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Electrical conductivity of drying cement paste

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Abstract

Previous research has shown that electrical measurements can be used to monitor moisture movement inside concrete. The interpretation of these measurements is frequently based on empirical relationships between moisture changes and electrical properties of concrete. As such, these empirical relationships can limit the application of the electrical measurements to a specific material or exposure history. To facilitate the development of a general method that is applicable to a concrete member in service, this paper characterizes the electrical conduction in cement paste subjected to drying (desorption) and moisture absorption. The paper quantifies how the electrical conductivity is dependent on the volume and connectivity of the moisture inside the pores and the conductivity of pore solution. This paper also presents a procedure to quantify the contribution of the surface (solid-pore) conduction on the overall conductivity of the cement paste. The results of this investigation contribute to the development of an embedded relative humidity sensor that can be used to monitor changes in the internal humidity of concrete during its service life.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge support received from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. 0134272: a CAREER AWARD granted to the second author. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. This work was conducted in the Materials Sensing and Simulation Laboratory at Purdue University; as such the authors acknowledge the support that has made this laboratory and its operation possible. The authors are very thankful to Dr. Sidney Diamond, Dr. George Scherer, and Dr. Pietro Lura for their valuable viewpoints and contributions during the course of this study.

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  1. School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Farshad Rajabipour & Jason Weiss

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  1. Farshad Rajabipour
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  2. Jason Weiss
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Correspondence to Farshad Rajabipour.

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Rajabipour, F., Weiss, J. Electrical conductivity of drying cement paste. Mater Struct 40, 1143–1160 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-006-9211-z

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