Electrical Resistivity of Concrete for Durability Evaluation: A Review

Abstract

Degradation processes in reinforced concrete structures that affect durability are partially controlled by transport of aggressive ions through the concrete microstructure. Ions are charged and the ability of concrete to hold out against transfer of ions greatly relies on its electrical resistivity. Hence, a connection could be expected between electrical resistivity of concrete and the deterioration processes such as increase in permeability and corrosion of embedded steel. Through this paper, an extensive literature review has been done to address relationship between concrete electrical resistivity and its certain durability characteristics. These durability characteristics include chloride diffusivity and corrosion of reinforcement as these have major influence on concrete degradation process. Overall, there exists an inverse or direct proportional correlation between these parameters. Evaluated results, from measuring the concrete electrical resistivity, can also be used as a great indicator to identify early age characteristics of fresh concrete and for evaluation of its properties, determination of moisture content, connectivity of the micropores, and even condition assessment of in-service structures. This paper also reviews and assesses research concerning the influential parameters such as environmental conditions and presence of steel rebar and cracks on measuring electrical resistivity of concrete. Moreover, concrete resistivity concept, application, and its various measurement techniques are introduced.

Evaluation of Methods to Correct the Effect of Temperature on Electrical Conductivity of Mortar

“…As seen in Figure 2, σ increases as temperature is increased for all the tested mixtures. is trend is expected, since the increase in T is associated with increased mobility of ions in the pore solution, resulting in higher conductivity [14]. At T c > 23°C, σ increases at a faster rate with the same incremental increase in temperature (exponential T-σ trend.)…”

“…In several research studies, σ or ρ were utilized to evaluate chloride diffusivity or permeability, which is a key input for service life predictions of reinforced concrete structures exposed to chlorides [7,[11][12][13]. Due to simplicity, rapid nature, and nondestructive nature of the data collection, as well as availability of commercial apparatus, electrical methods are becoming more common in concrete durability evaluation [14,15].…”

“…Changes in temperature (T) induce changes in the ionic mobility, pore solution concentration, and ion-to-ion and ion-to-solids interactions in the pore solution, which result in changes in the overall conductivity of the concrete [14]. Since accurate assessment of these effects is complex and difficult, the effect of temperature on σ is typically evaluated empirically.…”

Effect of Polypropylene Fibers on Self-Healing and Dynamic Modulus of Elasticity Recovery of Fiber Reinforced Concrete

“…A great number of studies have been conducted on using the Resonance Frequency Testing (RFT) method to evaluate self-healing of plain concrete [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19], but few experiments have been conducted on using this technique to measure the dynamic moduli of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) considering evaluation of induced cracks and self-healing efficiency [5]. For instance, recovery of the resonant frequency tested as a function of the crack width, reported by Li and Yang [5], showed that crack widths below 50 microns can recover up to 100% of its original resonant frequency when exposing cracked concrete to wet-dry cycle.…”

Comparison of Material Properties of SCC Concrete with Steel Fibres Related to Ingress of Chlorides

“…A correct description of the properties of the composite materials can be combined with modelling of structures within several available models [20][21][22][23].The article aim is to determine and extend the knowledge about the properties of self-compacting concrete with steel fibre reinforcement mixture with a fibre content of 0%, 1%, and 2%. This is due to their use in the field of reinforced concrete structures exposed to chlorides, where it is necessary to properly model diffusion processes [24][25][26][27]. Moreover, three methods for evaluation of the diffusion coefficient related to a concrete's ability to resist chloride ingress are compared-electrical resistance measurements [28], the rapid chloride permeability test [29], and accelerated penetration tests with chloride [30].…”