Effect of the type of cement and supplementary cementitious materials on the surface electrical resistivity of concrete

Abstract

Non-destructive testing is an important inspection and monitoring tool for reinforced concrete structures. Among them, surface electrical resistivity is a versatile and easy-to-obtain durability indicator. This article aims to evaluate the influence of the type of cement (CP II-Z, CP IV and CP V-ARI) and supplementary cementitious materials - SCM (silica fume, rice husk silica, metakaolin and fly ash) on surface electrical resistivity of concrete, using Wenner method, over a year. Additionally, correlations were carried out between resistivity and other properties, such as compressive strength, water absorption and rapid chloride permeability test - RCPT. The results indicated that the resistivity was significantly influenced by the type of cement and MCS and by the age of the samples. The magnitude of the resistivity of the mixtures with MCS exceeded that of the reference mixture. Furthermore, the resistivity showed correlations with R² above 0.70 with the compressive strength of concretes with SCM and with the passing electrical load of the RCPT test.