Internal Curing

E5 Internal Cure is the only patented concrete system to internally cure concrete. By chemically binding nano silica at the initial reaction point, E5 controls water within the concrete matrix — creating up to 30% greater cement hydration efficiency. The result is a denser, harder, lower-shrinkage concrete that eliminates the need for wet curing, curing compounds, sealers, and hardeners. Independent testing confirms E5 achieves the highest abrasion wear classification (Special) at 0.031 mm, and E5 + Catalyst achieves 12.4 PSI flooring pull strength at just one week — more than double the control.

E5 Internal CureE5 Catalyst

The Challenge

Traditional curing methods — wet hessian, ponding, curing compounds, and plastic sheeting — are labour-intensive, unreliable, and often poorly executed on site. Poor field curing, combined with concrete's inability to fully hydrate, robs the industry of concrete's maximum potential. Inadequate curing leads to reduced strength, increased porosity, higher shrinkage, surface cracking, and joint curling. Curing compounds interfere with adhesives and floor coverings. The curing period delays follow-on trades by up to 7 days and extends construction schedules.

Our Approach

E5 Internal Cure is a nano-silica admixture dosed at the batching plant. It chemically binds water to cement at the molecular level — retaining the water of transport within the concrete matrix rather than losing it to evaporation. This delivers six measurable improvements: complete internal curing without topical methods, consistent flatness (FF/FL) through retained slump and extended workability, reduced drying shrinkage through retained mix water, reduced porosity through increased hydration and silica gel formation, increased surface hardness that outperforms topical hardeners, and extended durability through reduced cracking and water penetration. Adding E5 Catalyst further accelerates early strength gain, enabling flooring installations 3 weeks sooner than traditional concrete.

Key Benefits

Internally cures concrete — eliminates wet curing, curing compounds, sealers, and hardeners

Up to 30% greater cement hydration efficiency through controlled water retention

Achieves highest abrasion wear classification (Special) — outperforms polyethylene and topical systems

Reduces drying shrinkage significantly compared to control and competing SRA admixtures

Consistent FF/FL — slumps retained, surface remains workable longer, eliminates curling at joints

E5 + Catalyst achieves 12.4 PSI pull strength at 1 week — control peaks at 10.6 PSI at 4 weeks and doesn't improve

Reduces porosity and voids — creates silica gel within the slab matrix for long-term density

Faster construction access — save up to 7 days on curing schedules

Grind or polish at just 7 days after placement

No interference with adhesives or floor covering warranty compliance

How It Works

E5 Internal Cure is dosed at the batching plant directly into the concrete mix

Nano-silica particles chemically bind to cement at the initial reaction point — a patented process

Water of transport is retained within the concrete matrix and consumed by cement hydration

Increased hydration reduces voids and porosity, creating silica gel throughout the slab

Particle packing at the surface produces a harder, more abrasion-resistant finish

The result is a fully cured, denser, stronger concrete — regardless of site conditions or weather

Six Measurable Improvements

E5 Internal Cure delivers targeted solutions across the full concrete performance spectrum

Cure

Internally Cures

Hydrates increased cementitious material
Chemically binds water to cement
Reduces bleed channels
Eliminates wet curing & curing compounds

Flatness

Consistent FF/FL

Slumps are retained
Surface remains workable longer
Eliminates wet curing
Eliminates sealers & hardeners

Shrinkage

Reduced Volume Loss

Retains water of transport in the mix
Reduces early shrinkage
Reduces evaporation at the joints
Reduces curling at the joints

Density

Reduced Porosity

Increased hydration reduces voids
Creates silica gel within the slab matrix
Particle packing at the surface

Hardness

Increased Abrasion Resistance

Harder than traditional topical systems
Grind or polish 7 days after placement
Improves surface longevity
Reduces control joint issues

Durability

Extends Life Cycle

Significantly reduces expansive cracking
Protects against premature degradation
Significantly reduces water penetration
Reduces salts & brine penetration

Abrasion Resistance

Three curing methods compared at 55 days

E5 Nano Silica0.031 mm

Polyethylene0.170 mm

Ashford Formula0.235 mm

Result: E5 Internal Cure achieved a wear depth of just 0.031 mm — placing it in the highest wear class (Special), outperforming polyethylene by 82% and Ashford Formula by 87%.

Resilient Flooring Pull Strengths

E5 + E5 Catalyst vs control — independent testing (PSI)

Period	Control	E5 + Catalyst
1 Week	5.7	12.4
4 Weeks	10.6	12.7
3 Months	10.6	14.2
6 Months	10.6	14.2

Key finding: E5 + E5 Catalyst achieves 12.4 PSI pull strength at just 1 week — more than double the control (5.7 PSI). The control peaks at 10.6 PSI (4 weeks) and doesn't improve beyond that. E5 + Catalyst enables flooring installations 3 weeks sooner than traditional concrete.

How E5 Internal Cure Works

Chemical Binding

E5 nano silica chemically binds to cement at the initial reaction point — the only patented system to do so. This locks water into the concrete matrix for consumption by hydration.

Pozzolanic Reaction

Nano silica reacts with calcium hydroxide (CH) to form additional calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) — the binder that gives concrete its strength, density, and impermeability.

Particle Packing

At the nano scale, E5 fills voids between cement grains and aggregates. This reduces porosity, bleed channels, and capillary pathways — producing a significantly denser concrete matrix.

Backscattered Electron Image Analysis confirms that E5 Internal Cure hydrates an increased amount of cement, significantly reducing porosity and voids within the concrete matrix compared to untreated concrete.

Project Case Studies

North Coast Petroleum

— Inverell, NSW

North Coast Petroleum — coloured concrete under canopy

E5 Internal Cure
Crack free pavement slabs
Coloured concrete
Consistent finish over summer heat and wind

Warehouse (QTM Enterprises)

— Caloundra, QLD

QTM Enterprises warehouse — burnished floor finish

QTM Enterprises warehouse — power trowelling

E5 Internal Cure
Burnished finish aided by reduced bleed
External slabs placed in full sun over summer
No cracks

Fire Station

— Narrabri, NSW

E5 Internal Cure
Removed retarder and air admixtures from mix
500 m² finished by 1 man in summer
95 m³ placed before surface breaking required

House Slab

— Gympie, QLD

E5 Internal Cure
Perfect finish in summer concrete

Rawcon — Heavy Traffic Slabs

— Sunshine Coast, QLD

Rawcon — heavy traffic slab pour with concrete pump

Early entry — heavy traffic slabs
200 mm thick
18 kg/m³ SteelX 5:25 + SL92 mesh
E5 Internal Cure
Opened in two days
16 m joint centres

Defence Causeways

— Tin Can Bay, QLD

Defence causeway — concrete pour with rebar in bush setting

Defence causeway — finished slab surface

12 causeway slabs
170 mm thick (reduced from 200 mm)
12 kg/m³ SteelX 5:25 (replaced 2 layers of SL82 mesh)
E5 Internal Cure replaced curing compound
Eliminated concrete pump

Boral Quarries

— Burleigh Heads, QLD

Boral Quarries — heavy load workshop slab pour

Heavy load workshop
220 mm slab / 50 MPa
12 kg/m³ SteelX 5:25 + 2 layers of SL92
E5 Internal Cure

Industrial Pavement

— Newcastle, NSW

Industrial pavement — saw cutting completed slab

150 mm / 200 mm / 250 mm
8 kg/m³ SteelX 5:25 replaced SL102 mesh
Poured over summer — most days +37°C
Cured with E5 Internal Cure

Storage Facility

— Hervey Bay, QLD

200 mm slab (thickened for racking loads)
15 kg/m³ SteelX 5:25 replaced 2 layers SL92 mesh
Cured with E5 Internal Cure

Industrial Slab

— Narangba, QLD

Industrial slab — completed 5,000 m² floor

5,000 m² / 160 mm
14 kg/m³ SteelX 8:45
Cured with E5 Internal Cure
Poured in summer without a roof — no cracking

Flat Plate House Slabs

— Pomona, QLD

Flat plate house slab — completed slab with services

Flat plate house slab — finished surface

5 house slabs
All internal beams removed to simplify construction
230 mm slab reduced to 180 mm
18 kg/m³ SteelX 5:25 + SL92 mesh
E5 Internal Cure
Zero cracking

Hangar Slabs

— Armidale Airport, NSW

Hangar slabs — concrete pour with aircraft in background

E5 Internal Cure
External slabs
Concreter noticed creaminess on first load

Ducats House Slab

— Armidale, NSW

E5 Internal Cure + E5 Liquid Fly Ash
Burnished house slab
Flawless finish
Pump pressures reported 50% lower by pump operator

DriveIT NQ

— Townsville, QLD

E5 Internal Cure
Drag strip slabs
Slumps stable over transport
Smooth concrete to place
Concrete to DTMR specification

Century Batteries

— Carole Park, QLD

Century Batteries — internal warehouse pour

E5 Internal Cure
Acid tank slabs, internal warehouse, external pavement
Dosed on site by McClay Industries
Concreter has made E5 the standard curing practice
2 men saved on every pour
Stable and predictable concrete

Industrial Slab and Pavement

— Caboolture, QLD

E5 Internal Cure
Client had significant plastic cracking in external slabs
Cracking reduced by +70% by adding E5
E5 is now the standard for all slabs

Mammoth Storage

— Gympie, QLD

E5 Internal Cure
10,000 m² / 100 mm thick slabs
Poured November – February
First pour 600 m² in 37°C as trial — no early age cracking
Excellent results for the whole project

Black Oxide Driveway

— Beerwah, QLD

Black oxide driveway — finishing in progress

E5 Internal Cure
700 m² driveway
Poured over summer
No cracking

Jetty Specialist

— Caloundra, QLD

Jetty Specialist — completed slab surface

150 mm slab, 32 MPa
E5 Internal Cure
Concreter: A La Spec Concreting
Finisher: Brad

What Our Customers Say

Testimonial

Why TMB Concreting Uses E5: Labour Savings and Better Finishing

It just allows the water to stay in the concrete and gives us more time to get the whole slab in before having to drop anyone back. We easily have one less, maybe two less guys per pour from using E5.

Toby

TMB Concreting

Testimonial

Florida Tilt-Up, Supercharged with E5 Admixtures

What helps me sleep at night is knowing that we have the E5 internal cure which greatly reduces — in this case has eliminated — our shrinkage cracking. The GC's production schedule is actually going to be ahead because his 7-day breaks have already met or exceeded his 28-day breaks. He's happy, the finisher's happy, I'm happy. Thank you, E5.

Project Manager

Florida Tilt-Up Project

Testimonial

E5 Internal Cure Testimony — Brett Grambower

We just haven't had a problem with cracking on one of them yet, which is amazing. We were getting 48 MPa in five to six days, which is a lot quicker than normally without it. It's worth the money — I'd recommend it.

Brett Grambower

Grambower Concrete Construction

Testimonial

E5 Internal Cure Testimony — QTM Enterprises

The workability of the product has increased probably about 20%. The finish is 15 to 20% better as well. We're getting a lot more strength out of the concrete and durability. 100% everyone should be using E5 — it's a good product.

David Langdon

QTM Enterprises