gov/~bentz/water_distance.html. It requires three sets of input parameters to 

calculate 1) the pressure drop between the pores in the internal reservoirs and those in the cement 

paste, 2) the flow required to maintain saturation at the current hydration rate, and 3) the 

estimated flow distance, respectively. In addition to the mixture proportions and binder chemical 

shrinkage, needed inputs include expected pores sizes in the paste and in the internal reservoirs, 

the surface tension, density, and viscosity of the pore solution, and the cement paste 

permeability. Supplying reasonable values for these inputs at early, middle, and late ages 

produces the estimated water travel distances shown in Table 2. The early and middle age 

estimates are in reasonable agreement with measurements for mortars with a water-tocementitious materials ratio by mass (w/cm) of 0.4, based on X-ray absorption profiles obtained 

during curing (Bentz, 2002). In that study, a water penetration depth of about 20 mm was 

observed for specimens immediately exposed to a drying environment, while a penetration of 

only 4 mm to 6 mm was observed for specimens first cured under saturated conditions for 3 d.

Table 2. Distance of Water Travel from the Surfaces of Internal Reservoirs (Bentz, Koenders, 

Monnig, Reinhardt, van Breugel, & Ye, 2007)

Hydration Age Estimated Travel Distance of Water

Early (i.e., < 1 day) 20 mm

Middle (i.e., 1 day to 3 days) 5 mm

Late (i.e., 3 days to 7 days) 1 mm

Worst Case (i.e., > 28 days) 0.25 mm

Once an estimate of the travel distance has been established, the remaining question 

concerns the fraction of the cement paste that is ‘protected’ by being located within that distance 

of an internal reservoir surface. This concept is quite similar to the ‘protected paste volume’

concept developed for characterizing air void systems in concrete (Bentz & Snyder, 1999) and 

can be readily investigated using a hard core/soft shell computer code (Bentz, Garboczi, & 

Snyder, 1999), available for execution at http://concrete.nist.gov/~bentz/intcuring.html. The user 

provides the sieve size distribution for the aggregates, the fractional replacement of LWA for 

NWA for each sieve on a volume basis, and the total volume fraction of all aggregates in the 

mixture to obtain a table of the protected paste volume (0 to 1) as a function of distance from the 

LWA surfaces. An example of results returned by the simulation is provided in Table 3, while 

Figure 12 provides an example two-dimensional color-coded image that is also provided to the 

user. In the case shown in Table 3 and Figure 12, all of the cement paste is within a 1 mm 

distance of an LWA surface, thus satisfying even the late age criteria listed in Table 2.
19

Figure 12. Example two-dimensional image (3 cm x 3 cm) from internal curing simulation 

(Bentz, Lura, & Roberts, 2005).

Table 3. ‘Protected Paste’ Volume as a Function of Distance from the LWA Surfaces (Bentz, 

Lura, & Roberts, 2005).

Distance from LWA Surface Protected Paste Fraction

0.02 mm 0.0459

0.05 mm 0.1281

0.1 mm 0.2804

0.2 mm 0.5629

0.5 mm 0.9783

1.0 mm 1.0000

Using the hard core/soft shell model, Henkensiefken et al. modeled 16 different mixtures 

with different size aggregates and sands with different fineness modulus values (Henkensiefken, 

Nantung, & Weiss, 2009). Figure 13 shows the volume of protected paste in concrete 

when 30 % of the aggregate (either coarse or fine, respectively) on a volume basis is replaced by 

pre-wetted lightweight aggregate and water movement is assumed to be limited to 2 mm.

If 30 % of the coarse aggregate is replaced, regardless of the selected size, no LWA will protect 

more than 50 % of the paste volume. Conversely, if the LWA used for internal curing had a 

lower fineness modulus (finer sand), nearly all the paste would be within 2 mm of an LWA 

particle. When a coarser LWA (higher fineness modulus) is used, less paste is protected. Any 

LWA with a fineness modulus greater than 3.2 would protect less than 90 % of the paste. If such 

LWA was used, the volume of the sand might have to be increased to ensure that an adequate 

fraction of the paste was protected. It was not the intention of the authors to suggest that LWAs

with a fineness modulus greater than 3.2 should not be used or will not work, but rather to 

illustrate that the particle size distribution is important and should be properly considered.

Lightweight Aggregate

Normal weight Aggregate

Unprotected Paste

Paste within 0.02 mm

Paste within 0.05 mm

Paste within 0.1 mm

Paste within 0.2 mm

Paste within 0.5 mm

Paste within 1.0 mm
20

Figure 13. Volume of protected paste in concrete where 30 % of the aggregate by volume is 

replaced with different coarse aggregate or sand with different fineness modulus values 

(Henkensiefken, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009).
21

5 Internal Curing in Present Practice: Lab Studies

5.1 Plastic Shrinkage

Concrete can also be susceptible to cracking at the time of placement, if the evaporation 

rate is high (Villarreal & Crocker, 2007). While these cracks are not generally a cause for 

concern in terms of the load the structure can carry, they are often unsightly and can lead to the 

ingress of aggressive agents that could accelerate the corrosion of reinforcing steel. Recently, 

studies have been conducted to compare the plastic shrinkage and cracking tendencies of 

concretes with and without internal curing (Henkensiefken, Briatka, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 

2010). To evaluate their potential for plastic shrinkage cracking, samples were tested following 

ASTM C1579 “Standard Test Method for Evaluating Plastic Shrinkage Cracking of Restrained 

Fiber Reinforced Concrete (Using a Steel Form Insert)” (ASTM International, 2006). In 

addition, tests were performed to measure the settlement and evaporative weight loss of concrete

slabs (Henkensiefken, Briatka, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2010). 

Figure 14 shows the measured crack width distributions that were obtained for w/c = 0.55 

concretes made with different volume replacements of LWA (exposure conditions 

of 32 oC ± 1 oC, 25 % RH ± 3 % RH, and 15 km/h wind speed; each curve is the average of three 

panels and the y-intercept represents the probability of observing a crack within the sampled grid 

mask) (Henkensiefken, Briatka, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2010). The panels were 

photographed from a constant height and their images were analyzed for cracks and crack widths 

using image analysis software. The plastic shrinkage tests were performed on concrete mixtures 

with 30 % by volume coarse aggregate, and 30 % by volume of a mixture of normal weight fine 

aggregate and LWA. The examined volume fractions of LWA in these mixtures of fine 

aggregates for the concretes remained the same as the volume fractions of LWA from previous 

studies of mortars (Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009). Here, the naming 

convention of 18.0 % (as a percentage of concrete volume) LWA represents the volume of LWA 

needed to meet the chemical shrinkage demands based on equation (5), with the 6 % and 

the 10 % mixtures therefore representing under dosages with respect to equation (5). The control

mixture (0 % LWA) shows the earliest cracking and the largest crack widths, while the potential 

for plastic shrinkage cracking and crack widths decrease as the LWA replacement volume 

increases. When a sufficient volume of LWA is used (18 % in this case), plastic shrinkage 

cracking was completely eliminated for the environmental exposure conditions tested in the

study (Henkensiefken, Briatka, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2010).

It is hypothesized that plastic shrinkage cracking is reduced with internal curing as water 

in the LWA replenishes water lost due to evaporation as shown schematically in Figure 15

(Henkensiefken, Briatka, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2010). Immediately after placement, the 

system is in a fluid state and the aggregate and cement particles tend to settle due to gravity, 

simultaneously forcing pore fluid (water) to the surface. This is commonly observed in practice 

as ‘bleed water.’ During this initial period, a thin layer of bleed water covers the surface of the 

concrete and evaporates at a relatively constant rate (provided the environmental exposure 
22

Figure 14. Probability distribution of crack width occurrences in concrete with different 

replacement volumes of pre-wetted LWA as indicated in the legend (Henkensiefken, 

Briatka, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2010).

Figure 15. A conceptual illustration of the role of water-filled lightweight aggregate at the 

surface of a concrete exposed to drying immediately after placement (Henkensiefken, 

Briatka, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2010).

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Crack Width (mm)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

C

u

m

ulativ

e

Pro

b

a

bility (%)

0.0%

6.0%

10.0%

18.0%

Crack width probability (%)
23

conditions are relatively constant). As a result, this is referred to as the constant rate period of 

drying (Lura, Pease, Mazzotta, Rajabipour, & Weiss, 2007). During this time, the system 

continues to consolidate in the vertical direction resulting in settlement of the surface. After 

some time, the rate of settlement dramatically reduces as the particles begin to come in contact 

with one another. Assuming that the rate of evaporation is relatively high, the layer of bleed 

water will be lost from the surface. When the water available to evaporate decreases, a slower 

rate of evaporation occurs, referred to as the falling rate period (Lura, Pease, Mazzotta, 

Rajabipour, & Weiss, 2007). During the falling rate period, evaporation draws water from 

between the particles resulting in the development of capillary stresses in the system that produce 

further consolidation and may lead to plastic shrinkage cracking. In conventional concrete 

systems, the stresses will rise relatively dramatically during this period. In a system with internal 

curing, however, water is provided by the pre-wetted and rigid LWAs to replenish the water 

evaporating from the surface of the concrete. This helps to reduce the capillary stress during the 

falling rate period. The water from the rigid LWAs reduces the capillary stress in the system 

resulting in less consolidation and settlement (Henkensiefken, Briatka, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 

2010) and a dramatically lower potential for plastic shrinkage cracking. This preferential 

removal of water from LWA while the surrounding cement paste remains saturated during a 

drying exposure of the fresh material has been verified using three-dimensional X-ray absorption 

microtomography measurements (Henkensiefken, Briatka, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2010). 

Conversely, in a sealed system not exposed to drying, the water remains within the LWA until it 

is drawn out to the surrounding cement paste by capillary forces generated during hydration

(Bentz, Halleck, Grader, & Roberts, 2006).

While the use of water-filled LWA is beneficial in reducing the potential for plastic 

shrinkage cracking and reducing the width of any cracks that do develop, it should be noted that 

any water consumed in this phase will not be available later to reduce autogenous and/or drying 

shrinkage. 

5.2 Autogenous Deformation and Internal Relative Humidity

Because one of the major objectives of incorporating internal curing into a concrete 

mixture is to reduce autogenous shrinkage and the cracking that may accompany it, numerous 

studies have provided measurements of autogenous deformation in pastes (with SAP or prewetted fibers), mortars, and concretes with and without internal curing (RILEM, 2007). For 

pastes and mortars, autogenous deformation is commonly assessed using ASTM C1698 

“Standard Test Method for Autogenous Strain of Cement Paste and Mortar” (ASTM 

International, 2009), based on the method originally developed by Jensen and Hansen (Jensen & 

Hansen, 1995). In this method, a sample of the paste or mortar is placed in a sealed corrugated 

polymeric tube and its deformation periodically assessed after setting to indicate any 

expansion/shrinkage that is occurring in the cement-based material. For paste samples, free 

shrinkage measurements using the corrugated tubes have been observed to correlate well with 

non-contact laser measurements (Pease, Hossain, & Weiss, 2004), as well as with volumetric 

measurements (Sant, Lura, & Weiss, 2006). For mortars and concretes, methods to assess 

autogenous strains have included measurements made on sealed prisms (Weiss, Borischevsky, & 

Shah, 1999) (Cusson, 2008), blocks (Duran-Herrera, Petrov, Bonneau, Khayat, & Aitcin, 2008), 
24

cylinders (Craeye & De Schutter, 2006), or larger corrugated tubes (Tian & Jensen, 2008). 

Restrained stress development has been assessed using the ASTM C1581 restrained ring test 

(ASTM International, 2009b), temperature stress testing machines (RILEM, 2003), and a dual 

ring test setup (Schlitter, Senter, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2010).

One of the earlier studies on internal curing evaluated internal curing, using either prewetted LWA or SAP, of a w/cm=0.35 mortar prepared with a blended cement containing 8 % 

silica fume (FSF) by mass and cured at 30 °C (Geiker, Bentz, & Jensen, 2004). To supply 

additional water for internal curing, pre-wetted LWA was used to replace either 8 % or 20 % of 

the normal weight sand by mass, while SAP was added at 0.4 % by mass of cement. Figure 16

shows the internal relative humidities and autogenous deformations measured on sealed 

specimens. All three mortars with internal curing exhibit the maintenance of a substantially 

higher internal relative humidity that would correspond to a reduction in autogenous stress 

generation according to equation (4). While the 8 % replacement level of LWA significantly 

reduces the autogenous shrinkage, it is basically eliminated entirely with the 20 % replacement 

level. The 0.4 % addition of SAP is also highly effective in reducing the autogenous 

deformation, as the measured shrinkage at 14 d is less than 50 microstrain (μm/m).

Figure 16. Internal relative humidity (left) and autogenous deformation measurements

(right) on silica fume blended cement mortars with and without internal curing (Geiker, 

Bentz, & Jensen, 2004).

More recently, mortars with various replacement levels of pre-wetted LWA have been 

evaluated for a variety of early-age properties, including internal relative humidity and 

autogenous deformation (Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009). In that study, 

mortars with a w/c=0.3 were prepared with replacement levels of LWA below, equal, and above 

that prescribed by equation (5), with 23.7 % by volume being the replacement level directly 

corresponding to equation (5). Figure 17 provides the measured internal relative humidities and 

autogenous deformations for the mortars with eight different levels of internal curing (including 

no internal curing in the 0 % mixture). The results exhibit the expected progression in 

performance, as the internal relative humidity increases with increasing replacement level of 

LWA, while the autogenous shrinkage concurrently decreases. In this particular case, 

equation (5) provided a very valid estimate of the requisite LWA dosage, as the system 

designated as 23.7 % basically exhibited only an autogenous expansion (most of which occurred 

85

90

95

100

0 5 10 15 20

Time (days)

Relative humidity (%)

SAP

FSF 

LWA20

LWA08

-200

-150

-100

-50

0

50

0 5 10 15 20

Time (days)

Deformation (microstrain)

SAP

LWA20

LWA08

FSF
25

immediately after setting) during 28 d and maintained a higher internal relative humidity 

throughout the first 7 d of sealed curing.

Figure 17.Internal relative humidity (top) and autogenous deformation measurements

(bottom) on w/c=0.3 cement mortars with various levels of pre-wetted LWA replacement to 

provide internal curing (Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009).

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Age of Specimen (d)

80

82

84

86

88

90

92

94

96

98

100

R

elativ

e

H

u

midity (%)

33.0%k

29.3%k

23.7%k

18.3%k

14.3%k

11.0%k

7.3%k

0.0%

0 7 14 21 28

Age of Specimen (d)

-400

-300

-200

-100

0

100

200

300

400

Strain (μ

ε)

Sealed

33.0%k

29.3%k

23.7%k

18.3%k

14.3%k

11.0%k

7.3%k

0.0%
26

In some cases, attempts at applying equation (5) to internal curing mixture proportioning 

have produced mixtures where autogenous shrinkage, although substantially reduced, is not 

totally eliminated. Potential causes can include:

1) Because the pores in the internal curing agent are being emptied, some reduction in internal 

relative humidity will be observed and (much lower) finite autogenous stresses will induce a 

small level of shrinkage, as the autogenous stress is inversely proportional to the pore size being 

emptied, according to equation (2);

2) A portion of the ‘internal curing’ water in the internal curing agent may be lost to the concrete 

mixture during initial mixing, hauling, and placement, potentially increasing the w/cm of the 

mixture, but likely maintaining a high level of workability and finishability (Villareal, 2008);

3) A portion of the internal curing water may remain within the internal curing agents due to 

differences between their absorption and desorption properties (Bentz, Lura, & Roberts, 2005)

(Castro, Keiser, Golias, & Weiss, 2011);

4) Any internal curing water lost to evaporation/drying, while reducing plastic shrinkage 

(cracking), will not be available for subsequent ‘internal curing’ (Henkensiefken, Briatka, Bentz, 

Nantung, & Weiss, 2010);

5) In blended cement concretes, some autogenous shrinkage may be due to the pozzolanic 

reaction between the supplementary cementitious materials and calcium hydroxide (loss of 

micro-reinforcement) and thus will not be eliminated by internal curing (Jensen & Hansen, 1996)

(Bentz, 2007);

6) The internal curing water may not be distributed uniformly enough within the concrete 

microstructure to travel the required distances to the hydrating cement paste (Bentz, Lura, & 

Roberts, 2005), especially at later ages; and

7) In the real world, autogenous deformation is nearly always confounded with thermal 

expansion/contraction (Schlitter, Senter, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2010).

Using the ASTM C1581 restrained ring shrinkage test (ASTM International, 2009b), it 

was demonstrated that the reduction in autogenous shrinkage indeed resulted in a reduction in 

cracking as shown in Figure 18 (Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009). For these 

mortars, cracking was effectively eliminated for replacement levels greater than or equal to

the 23.7 % of LWA by volume computed using equation (5).
27

Figure 18. Restrained shrinkage results for mortars with various levels of internal curing 

under sealed curing conditions. A sharp rise in the strain curve indicates the occurrence of 

cracking in the specimen (Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009).

5.3 Drying Shrinkage

By modifying the volume of readily available water within the concrete mixture and its 

elastic and creep properties, internal curing will also influence their drying shrinkage. To 

examine drying shrinkage as a function of LWA replacement level, prismatic mortar specimens 

were prepared and exposed to a 50 % RH environment after 1 d of sealed curing (Henkensiefken, 

Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009). Figure 19 provides plots of measured mass loss and 

deformation vs. time during 27 d of drying exposure. In this case, while low replacement levels 

proved ineffective in mitigating shrinkage caused by the combined effects of internal and 

external drying, higher replacement level mixtures significantly reduced the measured shrinkage, 

even while losing more mass than the mixture without internal curing. Water within the prewetted LWA is readily available as needed to maintain saturation of the cement paste and 

thereby reduce plastic, autogenous, and/or drying shrinkage. Because of the larger pore sizes in 

the LWA relative to those in the hydrating cement paste, water is preferentially drawn from the 

LWA to the surrounding paste and the emptying of these larger pores produces a much lower 

capillary stress, which reduces both the measured strain and the propensity for early-age 

cracking. Using a restrained ring shrinkage experimental set up, this reduction in cracking was 

directly observed for these same mortar mixtures, as shown by the results provided in Figure 20

(Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009). For these mortars, the time to cracking was 

substantially delayed for replacement levels above the 23.7 % by volume level computed using 

equation (5).

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Age of Specimen (d)

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

Strain (μ

ε)

Sealed

25.3%k

14.3%k

11.0%k

7.3%k

3.8%k

0.0%

23.7 % k
28

Figure 19. Mass loss (top) and measured deformation (bottom) of free shrinkage specimens 

of mortars with various levels of internal curing under unsealed curing conditions

(Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009).

0 7 14 21 28

Age of Specimen (d)

-40

-35

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

M

a

s

s

L

o

s

s (g)

33.0%k

29.3%k

23.7%k

18.3%k

14.3%k

11.0%k

7.3%k

0.0%

0 7 14 21 28

Age of Specimen (d)

-800

-600

-400

-200

0

200

400

Strain (μ

ε)

Unsealed

33.0%k

29.3%k

23.7%k

18.3%k

14.3%k

11.0%k

7.3%k

0.0%
29

Figure 20. Restrained shrinkage results for mortars with various levels of internal curing in 

unsealed curing conditions. A sharp vertical rise in the strain curve indicates occurrence of 

cracking in the specimen (Henkensiefken, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009).

5.4 Degree of Hydration and Isothermal Calorimetry

The available additional water within the internal curing reservoirs will generally 

increase the degree of hydration of the cementitious binder, particularly at later ages. This 

increase in degree of hydration can be quantified by measuring either the loss-on-ignition (LOI)

or the heat of hydration. While no standard test method for the former currently exists, 

estimating heat of hydration using isothermal calorimetry is well specified in ASTM C1702, 

“Standard Test Method for Measurement of Heat of Hydration of Hydraulic Cementitious 

Materials using Isothermal Conduction Calorimetry” (ASTM International, 2009a).

Degree of hydration and isothermal calorimetry data are available from a variety of 

studies. Figure 21 shows the results of LOI-based degree of hydration measurements for the 

mortars utilized in the X-ray microtomography experiments presented in Figure 9 and Figure 10

(Bentz, Halleck, Grader, & Roberts, 2006). In this case, even though the mortar with internal 

curing was formulated with only a 3 d supply of internal curing water (as it was envisioned to 

freeze the specimen after 3 d and hopefully observe ice formation within the empty pores in the 

LWA), a significant increase in its degree of hydration was measured at 3 d and 8 d. More 

recent results for a w/cm=0.3, 40 % by volume fly ash mortar with three levels of internal curing 

(0 %, 50 %, and 100 % of the water supply according to equation (5)) obtained via isothermal 

calorimetry measurements are provided in Figure 22 (de la Varga, Castro, Bentz, & Weiss, 

submitted). In this case, the extra hydration due to internal curing is apparent after 4 d and 

continues to increase throughout the 14 d extent of the measurements.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Age of Specimen (d)

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

Strain (μ

ε)

Unsealed

33.0%k

29.3%k

23.7%k

14.3%k

11.0%k

7.3%k

0.0%
30

Figure 21. Measured degree of hydration for w/c=0.3 mortars with and without internal 

curing under sealed curing conditions (Bentz, Halleck, Grader, & Roberts, 2006).

Figure 22. Effect of changing internal curing LWA replacement level on measured 

cumulative heat release for a blended cement/fly ash mortar (de la Varga, Castro, Bentz, & 

Weiss, submitted).

Espinoza-Hijazin and Lopez have recently measured the 90 d LOI-based degree of hydration for 

five concretes with w/c of 0.4 to 0.5, exposed to poor curing conditions of 50 % RH and 23 °C 

immediately after demolding at 1 d (Espinoza-Hijazin & Lopez, 2010). In each case, the 

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Degree of hydratoin

Age (d)

Internal curing

Control
31

concrete with internal curing exhibited at least a 10 % absolute increase in measured degree of 

hydration, further verifying the tendency of internal curing to increase hydration, compared with 

systems without LWA. 

The influence of w/c (w/cm) can play a significant role in determining the extent of 

additional curing that may be expected due to the provision of internal curing. For example, 

Castro performed tests with internal curing over a wide range of w/c (Castro, 2011). At very 

early ages (i.e., less than 24 h), all the specimens showed a similar degree of hydration. 

However, at later ages, as shown in Figure 23 at 3 d, the degree of hydration in the lower w/c

systems is restricted when compared with higher w/c systems. At lower w/c, internal curing 

increases the degree of hydration, with this increase being even more pronounced at later ages

(Castro, 2011).

Figure 23. Influence of w/c and internal curing on the degree of hydration (Castro, 2011).

5.5 Strength and Elastic Modulus

The effects of internal curing on compressive and tensile strength depend on the specific 

mixture proportions, curing conditions, and testing age. While mixtures with internal curing 

could increase strengths and moduli due to an increase in the degree of hydration of the 

cementitious binder, conversely, a decrease in strength could be observed as the internal curing 

agents are likely mechanically weaker than the NWAs that they are replacing (and SAP particles 

ultimately end up as additional air voids within the hardened concrete). In practice, both 

increases and decreases in strengths have been observed due to these competing effects. In 

0.24 0.27 0.30 0.33 0.36 0.39 0.42 0.45 0.48 0.51 0.54

w/c

LWA Saturated System

Sealed System

0.40

0.45

0.50

0.55

0.60

0.65

0.70

D

e

g

r

e

e

o

f

H

y

d

r

a

tio

n

a

t

7

2

h

(H

e

a

t

/

M

a

xim

u

m

t

h

e

o

r

e

tic

al h

e

a

t)
32

general, decreases are observed at earlier testing ages (< 7 d) while increases are obtained at later 

testing ages. 

As a first example, a recent study based on w/c=0.30 ordinary portland cement mortars 

with a constant volume fraction of sand (normal weight and LWA) of 55 %, both with and 

without internal curing is considered (Raoufi, Schlitter, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted). In this case, 

internal curing was provided by various replacement levels of two different LWAs (LWAK and 

LWAH), with the mortars being cured under sealed conditions and evaluated for mechanical 

properties after 1 d, 3 d, and 7 d. Fitted curves for the measured values for tensile strength and 

elastic modulus are provided in Figure 24. LWA-0 represents the plain mortar mixture, while 

the LWAK-8 and LWAK-16 mixtures had 8.25 % and 16.5 % of their total volume replaced with 

a pre-wetted LWA. For LWAH, from a second LWA source, these two replacements levels 

were 11.85 % and 23.7 %, respectively. In the figure, it can be seen that the highest level of 

LWA replacement produced up to about a 25 % reduction in 7 d tensile strength, with increasing 

levels of LWA replacement producing further reductions in strength. Although the relative

influence on elastic modulus is less than that on compressive strength, the early-age elastic 

moduli of the mixtures with internal curing are lower than those of the mixture without internal 

curing. It is well known that lightweight concretes generally exhibit lower elastic moduli than 

their normal weight counterparts and may exhibit a different strength-modulus relationship

(Holm, Bremner, & Newman, 1984).

Figure 24. Measured tensile strength (left) and elastic modulus (right) for mortars cured 

under sealed conditions, with various levels of internal curing supplied by two different

pre-wetted LWA (denoted as K and H) (Raoufi, Schlitter, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted).

In systems with supplementary cementitious materials, internal curing often enhances

strength at later ages, as the additional water supplied by the internal curing reservoirs is 

available for the longer term pozzolanic and hydraulic reactions. Table 4 provides compressive 

strengths for w/cm=0.3 mortars prepared with three different blended cement binders, with and 

without internal curing (Bentz, 2007). The silica fume blended cement contained 8 % silica 
33

fume by mass, the slag cement 20 % slag, and the fly ash cement 25 % of a Class F fly ash. For 

the sealed curing conditions employed in that study, internally-cured mortars produced strength 

gains on the order of 10 % at ages of 28 d and beyond, while producing equivalent strengths to 

their respective control mixtures at an age of 3 d. 

Table 4. Measured Mortar Cube Compressive Strengths for Various Mixtures Cured under 

Sealed Conditions (SF=silica fume, FA=fly ash) (Bentz, 2007)

Mixture 3 d strength 

(MPa)

8 d strength 

(MPa)

28 d strength 

(MPa)

56 d strength 

(MPa)

SF – Control 68.1 (2.0)A

9878 psi

80.4 (3.0)

11665 psi

----- 98.0 (2.7)

14232 psi

SF – IC (8) 67.9 (4.6)

9843 psi

87.9 (4.6)

12743 psi

----- 105.6 (6.9)

15312 psi

SF – IC (10) 66.7 (1.4)

9670 psi

85.0 (2.9)

12327 psi

93.3 (4.7)

13531 psi

-----

SLAG – Control 60.9 (0.9)

8827 psi

71.5 (2.0)

10376 psi

81.8 (3.2)

11863 psi

84.3 (5.7)

12226 psi

SLAG – IC 59.2 (4.2)

8581 psi

71.7 (2.3)

10399 psi

88.8 (3.9)

12873 psi

94.6 (1.0)

13729 psi

FA – Control 58.0 (0.5)

8407 psi

70.5 (3.3)

10224 psi

85.3 (3.4)

12365 psi

95.3 (4.0)

13827 psi

FA – IC 57.4 (2.3)

8324 psi

67.5 (3.5)

9794 psi

92.9 (3.8)

13471 psi

101.1 (2.9)

14665 psi

ANumbers in parentheses indicate standard deviation in units of MPa for compressive strengths 

of three replicate cubes at each age for each mixture.

Similar results have been obtained in a more recent study by de la Varga et al. on high 

volume fly ash (HVFA) mortars (de la Varga, Castro, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted). As shown in 

Figure 25, for HVFA mortars with w/cm=0.3, based on a Class C fly ash and proportioned 

according to equation (5), internal curing produced strength enhancements at ages beyond 3 d. 

These strength increases were observed for the HVFA mixtures with either a 40 % or a 60 % 

volumetric replacement of cement by fly ash.

The influence of SAP on compressive strength is also dependent on mixture proportions. 

Hasholt et al. have measured compressive strengths of concretes with different w/c and different 

levels of SAP addition (Hasholt, Seneka Jespersen, & Jensen, 2010). For w/c=0.4 and w/c=0.5 

concretes, they observed up to a 10 % reduction in compressive strength as SAP levels were 

increased from 0.1 % to 0.6 %. However, for a series of w/c=0.35 concretes, strengths at 7 d and 

beyond were increased by the addition of 0.1 %, 0.2 %, or 0.4 % SAP, while the 0.6 % addition 

level of SAP reduced strength. The authors illustrated that these results were adequately 

described by assuming that compressive strengths of the mortars are proportional to those of 

their component pastes, then applying Powers’ gel-space ratio with a correction for air voids 

created by the SAP particles according to Bolomey’s formula. In the lower w/c concrete, the 

strength loss due to the additional (SAP) voids is more than offset by the increased degree of 

hydration provided by the additional curing water contained within the swollen SAP particles.
34

Figure 25. Influence of internal curing on compressive strength of high volume fly ash 

mortars cured under sealed conditions (de la Varga, Castro, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted).

An extension of this study (Hasholt, Seneka Jespersen, & Jensen, 2010a), considered the elastic 

moduli of these same mixtures. The elastic modulus was also successfully related to Powers’ 

gel-space ratio, with the additional ‘voids’ from the SAP particles producing a substantial 

reduction in elastic modulus relative to the control mixture without internal curing.

To better understand the influence of curing conditions on compressive strength, Golias

examined four mortar mixtures with w/c of 0.3 or 0.5 (Golias, 2010). For each w/c, one mixture 

had internal curing while the other did not. Results can be seen in Figure 26. In the water-cured 

or moist-cured samples, little difference exists between the internally cured mortar and the plain

mortar without internal curing. This is expected since both mortars were provided with 

sufficient external water to aid in hydration. Although the performance of the sealed specimens 

was similar to that of the moist-cured ones at early ages, the influence of additional curing water 

becomes evident at the latest tested age (e.g., 91 d). The influence of internal curing is most 

dramatic for the samples stored in a drying environment (50 % RH), where the plain mortar 

shows a substantially reduced strength relative to the mixtures that incorporated internal curing.

The influence of internal curing on elastic modulus is shown in Figure 27. The modulus 

is lower for both systems containing LWA. To explain the reason for the decrease in stiffness, a 

plot has been developed based on composite theory as shown in Figure 28. The influence of the 

LWA aggregate is more pronounced in the lower w/c system where the modulus of the paste is 

higher. The increase in modulus associated with increasing aggregate volume is also 

complimented by the increase in modulus due to additional hydration. This causes the upper 

bound to be slightly non-linear; however, this is a relatively small influence for most mixtures.
35

a) Water Curing b) Moist Curing

c) Sealed Curing d) Drying

Figure 26. Influence of curing conditions on compressive strength development in plain (P) 

and internally-cured (IC) mortars (Golias, 2010).

A reduced elastic modulus can also be related to the reduction in cracking potential 

(Weiss, Yang, & Shah, 1999) (Shah & Weiss, 2000) (Shin, Bucher, & Weiss, 2011) (Raoufi, 

Schlitter, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted). Reducing the elastic modulus has a beneficial influence 

on reducing the residual stress due to restraint as a function of time. Raoufi et al. conducted a 

series of simulations to better understand the influence of reduced stiffness on early age cracking 

potential (Raoufi, Schlitter, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted). Results from that study are illustrated 

in Figure 29. Stresses are reduced by approximately 10 % to 20 %, due to the reduction in 

elastic modulus caused by the LWA. The significant influence of the water being released from 

the LWA to reduce shrinkage, and thus residual stress development, is also shown in Figure 29.

30-P: Water

30-IC: Water

50-P: Water

50-IC: Water

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

C

o

m

pre

s

siv

e

Stre

n

gth (M

P

a)

0 14 28 42 56 70 84 98

Time (d)

30-P: Moist

30-IC: Moist

50-P: Moist

50-IC: Moist

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

C

o

m

pre

s

siv

e

Stre

n

gth (M

P

a)

0 14 28 42 56 70 84 98

Time (d)

30-P: Sealed

30-IC: Sealed

50-P: Sealed

50-IC: Sealed

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

C

o

m

pre

s

siv

e

Stre

n

gth (M

P

a)

0 14 28 42 56 70 84 98

Time (d)

30-P: Drying

30-IC: Drying

50-P: Drying

50-IC: Drying

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

C

o

m

pre

s

siv

e

Stre

n

gth (M

P

a)

0 14 28 42 56 70 84 98

Time (d)
36

Figure 27. Influence of internal curing on elastic modulus of sealed specimens (Golias, 

2010).

Figure 28. An illustration of composite theory to describe the influence of LWA on stiffness 

(Golias, 2010). Ep and Ea are the elastic moduli of the paste and aggregate, respectively.

30-P: Sealed

30-IC: Sealed

50-P: Sealed

50-IC: Sealed

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Ela

s

tic

M

o

d

ulu

s (G

P

a)

0 14 28 42 56 70 84 98

Time (d)
37

Figure 29. Influence of reduced elastic modulus on residual stress development (Raoufi, 

Schlitter, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted).

5.6 Creep

Few studies concerning creep of systems with internal curing have been conducted. 

Lopez et al. have examined the creep behavior of w/cm=0.23 high performance concretes with 

and without internal curing, contrasting the performance of using pre-wetted vs. dry LWA (with 

additional water added to the mix to account for the expected absorption by the dry LWA) 

(Lopez, Kahn, & Kurtis, 2008). After moist curing, the normal weight high performance 

concrete exhibited substantially higher compressive strengths than the concretes with internal 

curing at ages less than one year, and achieved strengths in excess of 100 MPa at 28 d. In this 

case, replacing the high quality granite used in the control mixture with LWA in the mixtures 

with internal curing produced a large enough reduction in compressive strength that it could not 

be offset by enhanced hydration. The mixture with pre-wetted LWA exhibited less creep 

(about 10 %) than the control mixture, while the mixture with dry LWA exhibited the greatest 

creep. Conversely, Cusson and Hoogeveen measured a moderate increase in the tensile creep 

coefficient of w/c=0.34 concrete mixtures with internal curing measured at 7 d vs. a control 

mixture (Cusson & Hoogeveen, 2005).

5.7 Curling and Warping

By maintaining a higher and more uniform RH through the thickness of a concrete 

member, internal curing may provide the additional benefit of a reduction in curling/warping. 

Wei and Hansen have observed that during a drying time of 16 d, warping was reduced by 70 % 

by incorporating internal curing into a w/c=0.45 concrete (Wei & Hansen, 2008). This 
38

improvement in performance was due both to the release of water from the LWA during drying 

and the enhanced hydration producing a denser layer of concrete at the top surface, thus reducing

the evaporation. Such results need to be extended to longer drying periods to verify the efficacy 

of internal curing for reducing warping in the longer term. 

Neithalath et al. examined the role of moisture gradients on early-age cracking potential

(Neithalath, Pease, Moon, Rajabipour, Weiss, & Attiogbe, 2005). Shrinkage caused by external 

drying has a high gradient near the surface, while shrinkage caused by self-desiccation is more 

uniform throughout the cross section. This is illustrated conceptually in Figure 30. The more 

uniform moisture content (RH) results in reduced curling; however, this can also result in a 

residual stress field that is more uniform, making unstable crack growth more likely. Internal 

curing also produces lower diffusion rates and a higher overall moisture content (internal RH).

 

Figure 30. Influence of external drying and self-desiccation on the moisture gradients in a 

slab (Neithalath, Pease, Moon, Rajabipour, Weiss, & Attiogbe, 2005). Arrows indicate the 

progression of time.

5.8 Microstructure

The microstructure of high performance blended cement mortars with and without 

internal curing has been examined using scanning electron microscopy by Bentz and Stutzman

(Bentz & Stutzman, 2008). Representative images are provided for cements blended with silica 

fume, slag, and fly ash in Figure 31, Figure 32, and Figure 33, respectively. In contrasting the 

microstructures of specimens with internal curing and those without, the former contain fewer 

and smaller unhydrated cement particles (indicating enhanced hydration), fewer and smaller 

empty pores (indicating less self-desiccation), and a denser and more homogeneous interfacial 

transition zone (ITZ) between lightweight aggregates and hydrating cement paste (as has been 

observed in previous studies on lightweight concrete (Holm, Bremner, & Newman, 1984)).

40 60 80 100

Relative Humidity (%)

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

Normalized Specimen 

Thickness (X/D)

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

Normalized Specimen 

Thickness (X/D)

HAMBIENT HINTERNAL

Surface

As the 

Specimen 

Dries

40 60 80 100

Relative Humidity (%)

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

Normalized Specimen 

Thickness (X/D)

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

Normalized Specimen 

Thickness (X/D)

HAMBIENT HINTERNAL

Surface

Drying

SelfNormalized Specimen 

Desc

Depth (X/D)

Normalized Specimen

Depth (X/D)
39

Figure 31 - BSE/SEM images of mortar microstructures for silica fume blended cement without (top) and with (bottom) 

internal curing at low (left) and high (right) magnifications (Bentz & Stutzman, 2008). Scale bar for each image is located in 

lower right corner. 
40

Figure 32. BSE/SEM images of mortar microstructures for slag blended cement without (top) and with (bottom) internal 

curing at low (left) and high (right) magnifications (Bentz & Stutzman, 2008). Scale bar for each image is located in lower 

right corner. 
41

Figure 33. BSE/SEM images of mortar microstructures for fly ash blended cement without (top) and with (bottom) internal 

curing at low(left) and high (right) magnifications (Bentz & Stutzman, 2008). Scale bar for each image is located in lower 

right corner.
42

5.9 Restrained Shrinkage and Thermal Cracking

Earlier, results of restrained shrinkage cracking were discussed for sealed (autogenous) 

and total (drying plus autogenous) shrinkage. Figure 34 illustrates the age of cracking for these 

mixtures as a function of the amount of internal curing (i.e., volume of LWA used). It should be 

noted that the percent of LWA that corresponds to that predicted by equation (5) is 23.7 % by 

volume. Mixtures exposed to drying in addition to autogenous shrinkage are more likely to 

crack than mixtures experiencing autogenous shrinkage only. As the volume of LWA increases,

the age of cracking is delayed, until an asymptote appears to be reached.

Figure 34. Influence of internal curing on restrained shrinkage cracking (Henkensiefken, 

Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009)

Although supplementary cementitious materials such as silica fume, slag, and fly ash may 

exhibit a greater chemical shrinkage per unit mass than ordinary portland cement, this chemical 

shrinkage may occur at a later age. This results in stress development plots like those shown in 

Figure 35 where the plain system develops stress rapidly and plateaus after approximately 14 d. 

While the mixtures containing fly ash show lower stress development initially, this stress 

develops for a longer time and makes these materials more likely to crack at slightly later ages. 

When internal curing is used, the residual stress is substantially reduced, which corresponds to a 

dramatic reduction in cracking potential.
43

Figure 35. Influence of internal curing on restrained shrinkage and cracking for mixtures 

containing a Class C fly ash (de la Varga, Castro, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted).

In addition to reducing the potential of cracking due to autogenous shrinkage, Figure 36

shows examples of the residual tensile stress development in a plain mixture and a mixture with 

internal curing (Schlitter, Bentz, & Weiss, 2011). By reducing the stress that is developed due to 

autogenous shrinkage, a greater reserve capacity exists in the internally cured mortar to resist 

stresses due to thermal and/or applied loading. In a typical concrete structure, the temperature 

increases during the first few days of curing due to the heat released by the hydration reactions 

and then decreases towards ambient. As the structure cools from its maximum temperature to 

ambient, thermal cracking may occur (Bentz, Bognacki, Riding, & Villarreal, 2011). Figure 37

indicates that a more substantial reduction in temperature is needed to crack the samples with 

internal curing. During the first 72 h, no cracking occurred in the internally cured specimens 

when the temperature was reduced by as much as 32 °C, while the plain mortar specimens 

cracked when the temperature was reduced by only 10 °C or 12 °C. This shows a substantial 

increase in the potential robustness of materials made using internal curing at early ages with 

respect to thermal shock, cooling, or diurnal temperature changes.
44

Figure 36. Influence of internal curing on the residual stress development and reserve 

stress capacity. A plain mixture is shown on the left and a mixture containing internal 

curing on the right (Schlitter, Bentz, & Weiss, 2011).

Figure 37. The temperature change permitted before cracking occurs in mortars with 

w/c=0.3, illustrating a benefit of internal curing (mixtures M30-12 and M30-24) (Schlitter, 

Bentz, & Weiss, 2011).

5.10 Transport Coefficients and Service Life

Internal curing positively impacts the transport coefficients and service life of cementbased materials. Enhanced hydration densifies the pore structure of the material, resulting in 

Cracking 

Strength

Shrinkage 

Stress

Shrinkage 

Stress

Reserve 

Capacity

Reserve 

Capacity

Reserve 

Capacity

Cracking 

Strength

Shrinkage Stress

0 24 48 72 96 120 144 168 192 216

Time (Hours)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Tem

perature Change (

o

C)

M30-0

M30-12

M30-24
45

reduced transport. Additionally, as shown in Section 5.8, the ITZ formed between LWA and its 

surrounding cement paste is denser and more homogeneous than the ITZ formed between a 

NWA and its surrounding cement paste. Often, the ITZ regions surrounding NWAs are more 

porous than the bulk hydrated cement paste and can provide preferential pathways for the ingress 

of deleterious species (Halamickova, Detwiler, Bentz, & Garboczi, 1995). Here, the percolation 

or connectivity of these individual ITZ regions is as important as their porosity. As illustrated 

schematically in two dimensions in Figure 38, the replacement of a portion of the NWAs (sand) 

by LWA could significantly reduce the connectivity of the ITZ regions surrounding the NWAs, 

as well as reduce the volume fraction of this more porous ITZ paste (Bentz, 2009). 

These positive attributes of the LWA must be balanced against the fact that the LWA 

itself is a porous particle that can contribute its own transport pathways. With this in mind, the 

net effect of internal curing on transport will likely depend on the nature of the cementitious 

matrix. If a high w/cm (> 0.45) is employed, the capillary porosity may remain percolated and its 

percolated pathways can easily link up with those in the LWA to provide increased transport. 

However, in a lower w/cm matrix, the capillary porosity will depercolate (Powers, Copeland, & 

Mann, 1959) and the porous LWA particles will soon be surrounded by a dense layer of 

hydration products. In this case, similar to the case of air voids in concrete, the isolated porous 

regions will not contribute substantially to transport. In fact, the overall transport coefficients of 

the mortar or concrete may be reduced due to the enhanced hydration and denser ITZs as 

discussed above. Indeed, Zhang and Gjorv have observed that the permeability of high-strength 

lightweight concrete is more dependent on the properties of the cement paste than the porosity of 

the LWA (Zhang & Gjorv, 1991). Additionally, Pyc et al. and Castro et al. have recently 

performed mass measurements that suggest that once the pores in LWA empty while supplying 

water to the hydrating cement paste during internal curing, they are not subsequently resaturated, 

even upon complete immersion of the specimen (Pyc, Caldarone, Broton, & Reeves, 2008)

(Castro, Keiser, Golias, & Weiss, 2011).

Several recent studies have directly examined the influence of internal curing on chloride 

diffusion coefficients and sorptivity coefficients of mortars. Figure 39 shows the estimated 

diffusion coefficients for w/c=0.4 mortars (55 % fine aggregate by volume) with and without 

internal curing (Bentz, Snyder, & Peltz, 2010). In this study, mortars were first cured for 28 d, 

those without internal curing saturated limewater and those with internal curing under sealed 

conditions. Then, the cylindrical specimens were placed into a 1 mol/L chloride solution for 

exposure times of 28 d, 56 d, 182 d, and 365 d. At each evaluation time, replicate cylinders from 

each mixture were split and the level of chloride ion ingress determined using a silver nitrate 

(AgNO3) spray technique (Baroghel-Bouny, Belin, Maultzsch, & Henry, 2007). The penetration 

depth at each age was reduced significantly in the mortar with internal curing relative to that of

the control mixture. As shown in Figure 39, the diffusion coefficients for the mortar with 

internal curing relative to those of the control varied from 50 % after 28 d exposure to about 

90 % after 365 d. Significant reductions in diffusion coefficients for high-performance 

lightweight aggregate concretes relative to their normal weight counterparts have also been 

obtained by Thomas (Thomas, 2003). In that study, while short term diffusion coefficients were 

only reduced by 15 % to 25 % due to the incorporation of LWA, long term (3 years) values were

decreased by as much as 70 %. 
46

Figure 38. Comparison of model mortars with normal weight sand particles only (left) with 

their surrounding ITZs and with a 50:50 blend (volume basis) of sand and LWA (right). 

Both the volume fraction of ITZ (grey) paste and its percolation are reduced by the 

incorporation of the LWA (Bentz, 2009).

Figure 39. The diffusivity ratio S/Sc (proportional to the diffusion coefficient) for w/c=0.4 

mortars with and without internal curing, first cured for 28 d, and then exposed to a 1 

mol/L chloride ion solution (Bentz, Snyder, & Peltz, 2010).

Henkensiefken et al. examined the sorption characteristics of mortars prepared with and 

without internal curing (Henkensiefken, Castro, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009). For w/c=0.3 

mortars cured under sealed conditions, measured sorption coefficients were significantly reduced 

for specimens with internal curing vs. those without, as shown in Figure 40. The mixtures with 

internal curing (11.0 % or 23.7 % LWA by volume) exhibited a sorption behavior similar to that 

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

0 73 146 219 292 365

s/sc

Exposure time (d)

Control

Internal curing
47

of a mortar without internal curing of a significantly reduced w/c ratio (on the order of 

w/c=0.23), as illustrated in Figure 41. Concurrently, they measured a reduction in the electrical 

conductivity of the specimens with internal curing, even when these specimens were vacuumsaturated prior to the electrical measurements (Figure 42). This further supports the conjecture 

that at lower w/c, the influences of increased hydration and denser bulk and ITZ microstructures 

overwhelm those of the increased water-filled porosity of the vacuum-saturated LWA 

(Henkensiefken, Castro, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009).

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 40. Sorption test on samples cured for (a) 1d, (b) 7 d, (c) 28 d, and (d) 90 d. Results 

are shown for plain mortars with 55 % sand and three w/c (0.25, 0.3, and 0.35) and for two 

w/c=0.35 mortars with internal curing (LWA replacements of 11 % and 23.7 %). Error 

bars indicate standard deviation for the three specimens evaluated for each mixture

(Henkensiefken, Castro, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009).

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120

Time (min1/2)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

A

b

s

orb

e

d

w

ater

(10-3 g

of w

ater / c

m3 of p

a

ste)

55/0.35 - 1 d

55/0.30 - 1 d

55/0.25 - 1 d

11.0% - 1 d

23.7% - 1 d

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120

Time (min1/2)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

A

b

s

orb

e

d

w

ater

(10-3 g

of w

ater / c

m3 of p

a

ste)

55/0.35 - 7 d

55/0.30 - 7 d

55/0.25 - 7 d

11.0% - 7 d

23.7% - 7 d

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120

Time (min1/2)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

A

b

s

orb

e

d

w

ater

(10-3 g

of w

ater / c

m3 of p

a

ste)

55/0.35 - 28 d

55/0.30 - 28 d

55/0.25 - 28 d

11.0% - 28 d

23.7% - 28 d

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120

Time (min1/2)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

A

b

s

orb

e

d

w

ater

(10-3 g

of w

ater / c

m3 of p

a

ste)

55/0.30 - 90 d

11.0% - 90 d

23.7% - 90 d
48

Figure 41. Influence of internal curing on water absorption (Henkensiefken, Castro, Bentz, 

Nantung, & Weiss, 2009). Solid line is provided to indicate a general tendency in the data.

Figure 42. Influence of internal curing on electrical conductivity. Results are shown for 

plain mortars with 55 % sand and three w/c (0.25, 0.3, and 0.35) and for two w/c=0.35 

mortars with internal curing (LWA replacements of 11 % and 23.7 % by volume) 

(Henkensiefken, Castro, Bentz, Nantung, & Weiss, 2009). Solid line is provided to indicate 

a general tendency in the data.

0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40

water - cement ratio

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

A

b

s

orb

e

d

w

ater at 8

d

(10-3 g

of w

ater /

c

m3 of p

a

ste)

M-0, 28 d

M30-12, 28 d

M30-24, 28 d

0.23 0.28

Mortar

0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20

Total porosity

excluding gel porosity

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

C

o

n

d

u

ctivity, σ (10-3 S

/

m)

55/0.35 - 28 d

55/0.30 - 28 d

55/0.25 - 28 d

11.0% - 28 d

23.7% - 28 d
49

This beneficial effect of internal curing is not limited to low w/c mixtures, however, as 

illustrated in Figure 43 (Castro, 2011) which evaluates the effects of internal curing on water 

absorption and electrical conductivity. While the results at early ages show little impact of 

internal curing, the total amount of absorbed water was reduced when the amount of lightweight 

aggregate was increased for all w/c. (100 % IC corresponds to the volume of water predicted 

from equation (5)). Electrical conductivity tests performed on sealed samples a year after 

casting also show a reduction when using internal curing. However, care must be exercised to 

obtain a correct interpretation of the electrical conductivity results at early ages, due to the higher 

amount of fluid present in the pores of the LWA in the system when pre-wetted LWA are added.

Figure 43. Influence of internal curing on water absorption and electrical conductivity for 

samples with different w/c (Castro, 2011).

Recently, Cusson et al. compared the service lives of high-performance concrete bridge 

decks with and without internal curing (Cusson, Lounis, & Daigle, 2010). They compared a 

conventional concrete bridge deck to two high-performance decks, namely with and without 

internal curing. The high-performance concrete deck without internal curing provided a 

reduction in the expected diffusion coefficient for chloride attacking the steel reinforcement, but 

also exhibited initial cracking due to excessive early-age autogenous and thermal stresses. The 

high-performance concrete with internal curing did not exhibit any early-age cracking and 

provided a further 25 % reduction in the expected diffusion coefficient. Based on these and 

other assumptions presented in the study (Cusson, Lounis, & Daigle, 2010), the following 

service life estimates were obtained for the bridge decks: conventional concrete – 22 years, highperformance concrete without internal curing – 40 years, and high-performance concrete with 

internal curing – 63 years. In this case, internal curing should produce a bridge deck with an 

increased service life and a significantly reduced life cycle cost.

0 25 50 75 100

Amount of LWA from Equation 1 (%)

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

W

ater A

b

s

orptio

n

at 8

d

a

y

s

(m

m3 w

ater / m

m2 s

urfa

c

e)

w/c = 0.45

w/c = 0.42

w/c = 0.36

w/c = 0.30

a) 65% RH

0 25 50 75 100

Additional water from IC (%)

0

10

20

30

40

C

o

n

d

u

ctivity (10-3 S/m)

w/c = 0.45

w/c = 0.42

w/c = 0.36

w/c = 0.30

saturated samples at 365 days

Additional water from IC (%) Additional water from IC
50

5.11 Freeze/Thaw Degradation

Freeze/thaw durability is one concern that is frequently raised with the use of pre-wetted 

LWA, since the additional internal curing water may raise the moisture content of these samples,

and the increased porosity of the LWA could provide locations for additional water in the long 

term. This can be a concern in the late fall construction season if freezing occurs shortly after 

casting and the aggregates do not have time to desorb. Schlitter et al. (Schlitter, Henkensiefken, 

Castro, Raoufi, Weiss, & Nantung, 2010) tested a series of internally cured concretes, cured for 

14 d under sealed conditions, and did not observe freeze-thaw damage after 300 cycles (two 

cycles per day with temperature cycling between 10 °C and -18 °C). This suggests that the LWA 

might be contributing to the entrained air volume.

One thing to keep in mind, however, when considering potentially equivalent air void 

protection provided by pores within or from the internal curing reservoirs is that the volume of 

equivalent air voids will likely not be greater than the volume fraction of additional curing water 

being provided by the reservoirs. For example, for a typical concrete made with w/c=0.40 and 

having a cement content of 550 kg/m3, using the numerator of equation (5), the internal curing 

water demand will be (550*0.07)= 38.5 kg/m3

or 3.85 % on a volume basis. Thus, if one 

required a concrete with an air content of 5 %, it is unlikely that internal curing can provide that 

quantity of air in its entirety. However, the fact that a mixture proportioned for internal curing 

may not provide all of the potential void volume needed for freeze/thaw protection doesn’t 

detract from its ability to provide a set of supplemental voids that can contribute to the overall air 

void system and serve as an insurance policy in the case of marginal or variable air entrainment 

dilemmas. As previously exemplified by its influence on settlement and plastic shrinkage 

cracking, internal curing can increase the overall robustness of a concrete mixture with respect to 

numerous characteristics, including freeze/thaw performance.

5.12 Alkali-Silica Reaction

Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) is a chemical process in which alkali ions, coming primarily from 

the cement, can react with amorphous silica within the aggregates, resulting in the formation of 

an expansive alkali-silica gel. The use of LWA for internal curing in materials susceptible to 

ASR can be complicated as described by Shin and Weiss (Shin, et al., 2010). Internal curing 

could influence ASR by: 

1) Decreasing the overall porosity of the cement paste due to enhanced hydration, thereby

reducing the rate of fluid ingress and the rate of ASR reaction; 

2) The porosity of the LWA can provide spaces for the expansive gel to deposit, thereby 

reducing the pressure generated by the gel in the matrix and reducing the potential for 

expansion; 

3) The LWA could replace a portion of the reactive fine aggregate, diluting the volume of 

reactive particles and thereby reducing expansion; and

4) Increasing the internal relative humidity of the concrete, thereby enabling more ASR 

reaction to occur.
51

Figure 44 illustrates measured length changes for specimens tested according to ASTM 

C1260 (with the exceptions that the boundary conditions were 38 °C and an initial submersion in 

NaOH after 7 d of curing) (ASTM International, 2007a). The expansion is low for all mixtures 

in the first 10 d. The samples with LWA showed a rapid expansion at a later age (approximately 

20 d of exposure for the system where 15 % by volume of the reactive sand was replaced with 

LWA (M30R-15m) or a non-reactive sand (M30R-15N) and approximately 30 d of exposure for 

the system where 28 % by volume of the reactive sand was replaced with LWA (M30R-28m) or

a non-reactive sand (M30R-28N)). This delay is believed to be primarily due to a dilution effect 

(i.e., reducing the volume of reactive sand), since it is observed for both aggregates (LWA and 

non reactive sand); however, the samples with LWA (m) do show a slower rate of expansion 

when compared with their non reactive sand (N) counterparts at both replacement levels.

Figure 44. Influence of non-reactive aggregate (denoted by N) and LWA (denoted by m)

replacement on ASR expansion (Shin, et al., 2010). 
52

6 Internal Curing in Production: Ready-Mix Operations

Procedures for implementing internal curing in production are essentially the same as 

those employed for producing lightweight concretes for more than 50 years. Villarreal provides 

valuable guidance for ready-mix production and emphasizes the criticality of proper LWA 

moisture conditioning (Villareal, 2008). At the ready-mix plant, a separate bin may be used for 

the LWA or they may be kept in (sprinkled) piles at the site. The New York Department of 

Transportation (NYDOT) requires sprinkling cornrows of LWA until shortly before use when 

the sprinklers are turned off. The time required for sprinkling a new pile prior its use in concrete 

is dependent on the application rate of the water and the LWA’s absorption characteristics. 

According to Villarreal, “the aggregate piles must be turned and remixed to obtain a 

homogeneous aggregate moisture content just prior to the beginning of the production cycle” 

(Villareal, 2008). He also suggests that a system be implemented for recycling the excess runoff 

water back into the sprinkler system. The bottom few inches of the aggregate in these piles can

have a substantially different moisture content than aggregate in the rest of the pile and thus there 

may be a practical value in not using these bottom portions in standard mixing operations.

As with any aggregate being incorporated into a concrete, the moisture content and 

absorption capacity of the LWA must be known prior to the final proportioning of the concrete 

mixture. These quantities are critically important for mixture proportioning for internal curing, 

as they determine the denominator when using equation (5) to perform the proportioning. Proper 

quality control is essential to providing a high quality concrete with internal curing. Since

saturated surface-dry is a nebulous concept for LWA, it is best if the LWA can be provided in a

known and maintainable state of moisture equilibrium. When this necessary moisture 

conditioning is not achieved, additional problems with variable unit weight, slump loss, 

pumpability, segregation, and finishability will likely occur (Villareal, 2008). 

While it is frequently reported that ‘saturated LWA’ needs to be used to make internally

cured concrete, this is an oversimplification. Golias (Golias, 2010) studied the influence of the 

moisture contents of LWA used for internal curing by adding the LWA in three states: oven dry, 

24 h pre-wetted, and vacuum saturated. By adjusting the mixture proportions to account for the 

saturation level of the aggregate (such as including extra water in the mixture when oven dry 

LWAs were employed), it was possible to achieve the same internal curing benefits (increase in 

strength and degree of hydration and decrease in autogenous shrinkage and water sorption) using 

the oven dry or the 24 h pre-soaked LWA. The use of vacuum saturated LWA was not as 

efficient as the other cases, since additional water may be held in the smallest pores, making it 

more difficult for that internal curing water to be desorbed. The purpose of this study was not to 

advocate the use of oven dry LWA, as LWA in this state would not be expected to be 

encountered in the field. Rather, it was conducted to show that internal curing is possible with a 

wide range of LWA moisture conditions from a theoretical perspective, if the moisture content of 

the aggregate and its absorption are properly considered. While laboratory studies have shown

that LWA added in a partially saturated state will generally absorb water from the fresh mixture 

in a predictable and repeatable manner, the large number of additional variables that come into 

play for a field concrete suggest that, for the current state-of-the-practice, it is best to provide the 

LWA in a known and consistent pre-wetted condition.
53

7 Internal Curing in Present Practice: Field Experiences

As of the end of 2010, internal curing has been employed in a variety of concrete 

mixtures for diverse applications including bridge decks, pavements, transit yards, and water 

tanks. 

One of the first documented field studies of concrete with internal curing was a large 

railway transit yard in Texas requiring 190000 m3 of concrete, constructed in 2005 (Villarreal & 

Crocker, 2007). In this application, an intermediate sized LWA (178 kg/m3 concrete) was 

blended with NWAs to fill in a gap in the overall aggregate gradation. The internal curing 

provided by the pre-wetted intermediate LWA resulted in a noticeable (> 15 %) increase in 28 d 

strength, elimination of plastic and drying shrinkage cracking, and a reduction in concrete unit 

weight that may translate into reductions in fuel requirements and equipment wear (Villarreal & 

Crocker, 2007). Since 2007, several informal crack surveys have been conducted at the railway 

transit yard, with only two or three cracks found (one of these being where a construction joint 

was inadvertently omitted). This concrete mixture design has steadily increased in popularity in 

the north Texas region (Villareal, 2008), with over 2000000 m3 of internally-cured concrete now 

in place.

In 2006, internal curing was employed for a continuously reinforced concrete pavement 

placed using a slip-form paving machine (Friggle & Reeves, 2008). The concrete mixture with 

internal curing was formulated to meet the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)

requirements of a minimum flexural strength of 3.93 MPa and a minimum compressive strength 

of 24.1 MPa, both at 7 d. Ten months after the successful placement of the pavement, a crack 

survey indicated “an overwhelming reduction in the number of cracks (21 vs. 52 in a comparable 

section of normal concrete) and a significant reduction in the measured width of the cracks” for 

the test section placed using the mixture with internal curing relative to a control section placed 

with the TxDOT standard mixture (Friggle & Reeves, 2008).

Internal curing has been used in bridges in New York, Ohio, and Indiana. In Ohio, the 

department of transportation employed a modified HPC #4 mixture that contained 356 kg/m3 of 

cementitious materials and silica fume (http://www.nesolite.com/appofmonth.htm). 

Approximately 120 kg/m3 of LWA were used. The mixture was pumped to the deck without 

incident and maintained sufficient entrained air, which was monitored using a pressure meter. 

The mixture was reported to have strengths that were similar or superior to the conventional 

mixture without internal curing. 

The NYDOT has also used internal curing on 9 bridges that have been built and it is 

planned for several additional bridges. The NYDOT uses a special mixture design that is similar 

to their conventional deck design (nearly 385 kg/m3 of cementitious material with silica fume),

where 120 kg/m3 of fine LWA are used. A 2 % to a 10 % increase in strength was noted 

between 7 d and 28 d with the use of internal curing on the Court Street bridge and a 5 % 

reduction in strength at 7 d with a 15 % increase in strength at 28 d on the Bartell Road bridge 

(Figure 45) (Wolfe 2010). In discussions with the NYDOT, it was reported that there were no 

negatives associated with using internal curing; however, the potential benefits still needed to be 

quantified through comparisons with conventional concrete bridge deck materials. Three 
54

internally cured decks were walked to assess their performance after 1 year to 3 years and only 

one very small crack was observed in the negative moment region of one internally cured bridge. 

Conversely, the parapet walls and sidewalks produced with concrete without internal curing

showed several larger cracks. The decks appear to be wearing as expected. The NYDOT 

permits these concretes to be pumped and no problems have been reported. Air is typically

monitored using a pressure meter.

Figure 45. Internally cured concrete being cast at Bartell Road in New York (Wolfe, 2010).

Two bridges were cast in close proximity in Monroe Co., IN, just outside of 

Bloomington, in September of 2010. The bridges were box girder assemblies and a 100 mm 

topping slab was made in one case for a conventional INDOT class C mixture. In the other case,

the mixture was similar, however approximately 240 kg/m3 of fine LWA was used (it should be 

noted that the LWA used in Indiana was less absorptive (approximately 10 % by mass) than the 

LWA used in Ohio or New York (approximately 16 % by mass)). Figure 46 shows the internally 

cured bridge deck being cast using a bucket to place the concrete while the conventional deck 

was pumped. Both decks were cured using wet burlap (Figure 47) and plastic sheeting for 7 d 

(Figure 48). The benefit of casting these decks at the same time, with the same materials, and 

with similar construction procedures is that the field performance will be able to be more directly 

compared. Approximately 40 d after casting, the bridges were walked and no cracking was 

observed in either deck.
55

Figure 46. Internally cured concrete bridge deck being cast near Bloomington, IN (Di Bella, 

Schlitter, & Weiss, 2010).
56

Figure 47. Wet burlap being used on the internally cured concrete bridge deck near 

Bloomington, IN (Di Bella, Schlitter, & Weiss, 2010).
57

Figure 48. Plastic sheeting being used to cover the wet burlap on the internally cured 

concrete bridge deck near Bloomington, IN (Di Bella, Schlitter, & Weiss, 2010).
58

8 Internal Curing in the Future

As internal curing continues to proliferate in practice, research on this topic continues to 

find new avenues for exploration. Two of these are the utilization of crushed returned concrete 

fine aggregates as internal curing reservoirs and the pre-wetting of the LWA with other materials 

instead of just water. Two examples for the latter case would be a solution of a chemical 

admixture or a phase change material. Both of these new developments will be presented in 

some detail below.

8.1 Crushed Returned Concrete Fine Aggregates (CCA) for Internal Curing

A recent study has considered the blending of crushed returned concrete fine aggregates 

(CCA) with fine LWA as a sustainable approach to produce mortars with reduced autogenous 

deformation, but equivalent strength relative to a control mortar prepared without internal curing

(Kim & Bentz, 2008). In this joint NIST/National Ready Mixed Concrete Association 

(NRMCA) study, pre-wetted fine CCA1 (passing a 4.75 mm sieve) with three strength levels 

(designated as 1000, 3000, and 5000, indicative of their 28 d strength in units of psi) were 

investigated as replacements for a portion of the normal weight sand in high performance 

mortars with a w/cm of 0.3, utilizing the mixture proportions provided in Table 5. Aggregate 

characteristics are summarized in Table 6 and Table 7. For this study, the high percentage of 

minus 200 (0.003 in or 0.075 mm) particles in the CCA fines was removed to avoid extra

variance. In Table 5, ‘free’ water was determined as the quantity of water desorbed from prewetted conditions down to 93 % RH for each internal curing agent. 

Autogenous shrinkage was assessed from time of set using the corrugated tube protocol 

as developed by Jensen and Hansen (Jensen & Hansen, 1995) and recently standardized as 

ASTM C1698-09 (ASTM International, 2009). While some reduction in measured autogenous 

deformation (Figure 49 and Table 8) was produced with the CCA alone as a replacement 

material, substantially lower mortar cube compressive strengths were also measured, as 

summarized in Table 9. In contrast, mixtures with a pre-wetted LWA as the replacement 

material exhibited a substantial reduction in autogenous shrinkage and a 10 % to 20 % strength 

increase at ages of 28 d and 56 d. However, a more economical and sustainable solution may be 

to blend the two materials, as exemplified by the results for the LWA-CCA 1000 blend in 

Table 8 and Table 9. This mortar contained a blend of 43 % CCA 1000 and 57 % LWA by (dry) 

mass to provide the necessary internal curing water. It greatly reduced both early age and long 

term autogenous shrinkage, while producing an equivalent 56 d cube strength as the control 

mortar with no internal curing. To ensure that the CCA 1000 material in the blend was indeed 

contributing to the long term autogenous shrinkage reduction, the LWA-2 mixture was 

formulated to contain the same LWA content as the CCA-1000/LWA blend. The results in 

Table 8 confirm that the CCA-LWA blend has a greater reduction in long term autogenous 

shrinkage than the LWA-2 mixture containing an equivalent quantity of only LWA.

 1 The fine CCA were available from a separate NRMCA study on the reuse of crushed returned concrete 

as aggregate. See Obla, K., Kim, H., and Lobo, C. (2007). “Crushed Returned Concrete as Aggregates 

for New Concrete”, NRMCA Report, Project 05-13, for further details.
59

Table 5. Mortar Mixture Proportions for NIST/NRMCA study (Kim & Bentz, 2008)

Material or Property Control

(g)A

LWA-1

(g)

LWA-2

(g)B

CCA1000

(g)

CCA3000

(g)

CCA5000

(g)

CCA-1000 / 

LWA

(g)

Blended cement

(20 % slag)

2000 2000 1000 2000 2000 2000 2000

Water 584.6 584.6 292.3 584.6 584.6 584.6 584.6

Type A admixture 25.6 25.6 12.8 25.6 25.6 25.6 25.6

F95 fine sand 950 696.1 379.8 569.8 625.0 466.6 664.6

Graded sand 722 613.2 320.2 341.8 356.3 238.6 545.4

20-30 sand 722 576.9 306.6 278.4 295.4 57.3 502.3

GS16 coarse sand 1406 704.9 440.1 497.7 491.8 16.2 653.1

SSD LWA - 833.7 312.6 - - - 625.3

SSD CCA - - - 1740.0 1735.8 2488.9 435

“Free” water in SSD 

LWA

- 160 60 - - - 120

“Free” water in SSD 

CCA

- - - 160 160 160 40

Fresh air content 

(from cup mass)

3.1 % 2.9 % 4.2 % 6.6 % 4.0 % 4.4 % 5.0 %

A

Masses are reported in grams as these were the units employed in preparing the mortar mixtures. 

B

The mixture size of the LWA-2 mortar is only 50 % of that of the other mixtures due to material supply 

limitations.

Table 6. Measured Particle Size Distributions after Removing Minus 200 Sieve Fraction (Kim & 

Bentz, 2008)

Sieve no. (opening) Percent passing

LWA CCA1000CCA3000CCA5000

4 (4.75 mm) 98.6 99.6 99.1 97.0

8 (2.36 mm) 70.1 71.6 69.9 58.6

16 (1.18 mm) 44.7 58.3 55.0 42.8

30 (0.6 mm) 29.6 37.7 35.2 26.3

50 (0.3 mm) 20.4 5.5 11.7 9.4

100 (0.15 mm) 14.5 1.0 0.0 2.6

Pan 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
60

Table 7. Fine Aggregate Properties (Kim & Bentz, 2008)

Fine Aggregate Normal 

weight sand

LWA CCA-1000 CCA-3000 CCA-5000

Specific Gravity (SSD) 2.61 1.80 2.15 2.23 2.15

Absorption (mass %) Negligible 23.8 16.0 12.4 12.0

Minus 200 sieve (mass %) 0.57 Not meas. 7.31 9.50 7.64

Fineness Modulus Not meas. 3.2 2.73 2.71 3.05

Figure 49. Autogenous deformation in microstrain (με) vs. time for mortar mixtures with 

and without internal curing using various LWA/CCA blends. A typical standard deviation 

between three specimens is illustrated by the error bars on the LWA-1 data points (Kim & 

Bentz, 2008).

-600

-400

-200

0

200

0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56

Age of specimen (d)

Strain (με)

Control LWA-1

LWA-2 CCA-1000

CCA-3000 CCA-5000

LWA-CCA1000 blend
61

Table 8. Autogenous Deformation Results for Mortar Mixtures (Kim & Bentz, 2008)

Control LWA-1 LWA-2 CCA1000CCA3000CCA5000CCA-1000 / 

LWA

 Net Autogenous ShrinkageA (εmin - εmax) (Microstrain)

1 d -167 -37 -41 -79 -122 -69 -35

8 d -376 -53 -131 -209 -297 -189 -89

28 d -476 -39 -220 -298 -425 -274 -121

56 d -519 -45 -318 -363 -511 -329 -153

1 d reduction, % 

of control - 78 % 75 % 53 % 27 % 59 % 79 %

8 d reduction, % 

of control - 86 % 65 % 44 % 21 % 50 % 76 %

56 d reduction, 

% of control - 91 % 39 % 30 % 2 % 37 % 71 %

A Net autogenous shrinkage has been computed as the difference between the initial maximum and the 

minimum deformation values achieved up to the specific age being evaluated (Cusson, 2008)

Table 9. Compressive Strength Results for Mortar Cubes Cured under Sealed Conditions (Kim & 

Bentz, 2008)

Age Control

(psi)

LWA-1

(psi)

LWA-2

(psi)A

CCA-1000

(psi)

CCA-3000

(psi)

CCA-5000

(psi)

CCA-1000/ 

LWA (psi)

3 d 8,830

(125)B

60.9 MPa

8,580

(602)

59.2 MPa

9,070

(27)

62.5 MPa

5,110

(35)

35.2 MPa

6,500

(90)

44.8 MPa

5,570

(44)

38.4 MPa

7,910

(271)

54.5 MPa

7 d

--- --- ---

6,030

(131)

41.6 MPa

---

6,370

(259)

43.9 MPa

9,390

(151)

64.8 MPa

8 d 10,380

(285)

71.5 MPa

10,400

(327)

71.7 MPa

--- ---

7,970

(88)

55.0 MPa

--- ---

28 d 11,860

(458)

81.8 MPa

12,870

(566)

88.8 MPa

13,790

(464)

95.0 MPa

7,490

(136)

51.6 MPa

9,600

(442)

66.2 MPa

7,730

(82)

53.3 MPa

11,110

(281)

76.6 MPa

56 d 12,230

(820)

84.3 MPa

13,730

(148)

94.7 MPa

14,660

(57)

101.4 MPa

8,280

(123)

57.1 MPa

9,640

(924)

66.5 MPa

8,230

(454)

56.8 MPa

12,230

(1160)

84.3 MPa

28 d, % 

control

100 109 116 63 81 65 94

56 d, % 

control

100 112 120 68 79 67 100

A

For LWA-2 mixture, two cubes tested at each of 3 ages.

B

Standard deviation in units of psi for testing three (or two) cubes at each age.
62

8.2 LWA as Reservoirs for Admixtures and Phase Change Materials

The concept of using LWA to provide additional internal curing water to a concrete 

mixture has been extended to pre-wetting the LWA with materials other than water. Examples 

explored to date include filling the LWA with the liquid form of a phase change material (Bentz 

& Turpin, 2007) or with a concentrated solution of a chemical admixture, such as a shrinkagereducing admixture (Bentz, 2005). In the former case, the transition temperature of the phase 

change material within the LWA could be engineered to reduce the maximum temperature 

achieved in a mass concrete pour, to provide energy conservation via an increased thermal lag in 

residential wall construction, or to reduce the number of freeze/thaw cycles experienced by a 

field concrete structure (Bentz & Turpin, 2007).

Recently, a new technology for reducing diffusion into concrete by increasing the 

viscosity of the pore solution has been developed (Bentz, Snyder, & Peltz, 2010). The 

technology has been given the acronym VERDiCT: Viscosity Enhancers Reducing Diffusion in 

Concrete Technology. While the viscosity-enhancing admixture (typically used as a 10 % by 

mass solution) reduces transport rates when added directly to the mixing water, a better 

performance is achieved when a solution of the concentrated (50:50 in water for example) 

chemical admixture is employed to pre-wet LWA. Previous results on mortars with w/c=0.4 

have indicated that a factor of two reduction can be achieved in diffusion rates by incorporating 

this type of admixture into the mixture, which should translate into a doubling of the service life 

in cases where the service life is regulated by the diffusion rates of ingressing species such as 

chlorides or sulfates (Bentz, Snyder, & Peltz, 2010). Figure 50 provides relative chloride 

penetration depths, assessed according to AASHTO TP64 (Standard Method of Test for 

Predicting Chloride Penetration of Hydraulic Cement Concrete by the Rapid Migration 

Procedure), for w/cm=0.42 blended cement concretes containing 25 % fly ash replacement for 

cement on a mass basis. While adding the VERDiCT chemical directly to the mixture or 

incorporating internal curing reduces the chloride penetration depths by about 15 % or 25 %, 

respectively, a 50 % reduction is achieved when the LWA is pre-wetted with a 50:50 solution of 

the VERDiCT admixture in water. Evaluation of this technology in laboratory concrete mixtures 

as well as field concrete exposures is continuing. Using LWA to distribute chemicals within a 

concrete mixture is likely most promising for those admixtures formulated to have an impact on 

the longer term properties of the concrete, including shrinkage-reducing admixtures, corrosion 

inhibitors, and alkali-silica reaction mitigating admixtures.
63

Figure 50. Reduction in chloride penetration depth for concretes with viscosity-enhancing 

admixture and/or internal curing, cured for 56 d and evaluated according to AASHTO 

TP64 (Standard Method of Test for Predicting Chloride Penetration of Hydraulic Cement 

Concrete by the Rapid Migration Procedure). Average standard deviation in penetration 

depth was 1.4 mm for two replicate specimens, with an average coefficient of variation 

of 17 %.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

control VERDiCT IC LWA VERDiCT 

LWA

Relative chloride penetration 

depth
64

9 Internal Curing in Perspective

Currently in 2010, it appears that internal curing has the potential to make a substantial 

impact on the durability and life-cycle costs of concrete structures. The reported costs for the 

projects in New York and Indiana (discussed in Section 7) were between a 0 % and a 20 % 

increase in the cost of the concrete, with a typical cost increase estimated to be in the 10 % 

to 12 % range, compared with concretes typically used in these applications. However, as 

discussed in this report, the reduced risk of cracking and the reduced chloride ingress should 

contribute to a more durable structure that has a longer life and lower life-cycle costs. Further,

this could have substantial benefits in a reduced disruption to the traveling public, generally 

producing a more sustainable solution.

These benefits are balanced by a need for additional quality control (for example, the 

NYDOT requires an LWA representative on site during the batching of internally cured

mixtures), additional costs associated with handling and wetting, and the additional costs and 

energy consumption incurred during the manufacture of the LWA. With time, and increased 

industry familiarization with internal curing, there will be a broad base of practical experiences, 

and new engineering solutions to storing and delivering LWA in the desired saturation state.

Internal curing is just one of the many tools in a sustainability toolbox. For example, 

recent work with the use of supplementary cementitious materials has suggested that 

substantially less clinker can be used in a mixture, resulting in a lower carbon footprint (de la 

Varga, Castro, Bentz, & Weiss, submitted). This may also be true for mixtures with increased 

limestone powder replacement for cement (Bentz, Irassar, Bucher, & Weiss, 2009).
65

10 Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge many useful conversations with Mr. Thomas A. 

Holm, retired, and Mr. John W. Roberts of Northeast Solite Corporation. They would also like 

to acknowledge useful discussions with members of the Expanded Shale, Clay, and Slate 

Institute as well as Don Streeter and others of the NYDOT, Tommy Nantung and others of the 

INDOT, and Al Wessling and Bill Williams of Monroe County. Further, the authors 

acknowledge the efforts of students and colleagues who have contributed to the understanding of 

internal curing data reported in this study including Tim Bartlett, Javier Castro, Mike Golias, 

Ryan Henkensiefken, Mohammad Pour Ghaz, Haejin Kim, Pietro Lura, Alexandra Radlinska, 

Farshad Rajabipour, Gaurav Sant, and John Schlitter. Extensive reviews of the report by 

Dr. Aaron Sakulich and Dr. Ken Snyder of the NIST Engineering Laboratory and Mr. Ryan 

Henkensiefken of U.S. Concrete are gratefully appreciated.
66

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Jensen, O., & Hansen, P. (2001). Water-Entrained Cement-Based Materials: I. Principle and 

Theoretical Background. Cement and Concrete Research , 31 (4), 647-654.

Jensen, O., & Hansen, P. (2002). Water-Entrained Cement-Based Materials: II. Experimental 

Observations. Cement and Concrete Research , 32 (6), 973-978.
70

Johansson, P. (2010). Water Absorption in a Two-Layer Masonry System - Properties, Profile, 

and Predictions. Lund University.

Kim, H., & Bentz, D. (2008). Internal Curing with Crushed Returned Concrete Aggregates. 

NRMCA Technology Forum: Focus on Sustainable Development.

Klieger, P. (1957). Early High Strength Concrete for Prestressing. Proceedings World 

Conference on Prestressed Concrete, (pp. A5-1 to A5-14). San Francisco.

Lopez, M., Kahn, L., & Kurtis, K. (2008). Effect of Internally Stored Water on Creep of High 

Performance Concrete. ACI Materials Journal , 105 (3), 265-273.

Lura, P., Bentz, D., Lange, D., Kovler, K., Bentur, A., & van Breugel, K. (2003). Measurement 

of Water Transport from Saturated Pumice Aggregates to Hardening Cement Paste. 

Advances in Cement and Concrete, (pp. 89-99). Copper Mountain.

Lura, P., Couch, J., Jensen, O., & Weiss, W. (2009). Early-Age Acoustic Emission 

Measurements in Hydrating Cement Paste: Evidence for Cavitation during Solidification 

Due to Self Desiccation. Cement and Concrete Research , accepted for publication.

Lura, P., Pease, B., Mazzotta, G., Rajabipour, F., & Weiss, J. (2007). Influence of ShrinkageReducing Admixtures on Development of Plastic Shrinkage Cracks. ACI Materials 

Journal , 104, 187-194.

Mackenzie, J. (1950). The Elastic Constants of a Solid Containing Spherical Holes. Proceedings 

of the Physics Society , 683, 2-11.

Mohr, B., Premenko, L., Nanko, H., & Kurtis, K. (2005). Examination of Wood-Derived 

Powders and Fibers for Internal Curing of Cement-Based Materials. In B. Persson, D. 

Bentz, & L.-O. Nilsson (Ed.), Proceedings of the 4th Interntational Seminar: SelfDesiccation and Its Importance in Concrete Technology, (pp. 229-244). Gaithersburg.

Neithalath, N., Pease, B., Moon, J., Rajabipour, F., Weiss, J., & Attiogbe, E. (2005). Considering 

Moisture Gradients and Time-Dependent Crack Growth in Restrained Concrete Elements 

Subjected to Drying. In J. B. al. (Ed.), NSF Workshop on High Performance Concrete

(pp. 279-290). Westerville: American Ceramic Society .

Pease, B., Hossain, A., & Weiss, W. (2004). Quantifying Volume Change, Stress Development, 

and Cracking Due to Self-Desiccation. In O. Jensen, D. Bentz, & P. Lura (Ed.), ACI 

Special Publication SP-220 Autogenous Deformation of Concrete (pp. 23-39). 

Farmington Hills: American Concrete Institute.

Philleo, R. (1991). Concrete Science and Reality. In J. Skalny, & S. Mindess (Eds.), Materials 

Science of Concrete II (pp. 1-8). Westerville, OH: American Ceramic Society.

Pour-Ghaz, M., Castro, J., Kladivko, E., & Weiss, W. (2010). A Short Report on the Use of 

Pressure Plates to Measure Desorption. Purdue University.

Powers, T., Copeland, L., & Mann, H. (1959). Capillary Continuity or Discontinuity in Cement 

Pastes. The Research Bulletin of the Portland Cement Association , 1 (2), 38-48.

Pyc, W., Caldarone, M., Broton, D., & Reeves, D. (2008). Internal Curing Study with 

Intermediate Lightweight Aggregates. In D. Bentz, & B. Mohr (Ed.), Internal Curing of 

High-Performance Concretes: Laboratory and Field Experiences (pp. 13-34). 

Farmington Hills: American Concrete Institute.

Radlinska, A., Rajabipour, F., Bucher, B., Henkensiefken, R., Sant, G., & Weiss, W. (2008). 

Shrinkage Mitigation Strategies in Cementitious Systems: A Closer Look at Sealed and 

Unsealed Behavior. Transportation Research Record , 2070, 59-67.
71

Raoufi, K., Schlitter, J., Bentz, D., & Weiss, J. (submitted). Parametric Assessment of Stress 

Development and Cracking in Internally-cured Restrained Mortars Experiencing 

Autogenous Deformations and Thermal Loading. Cement and Concrete Composites .

RILEM. (2003). Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems (Vol. 25). (A. Bentur, Ed.) 

Cachan: RILEM Publications S.A.R.L.

RILEM. (2007). Internal Curing of Concrete. (K. Kovler, & O. Jensen, Eds.) Paris: RILEM 

Publications S.A.R.L.

Sant, G., Dehadrai, M., Lura, P., Bentz, D., Ferraris, C., Bullard, J., et al. (2009). Detecting the 

Fluid-to-Solid Transition in Cement Pastes: Part I - Assessment Techniques. Concrete 

Interntional , 31 (6), 53-58.

Sant, G., Lura, P., & Weiss, W. (2006). Measurement of Volume Change in Cementitious 

Materials at Early Ages: Review of Testing Protocols and Interpretation of Results. 

Transportation Research Record , 1979, 21-29.

Schlitter, J., Bentz, D., & Weiss, W. (2011). Quantifying Residual Stress Development and 

Reserve Strength in Internally Cured Concrete. ACI Materials Journal , submitted.

Schlitter, J., Henkensiefken, R., Castro, J., Raoufi, K., Weiss, J., & Nantung, T. (2010). 

Development of Internally Cured Concrete for Increased Service Life. Joint 

Transportation Researfh Program.

Schlitter, J., Senter, A., Bentz, D., Nantung, T., & Weiss, W. (2010). Development of a Dual 

Ring Test for Evaluating Residual Stress Development of Restrained Volume Change. 

Journal of ASTM International , 7 (9), 13 pp.

Shah, S., & Weiss, W. (2000). High Strength Concrete: Strength, Permeability, and Cracking. 

Proceedings of the PCI/FHWA International Symposium on High Performance Concrete, 

(pp. 331-340). Orlando.

Shah, S., Weiss, W., & Yang, W. (1998). Shrinkage Cracking - Can It Be Prevented? Concrete 

International , 20 (4), 51-55.

Shin, K., Bucher, B., & Weiss, W. (2011). The Role of Low Stiffness Aggregate Particles on the 

Restrained Shrinkage Cracking Behavior of Mortar. ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil 

Engineering , accepted.

Shin, K., Castro, J., Schlitter, J., Golias, M., Pour-Ghaz, M., Henkensiefken, R., et al. (2010). 

The Role of Internal Curing as a Method to Improve Durability. In S. Kim, & K. Ann 

(Ed.), Handbook of Concrete Durability, (pp. 379-428).

Thomas, M. (2003). Chloride Diffusion in High-Performance Lightweight Aggregate Concrete. 

In J. Ries, & T. Holm (Ed.), Theodore Bremner Symposium on High-Performance 

Lightweight Concrete, (pp. 77-93).

Tian, Q., & Jensen, O. (2008). Measuring Autogenous Strain of Concrete with Corrugated 

Moulds. Microstructure Related Durability of Cementitious Composites (pp. 1501-1511). 

Bagneaux: RILEM Publications S.A.R.L.

Trtik, P., Muench, B., Weiss, W., Kaestner, A., Jerjen, I., Josic, L., et al. (2011). Release of 

Internal Curing Water from Lightweight Aggregates in Cement Paste Investigated by 

Neutron and X-ray Tomography. Journal of Neutron Radiography , accepted.

van Breugel, K., & de Vries, H. (1998). Mixture Optimization of Low Water/Cement Ratio, 

High-Strength Concrete in View of Reduction of Autogenous Shrinkage. In P. Aitcin, & 

Y. Delagrave (Ed.), Proceedings of the International Symposium on High-Performance 

and Reactive Powder Concretes, (pp. 365-382). Sherbrooke.
72

Villareal, V. (2008). Internal Curing - Real World Ready Mix Production and Applications: A 

Practical Approach to Lightweight Modified Concrete. In D. Bentz, & B. Mohr (Ed.), 

ACI SP-256, Internal Curing of High-Performance Concrete: Laboratory and Field 

Experiences (pp. 45-56). Farmington Hills: American Concrete Institute.

Villarreal, V., & Crocker, D. (2007). Better Pavements through Internal Hydration. Concrete 

International , 29 (2), 32-36.

Weber, S., & Reinhardt, H. (1995). A Blend of Aggregates to Support Curing of Concrete. In I. 

Holand, T. Hammer, & F. Fluge (Ed.), Proceedings of the International Symposium on 

Structural Lightweight Aggregate Concrete, (pp. 662-671). Sandefjord.

Weber, S., & Reinhardt, H.-W. (1999). Manipulating the Water Content and Microstructure of 

High Performance Concrete Using Autogenous Curing. In R. Dhir, & T. Dyer (Ed.), 

Modern Concrete Materials: Binders, Additions, and Admixtures (pp. 567-577). Thomas 

Telford.

Wei, Y., & Hansen, W. (2008). Pre-soaked Lightweight Fine Aggregates as Additives for 

Internal Curing in Concrete. In D. Bentz, & B. Mohr (Ed.), Internal Curing of HighPerformance Concretes: Laboratory and Field Experiences (pp. 35-44). Farmington 

Hills: American Concrete Institute.

Weiss, W., Borischevsky, B., & Shah, S. (1999). The Influence of a Shrinkage Reducing 

Admixture on the Early-Age Behavior of High Performance Concrete. Fifth International 

Symposium on the Utilization of High Strength/High Performance COncrete, 2, pp. 1418-

1428. Sandefjord.

Weiss, W., Yang, W., & Shah, S. (1999). Factors Influencing Durability and Early-Age Cracking 

in High Strength Concrete Structures. SP-189-22 High Performance Concrete: Research 

to Practice (pp. 387-409). Farmington Hills: American Concrete Institute.

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73

Appendix A – Internal Curing Bibliography

This bibliography was created as part of an ongoing research project on internal 

curing in the Materials and Construction Research Division of the National 

Institute of Standards and Technology. It provides a list of journal articles and 

papers from conference proceedings that deal with the topics of self-desiccation 

and internal curing. When these papers are available on the Internet, a direct 

link is provided in the list. 

Available at: http://concrete.nist.gov/~bentz/phpct/database/ic.html

Books

Self-Desiccation and Its Importance in Concrete Technology, Proceedings of the 4th 

International Seminar, Eds. B. Persson, D. Bentz, and L.-O. Nilsson, Lund University, 2005. 

Internal Curing of Concrete, RILEM Report 41, Eds. K. Kovler and O.M. Jensen, RILEM 

Publications S.A.R.L., 2007. 

ACI SP-256, Internal Curing of High-Performance Concretes: Laboratory and Field Experience, 

Eds. B. Mohr and D. Bentz, CD-ROM, 2008.

Use of Superabsorbent Polymers and Other New Additives in Concrete, Eds. O.M. Jensen, 

M.T. Hasholt, and S. Laustsen, RILEM Publications S.A.R.L., 2010.

Articles and Theses 

Ackay, B., and Tasdemir, M.A., Effects of Distribution of Lightweight Aggregates on 

Internal Curing of Concrete, Cement and Concrete Composites, 32 (10), 611-616, 2010.

Ackay, B., and Tasdemir, M.A., Influence of Lightweight Aggregates on Internal Curing and 

Fracture of Concrete, Proceedings of the International RILEM Conference - Volume Changes 

of Hardening Concrete: Testing and Mitigation, Eds. O.M. Jensen, P. Lura, and K. Kovler, 

RILEM Publications S.A.R.L., 31-40, 2006. 

Ackay, B., and Tasdemir, M.A., Effects of Lightweight Aggregates on Autogenous 

Deformation in Concrete, in Measuring, Monitoring, and Modeling Concrete Properties, 

Springer Netherlands, 163-1780, 2006.

Bentur, A., Igarishi, S., and Kovler, K., Prevention of Autogenous Shrinkage in High 

Strength Concrete by Internal Curing Using Wet Lightweight Aggregates, Cement and 

Concrete Research, 31 (11) 1587-1591, 2001. 

Bentur, A., Igarishi, S., and Kovler, K., Control of Autogenous Shrinkage Stresses and 

Cracking in High Strength Concretes, Proc. 5th International Symposium of High 

Strength/High Performance Concrete, Sandefjord, Norway, June 20-24, 1999, 1017-1026. 
74

Bentur, A., and van Breugel, K., Internally Cured Concrete. Report 25: Early Age Cracking 

in Cementitious Systems, Report of RILEM Technical Committee 181-EAS, Edited by A. 

Bentur, RILEM Publications S.A.R L., 339-353, 2002. 

Bentz, D.P., and Snyder, K.A., Protected Paste Volume in Concrete. Extension to Internal 

Curing Using Saturated Lightweight Fine Aggregate, Cement and Concrete Research, 29, 

1863-1867, 1999. 

Bentz, D.P., Garboczi, E.J., and Snyder, K.A., A Hard Core/Soft Shell Microstructural Model 

for Studying Percolation and Transport in Three-Dimensional Composite Media, NISTIR 

6265, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1999. 

Bentz, D.P., Hansen, K.K., Madsen, H.D., Vallee, F., and Griesel, E.J., Drying/Hydration in 

Cement Pastes during Curing, Materials and Structures, 34, 557-565, 2000. 

Bentz, D.P., and Jensen, O.M., Mitigation Strategies for Autogenous Shrinkage Cracking, 

Cement and Concrete Composites, 26 (6), 677-685, 2004. 

Bentz, D.P., Geiker, M.R., and Hansen, K.K., Shrinkage-reducing Admixtures and Early-age 

Desiccation in Cement Pastes and Mortars, Cement and Concrete Research, 31 (7), 1075-

1085, 2001. 

Bentz, D.P., Geiker, M., and Jensen, O.M., On the Mitigation of Early Age Cracking, 

Proceedings of the 3rd International Seminar: Self-Desiccation and Its Importance in Concrete 

Technology, Eds. B. Persson and G. Fagerlund, Lund, Sweden, 195-203, 2002. 

Bentz, D.P., Snyder, K.A., and Stutzman, P.E., Microstructural Modeling of Self-Desiccation 

during Hydration, Proceedings of an International Research Seminar in Lund: Self-Desiccation 

and Its Importance in Concrete Technology, Eds. B. Persson and G. Fagerlund, Sweden, 1997, 

132-140. 

Bentz, D.P., Lura, P., and Roberts, J.W., Mixture Proportioning for Internal Curing, Concrete 

International, 27 (2), 35-40, 2005. 

Bentz, D.P., Capitalizing on Self-Desiccation for Autogenous Distribution of Chemical 

Admixtures, Proceedings of the 4th International Seminar: Self-Desiccation and Its Importance 

in Concrete Technology, Eds. B. Persson, D.P. Bentz, and L.-O. Nilsson, Gaithersburg, MD, 

189-196, 2005. 

Bentz, D.P., Halleck, P.M., Grader, A.S., and Roberts, J.W., Water Movement during Internal 

Curing: Direct Observation using X-ray Microtomography, Concrete International, 28 (10), 

39-45, 2006. 

Bentz, D.P., Halleck, P.M., Grader,A.S., and Roberts, J.W., Four-dimensional X-ray 

Microtomography Study of Water Movement during Internal Curing, Proceedings of the 

International RILEM Conference - Volume Changes of Hardening Concrete: Testing and 

Mitigation, Eds. O.M. Jensen, P. Lura, and K. Kovler, RILEM Publications S.A.R.L., 11-20, 

2006. pdf version

Bentz, D.P., Internal Curing of High Performance Blended Cement Mortars: Autogenous 

Deformation and Compressive Strength Development, ACI Materials Journal,104 (4), 408-

414, 2007. pdf version
75

Bentz, D.P., Influence of Internal Curing Using Lightweight Aggregates on Interfacial 

Transition Zone Percolation and Chloride Ingress in Mortars, Cement and Concrete 

Composites, 31, 285-289, 2009. pdf version

Bloem, D.L., Concrete Strength Measurement - Cores and Cylinders, ASTM Proceedings, 

65, 668-696, 1965. 

van Breugel, K., and de Vries, H., Mixture Optimization of Low Water/Cement Ratio, HighStrength Concretes in View of Reduction of Autogenous Shrinkage, Proceedings 

International Symposium on High-Performance and Reactive Powder Concretes, Eds. P.C. 

Aitcin and Y. Delagrave, University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, 365-382, 1998. 

van Breugel, K., and de Vries, H., Mixture Optimization of HPC in View of Autogenous 

Shrinkage, Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Utilization of High 

Strength/High Performance Concrete, Volume II, Sandefjord, Norway, 1041-1050, 1999. 

van Breugel, K., and Lura, P., Effect of Initial Moisture Content and Particle Size 

Distribution of Lightweight Aggregates on Autogenous Deformation, Proceedings of the 2nd 

International Symposium on Structural Lightweight Aggregate Concrete, Eds. S. Helland, I. 

Holand, and S. Smeplass, Kristiansand, Norway, 453-462, 2000. 

van Breugel, K., and de Vries, H., Potential of Mixtures with Blended Aggregates for 

Reducing Autogenous Deformation in Low Water/Cement Ratio Concrete, Proceedings of 

the 2nd International Symposium on Structural Lightweight Aggregate Concrete, Eds. S. 

Helland, I. Holand, and S. Smeplass, Kristiansand, Norway, 463-472, 2000. 

van Breugel, K., Ouwerkerk, H., and de Vries, H., Effect of Mixture Composition and Size 

Effect on Shrinkage of High Strength Concrete, Proceedings of International RILEM 

Workshop on Shrinkage of Concrete, Eds. V. Baroghel-Bouny and P.C Aitcin, Paris, 161-177, 

2000. 

Campbell, R.H., and Tobin, R.E., Core and Cylinder Strengths of Natural and Lightweight 

Concrete, ACI Journal, 64 (4), 190-195, 1967. 

Collins, F., and Sanjayan, J.G., Strength and Shrinkage Properties of Alkali-Activated Slag 

Concrete Containing Porous Coarse Aggregates, Cement and Concrete Research, 29, 607-

610, 1999. 

Craeye, B., and De Schutter, G., Experimental Evaluation of Mitigation of Autogenous 

Shrinkage by Means of a Vertical Dilatometer for Concrete, Proceedings of the International 

RILEM Conference - Volume Changes of Hardening Concrete: Testing and Mitigation, Eds. 

O.M. Jensen, P. Lura, and K. Kovler, RILEM Publications S.A.R.L., 21-30, 2006. 

Crowl, D., and Sutek, M., A Survey of High Performance Concrete Bridge Decks, Volume 

IV, District 12 Ohio DoT, 24 pp., 2002. 

Cusson, D., Lounis, Z., and Daigle, L., Benefits of Internal Curing on Service Life and LifeCycle Cost of High-Performance Concrete Bridge Decks - A Case Study, Cement and 

Concrete Composites, 32, 339-350, 2010. 

Cusson, D., and Hoogeveen, T., Internally-cured High-performance Concrete Under 

Restrained Shrinkage and Creep, CONCREEP 7 Workshop on Creep, Shrinkage, and 

Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures, Nantes, France, 579-584, 2005. 
76

Cusson, D., Hoogeveen, T., and Mitchell, L., Restrained Shrinkage Testing of Highperformance Concrete Modified with Structural Lightweight Aggregate, Proceedings of the 

7th International Symposium on Utilization of High Strength/ High Performance Concrete, 

Washington, D.C., 1-20, 2005. 

Cusson, D., and Hoogeveen, T., Preventing Autogenous Shrinkage of HPC by Internal 

Curing, S.P. Shah Symposium on Measuring, Monitoring, and Modeling Concrete Properties, 

Alexandroupolis, Greece, 83-89, 2006. 

Cusson, D., Effect of Blended Cements on Effectiveness of Internal Curing in HPC, MRCC49698, 2007.

Cusson, D., and Hoogeveen, T., Internal Curing of High-Performance Concrete with PreSoaked Fine Lightweight Aggregate for Prevention of Autogenous Shrinkage Cracking, 

Cement and Concrete Research, 38, 757-765, 2008.

Daigle, L., Cusson, D., and Lounis, Z., Extending Service Life of High Performance Concrete 

Bridge Decks with Internal Curing, International Conference on Creep, Shrinkage, and 

Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures (CONCREEP 8), 6 pp., 2008.

de Jesus Cano Barrita, F., Bremner, T.W., and Balcom, B.J., Use of Magnetic Resonance 

Imaging to Study Internal Moist Curing in Concrete Containing Saturated Lightweight 

Aggregate, ACI SP-218, High-Performance Structural Lightweight Concrete, Eds. J.P. Ries and 

T.A. Holm, 155-175, 2004. 

Delatte, N., Mack, E., and Cleary, J., Evaluation of High Absorptive Materials to Improve 

Internal Curing of Low Permeability Concrete, FHWA/OH-2007/06, State Job Number 

134227, Ohio DOT, March 2007. 

Dhir, R.K., Hewlett, P.C., and Dyer, T.C., Influence of Microstructure on the Physical 

Properties of Self-Curing Concrete, ACI Materials Journal, 93 (5), 465-471, 1996. 

Dhir, R.K., Hewlett, P.C., Lota, J.S., and Dyer, T.C., An Investigation into the Feasibility of 

Formulating Self-Cure Concrete, Materials and Structures, 27 (174), 606-615, 1994. 

Duran-Herrera, A., Aitcin, P.C., and Petrov, N., Effect of Saturated Lightweight Sand 

Substitution on Shrinkage in 0.35 w/b Concrete, ACI Materials Journal, 104 (1), 48-52, 2007. 

Espinoza-Hijazin, G., and Lopez, M., Extending Internal Curing to Concrete Mixtures with 

W/C Higher than 0.42, Construction and Building Materials, in press, 2010, 

doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.09.031.

Fazhou, W., Yufie, Z., Zhichao, L., and Shuguang, H., Internal Relative Humidity and 

Autogenous Shrinkage of Low Water/Binder Ratio Concrete, Proceedings of the 

International RILEM Conference - Volume Changes of Hardening Concrete: Testing and 

Mitigation, Eds. O.M. Jensen, P. Lura, and K. Kovler, RILEM Publications S.A.R.L., 51-56, 

2006. 

Friedemann, K., Stallmach, F., and Karger, J., NMR Diffusion and Relaxation Studies during 

Cement Hydration- A Non-destructive Approach for Clarification of the Mechanism of 

Internal Post Curing of Cementitious Materials, Cement and Concrete Research, 36, 817-

826, 2006.
77

Friedemann, K., Stallmach, F., Nestle, N., and Karger, J., Internal Post-curing of Hydrating 

Cement Pastes of High Performance Concretes Studied by Low-field NMR Relaxometry, 

Proceedings of the International RILEM Conference - Volume Changes of Hardening Concrete: 

Testing and Mitigation, Eds. O.M. Jensen, P. Lura, and K. Kovler, RILEM Publications 

S.A.R.L., 147-155, 2006. 

Geiker, M.R., Bentz, D.P., and Jensen, O.M., Mitigating Autogenous Shrinkage by Internal 

Curing, ACI SP-218, High Performance Structural Lightweight Concrete, Eds. J.P. Ries and 

T.A. Holm, 143-154, 2004. 

Golias, M.R., The Use of Soy Methyl Ester-Polystyrene Sealants and Internal Curing to 

Enhance Concrete Durability, M.S. Thesis, Purdue University, West Lafayette, 2010.

Hammer, T.A., Bjontegaard, O., and Sellevold, E.J., Internal Curing - Role of Absorbed 

Water in Aggregates, ACI SP-218, High Performance Structural Lightweight Concrete, Eds. 

J.P. Ries and T.A. Holm, 131-142, 2004. 

Hansi, L., Gallias, J.L., and Salomon, M., Influence of the Curing Method on the Durability 

of High Performance Concretes, ACI SP-145, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference 

Durability of Concrete, Ed. V.M. Malhotra, 131-155, 1994. 

Henkensiefken, R., Nantung, T., and Weiss, J., Reducing Restrained Shrinkage Cracking in 

Concrete: Examining the Behavior of Self-Curing Concrete Made using Different Volumes 

of Saturated Lightweight Aggregates, Proceedings of the 2008 Concrete Bridge Conference, 

St. Louis, 2008. 

Henkensiefken, R., Briatka, P., Bentz, D., Nantung, T., and Weiss, J., Plastic Shrinkage 

Cracking in Internally Cured Mixtures Made with Pre-wetted Lightweight Aggregate,

Concrete International, 32 (2), 49-54, 2010. 

Henkensiefken, R., Bentz, D., Nantung, T., and Weiss, J., Volume Change and Cracking in 

Internally Cured Mixtures Made with Saturated Lightweight Aggregate under Sealed and 

Unsealed Conditions, Cement and Concrete Composites, 31, 427-437, 2009. 

Henkensiefken, R., Castro, J., Bentz, D., Nantung, T., and Weiss, J., Water Absorption in 

Internally Cured Mortar Made with Water-Filled Lightweight Aggregate, Cement and Concrete 

Research, 39 (10), 883-892, 2009. 

Henkensiefken, R., Castro, J., Kim, H., Bentz, D., and Weiss, J., Internal Curing Improves 

Concrete Performance throughout Its Life, Concrete InFocus, 8 (5), 22-30, SeptemberOctober 2009.

Hoff, G.C., The Use of Lightweight Fines for Internal Curing of Concrete, Northeast Solite 

Corporation, 44 pp, 2002. 

Hoff, G.C., Internal Curing of Concrete Using Lightweight Aggregates, Theodore Bremner

Symposium on High-Performance Lightweight Concrete, Eds. J.P. Ries and T.A. Holm, 

Proceedings of the 6th CANMET/ACI International Conference on Durability of Concrete, 

Thessalonica, Greece, 185-204, 2003. 
78

Holm, T.A., Ooi, O.S., and Bremner, T.W., Moisture Dynamics in Lightweight Aggregate and 

Concrete, Theodore Bremner Symposium on High-Performance Lightweight Concrete, Eds. J.P. 

Ries and T.A. Holm, Proceedings of the 6th CANMET/ACI International Conference on 

Durability of Concrete, Thessalonica, Greece, 167-184, 2003. 

Igarashi, S., and Watanabe, A., Experimental Study on Prevention of Autogenous 

Deformation by Internal Curing using Super-absorbent Polymer Particles, Proceedings of 

the International RILEM Conference - Volume Changes of Hardening Concrete: Testing and 

Mitigation, Eds. O.M. Jensen, P. Lura, and K. Kovler, RILEM Publications S.A.R.L., 77-86, 

2006. 

Jensen, O.M., and Hansen, P.F., Water-Entrained Cement-Based Materials: I. Principle and 

Theoretical Background, Cement and Concrete Research, 31 (4), 647-654, 2001. 

Jensen, O.M., and Hansen, P.F., Water-Entrained Cement-Based Materials: II. Experimental 

Observations, Cement and Concrete Research, 32 (6), 973-978, 2002. 

Jensen, O.M., and Lura, P., Techniques for Internal Water Curing of Concrete, Proceedings 

of the Conference Advances in Cement and Concrete, Eds. D. Lange, K.L. Scrivener, and 

J.Marchand, Aug. 10-14, 67-78, 2003. 

Kim, H., and Bentz, D.P., Internal Curing with Crushed Returned Concrete Aggregates, 

NRMCA Concrete Technology Forum: Focus on Sustainable Development, Denver, May 2008.

Kitsutaka, Y., Tamura, M., Iihoshi, A., and Goto, K., Early-Age Shrinkage Properties of HighStrength Lightweight Aerated Concrete, Proceedings of the International Workshop on 

Control of Cracking in Early-Age Concrete, Ed. H. Mihashi, Tohoku University, Japan, 199-204, 

2000. 

Klieger, P., Early High Strength Concrete for Prestressing, Proceedings World Conference on 

Prestressed Concrete, San Francisco, CA, A5-1 to A5-14, July 1957. 

Kohno, K., Okamoto, T., Isikawa, Y., Sibata, T., and Mori, H., Effects of Artificial Lightweight 

Aggregate on Autogenous Shrinkage of Concrete, Cement and Concrete Research, 29, 611-

619, 1999. 

Kovler, K., Souslikov, A., and Bentur, A., Pre-soaked Lightweight Aggregates as Additives 

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