The Effect of Curing Conditions on the Properties of Cement-Based Composites Blended with Waste Marble Dust

The goal of this article is to study the effect of curing conditions on the properties of cement-based composites blended with waste marble dust (WMD). WMD was added to cement-based composites with different ratios of replacement, and two of the most commonly used curing conditions were applied. Half of the composites were cured in water at a temperature of 20 ± 1°C, and the other half of the composites were cured in air at a temperature equal to 22 ± 2°C and relative humidity (RH) equal to 20 ± 1%. To achieve the goals of the study, the composites were tested after 3 days, 7 days, 28 days, and 65 days of curing for their apparent density (ϒad), porosity (pm) and compressive strength (fcd). Finally, the obtained macroscopic observations were validated using scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the water curing conditions were beneficial for the cement-based composites and gave satisfactory results compared with the air-curing conditions.