Placement and Curing of Concrete:

The sub-grade, formwork and reinforcement should be sprinkled with cool water just before the placement of concrete. The area around the work should be kept wet to the extent possible to cool the surrounding air and increase its humidity. Speed of finishing and placement helps minimize problems in hot weather concreting. After compaction the concrete should be protected to prevent the evaporation of moisture by means of wet gunny bags. After the concrete has attained a degree of hardening sufficient to withstand surface damage, moist-curing should begin. Continuous curing is significant because the volume changes due to alternate wetting and drying promote the development of surface cracking. In the hardened concrete, a curing shall not be much cool than the concrete because of the possibilities of thermal stresses and resultant cracking. High velocity winds cause higher rate of evaporation and hence windbreakers should be provided as far as possible. Concreting could be done during night shifts as far as possible.