Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 2472–2479

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Construction and Building Materials

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Practical evaluation of relationship between concrete resistivity, water

penetration, rapid chloride penetration and compressive strength
Ali Akbar Ramezanianpour, Amirreza Pilvar ⇑, Mahdi Mahdikhani, Faramarz Moodi
Concrete Technology and Durability Research Center (CTDRc), Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: There are several factors and test methods for evaluating the durability of concrete. In recent years a great
Received 15 June 2010 deal of attention has been paid to research and development of relationships of these parameters for pro-
Received in revised form 17 October 2010 duction of sustainable concretes: water penetration and Rapid Chloride Penetration Test (RCPT) methods
Accepted 13 November 2010
which are most commonly used to evaluate the permeability of concrete are two of the most famous
Available online 28 December 2010
methods specified by BS EN-12390-8:2000 and ASTM C1202 respectively. Concrete surface resistivity
(SR) test is also a suitable indicator for concrete penetration and chloride ion permeability. It is a non-
Keywords:
destructive, simple, rapid and economical method that can also be used on site.
Water penetration
Electrical resistivity
The present study is an exploratory research concerned with the relationship of these methods. Based
RCPT on the correlation of concrete resistivity with water penetration and Rapid Chloride Penetration Test
Permeability (RCPT) results, two new models for relating these parameters are presented.
Pozzolans Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction not practical method to assess the resistance of concrete to chlo-

It is widely known that deterioration of concrete due to corro-
sion of reinforcement is one of the most significant durability prob-
lems that the construction industry is concerned with [1]. The
corrosion of steel in concrete normally occurs as a result of either
the reduction in alkalinity at the steel, due to carbonation of con-
crete or leaching of alkalis, or the presence of a significant quantity
of chloride ions in the concrete.
Soluble chlorides in deicing salts or those occurring naturally in
soils, seawater and groundwater can penetrate into concrete cover
by absorption through its surface, diffusion in interconnected capil-
lary pores or direct access through cracks in the concrete. Although
the primary mechanism of chloride transport for the near-surface
unsaturated concrete is absorption, the accumulation of chlorides
in this layer leads to further penetration of chlorides into concrete
by diffusion [2]. As a consequence, diffusion becomes the most dom-
inant mechanism of chloride transport at higher depths.
Nevertheless, the primary driving force in the diffusion of chlo-
ride ions in concrete is the difference in the concentration of chlo-
ride ions which are present in different sections of concrete [3].
There are several methods to evaluate the penetration of chloride
into concrete. The methods which are solely based upon the diffu-
sion mechanism suffer from a major limitation in that the diffusion
process. The limitation is that diffusion process needs a long time
to completely attain steady-state condition, and therefore it is
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 21 6454 3074; fax: +98 21 6641 4213.
E-mail addresses: amir63p@aut.ac.ir, amir63p@yahoo.com (A. Pilvar).
ride ions [4]. However, the diffusion process can be accelerated
not only by decreasing the specimen thickness but also by increas-
ing the upstream chloride concentration as quoted by Streicher
and Alexander [5].
Since the 1970s different organizations and professionals have
tried to develop and implement rapid, inexpensive and reliable
tests to measure the ability of concrete to resist the penetration
of chloride ions. For instance Whiting developed one of these tests
for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in the late 1970s.
It is typically referred to the Rapid Chloride Penetration Test (RCPT)
[6,7], even though it is really a measure of electric conductivity.
This test was adopted by AASHTO in 1983 as T277 and by ASTM
in 1991 as ASTM C1202 [8].
The ASTM C1202 standard test method for electrical indication
of concrete’s ability to resist chloride ion penetration monitors the
amount of electrical current that passes through a cylindrical con-
crete specimen when a 60 V dc potential difference is applied
across the specimen for a period of 6 h [8]. The measured current
vs. time data is integrated to obtain the total charge passed in cou-
lombs. Five levels are identified to classify the charge passed as
corresponding to chloride ion penetrabilities of ‘‘high, moderate,
low, very low, or negligible’’.
The Rapid Chloride Penetration Test (RCPT) is very commonly
used because of its simplicity. However, several researchers
[9,10] have raised concerns over this test. The RCPT is an index test
in which no steady-state conditions exist.
Other problems associated with the RCPT include the heat
evolved in the test [10] and alteration in the pore fluid characteristics

0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.11.069
 A.A. Ramezanianpour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 2472–2479 2473

when pozzolanic materials are used. In addition, the flux in the
RCPT may not be in steady-state condition due to the high poten-
tial difference of 60 V [11]. Consequently the results obtained may
not represent true chloride diffusion in concrete. However, it is
widely used because of its convenience and short-term duration.
On the other hand, concrete resistivity is also a geometry indepen-
dent material property that depends on the moisture content and
the concrete composition [12].
Theoretical and experimental studies indicate a correlation be-
tween concrete resistivity and chloride ingress [13–15]. In general,
the chloride diffusion coefficient is inversely proportional to the
concrete resistivity. Within a particular structure, more permeable
zones will have a comparatively lower resistivity and higher chlo-
ride penetration.
It well understood that the resistivity of concrete and the corro-
sion rate of reinforcement after depassivation are related. Ion
transport between anodes and cathodes on the steel surface is
one of the factors controlling the rate of corrosion [12].
One of the best methods to measure concrete resistivity is using
four-point Wenner array probe resistivity meter. The non-destruc-
tive nature, speed, and ease of use, make the Wenner array probe
resistivity technique a promising alternative test to characterise
the chloride penetration resistance concrete. The set up utilizes
four equally spaced surface contacts, where a 25 V peak to peak
and 13 Hz alternating trapezoidal voltage is passed through a con-
crete sample between the outer pair of contacts [16].
Another main factor of concrete durability is permeability. Con-
crete with lower permeability shows better resistance against
chemical attacks. When water penetrates into the concrete, some
soluble salts including chloride ions go through concrete causing
corrosion. Generally, it seems that lower permeability causes high-
er durability in concretes. Various tests such as water penetration
test are used to evaluate the permeability of concretes and several
studies have been carried out on this issue and validity of these
tests has been approved [17] and several researchers used these
methods for evaluation of performance of concrete [18–20].
The aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of replac-
ing the Rapid Chloride Penetration Test and water penetration test
by the simple non-destructive surface resistivity test.
For all mix designs, coarse aggregates were crushed calcareous stone with a
maximum size of 19 mm and fine aggregates were natural sand. The coarse aggre-
gates have a specific gravity and a water absorption of 2510 kg/m3 and 1.90%,
respectively, and the fine aggregate has a water absorption of 2.75% and a specific
gravity of 2570 kg/m3. A superplasticizer was employed to achieve the desired
workability. Potable water was used for casting and curing all concrete specimens.
The concrete production was carried out in a 60 l capacity mixer. All replacements
were made by mass. The mixture proportions for concrete specimens are summa-
rized in Table 2.
2.2. Testing procedure and specimen preparation
Concrete test specimens were vibrated over a vibrating table to remove en-
trapped air. After casting, the concrete specimens were covered with a wet towel
for 24 h and cured under laboratory conditions. Then they were demolded and
cured in lime-saturated water at 23 ± 2 °C to prevent possible leaching of Ca(OH)2
from these specimens.
Concrete cubes of 100  100  100 mm dimension were cast for compressive
strength. They were tested after 7 and 28 days of water curing.
The water penetration test, which is most commonly used to evaluate the per-
meability of concrete, is the one specified by BS EN-12390-8:2000. In this test,
water was applied on one face of the 150 mm concrete cubes specimen under a
pressure of 0.5 MPa. This pressure was maintained constant for a period of 72 h.
After the completion of the test, the specimens were taken out and split open into
two halves. The water penetration profile on the concrete surface was then marked
and the maximum depth of water penetration in specimens was recorded and con-
sidered as an indicator of the water penetration.
The electrical resistivity meter was used to measure the surface resistivity (SR)
of the specimens. This non-destructive laboratory test method measures the electri-
cal resistivity of water-saturated concrete and provides an indication of its perme-
ability. The test result is a function of the electrical resistance of the specimen. A
schematic figure of electrical resistivity meter is shown in Fig. 1. Saturated cylinders
(100  200 mm) were used at each test age. The electrical resistivity test for con-
cretes was carried out by the four-point Wenner array probe technique. The probe
array spacing used was 40 mm. The resistivity measurements were taken at four
quaternary longitudinal locations of the specimen [21].
The Rapid Chloride Penetration Test was conducted in accordance with ASTM
C1202 for each mixture. Two specimens of 100 mm in diameter and 50 mm in
thickness which had been conditioned according to the standard were subjected
to a 60 V potential for 6 h. The total charge passed through the concrete specimens
was determined and used to evaluate the chloride permeability of each concrete
mixture. The ages of specimens for the tests are shown in Table 3.
3. Results and discussions

Electrical resistance and conductivity are both intrinsic proper-

2. Experimental programs
2.1. Material and mixture proportion
A total of 57 concrete mixtures were used throughout this investigation. These
concrete mixtures were made in the ‘‘Concrete Technology and Durability Research
Center (CTDRc)’’ at Amirkabir University. ASTM C 150 type I Portland cement was
used for all of the concrete mixtures. The two natural pozzolans which were used
in this work included Tuff and Pumice. In addition, rice husk ash and metakaolin
produced by a special designed furnace at 650 °C for 60 min burning time where
added to the mixture. Silica fume was used as cement replacement material. Chem-
ical characteristics of the above mentioned materials are shown in Table 1.
ties of materials that can be evaluated for the durability of con-
cretes. Several research studies concerning with the electrical
resistance, permeability of concretes and resistance of concretes
against chloride ions ingress have been carried out [14,15]. The re-
sults show that there is a strong relationship between electrical
resistivity and permeability of concretes.
Electrical resistivity of concrete represents moving ions (such as
chloride ions) in pore solution. Therefore, the relationship between
electrical resistivity and chloride ion penetration in concrete is
reasonable.

Table 1
Chemical characteristics of supplementary materials and cement.

Chemical components Cement type I RHA Tuff Pumice Silica fume Metakaolin
A B C
SiO2 21.5 89.61 65.74 67.7 94.66 72.5 76.73 68.99
Al2O3 3.68 0.04 12.24 15.8 0.31 22.21 17.41 20.46
Fe2O3 2.76 0.22 2.05 3.39 0.60 0.81 0.59 0.99
CaO 61.5 0.91 2.87 3.9 0.36 2.22 3.58 2.75
SO3 2.5 0.15 0 0.33 0.23 – – –
MgO 4.8 0.42 0.96 0.99 0.78 0.13 0.19 0.50
Na2O 0.12 0.07 1.92 2.95 0.22 0.05 0.05 2.80
K2O 0.95 1.58 2.02 2 0.22 0.55 0.31 2.24
P2O5 0.23 0.41 0.03 0.12 – 0.05 0.04 0.05
TiO2 0.04 0.02 0.29 0.33 – 0.06 0.06 0.09
LOI 1.35 5.91 8.5 2.3 1.77 0.76 0.82 0.89
2474 A.A. Ramezanianpour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 2472–2479

Table 2
Mixture proportions of concrete.

No. Mixtures Cement content w/c Supplementary material Aggregate (kg/m3, SSD) Compressive strength (MPa, 28 days)
Type (%) Coarse Fine
1 C35.50P0 350 0.5 Pumice 0 802 980 43.3
2 C35.50P10 350 0.5 Pumice 10 802 980 37.8
3 C35.50P15 350 0.5 Pumice 15 802 980 39.0
4 C35.50P20 350 0.5 Pumice 20 802 980 39.3
5 C35.50T15 350 0.5 Tuff 15 802 980 49.8
6 C35.50T20 350 0.5 Tuff 20 802 980 45.5
7 C35.50T25 350 0.5 Tuff 25 802 980 50.2
8 C42.45R0 420 0.45 RHA 0 760 929 40.3
9 C42.45R7 420 0.45 RHA 7 760 929 42.8
10 C42.45R10 420 0.45 RHA 10 760 929 44.8
11 C42.45R15 420 0.45 RHA 15 760 929 46.9
12 C40.45MS0 400 0.45 NS 0 778 951 52.3
13 C40.45NS4.5 400 0.45 NS 4.5 778 951 57.8
14 C40.45NS7.5 400 0.45 NS 7.5 778 951 62.0
15 C40.45MS4.5 400 0.45 SF 4.5 778 951 55.2
16 C40.45MS7.5 400 0.45 SF 7.5 778 951 61.0
17 C40.45M0 400 0.45 Metakaoline 0 778 951 46.3
18 C40.45Ma5 400 0.45 Metakaoline-A 5 778 951 49.7
19 C40.45Ma10 400 0.45 Metakaoline-A 10 778 951 52.0
20 C40.45Ma15 400 0.45 Metakaoline-A 15 778 951 51.8
21 C40.45Ma20 400 0.45 Metakaoline-A 20 778 951 47.3
22 C40.45Mb5 400 0.45 Metakaoline-B 5 778 951 52.2
23 C40.45Mb10 400 0.45 Metakaoline-B 10 778 951 50.0
24 C40.45Mb15 400 0.45 Metakaoline-B 15 778 951 46.7
25 C40.45Mb20 400 0.45 Metakaoline-B 20 778 951 43.7
26 C40.45Mc5 400 0.45 Metakaoline-C 5 778 951 50.0
27 C40.45Mc10 400 0.45 Metakaoline-C 10 778 951 48.3
28 C40.45Mc15 400 0.45 Metakaoline-C 15 778 951 42.0
29 C40.45Mc20 400 0.45 Metakaoline-C 20 778 951 39.0
30 C45.40MS0 450 0.4 SF 0 760 929 52.8
31 SCC45.40MS0 450 0.4 SF 0 740 949 56.7
32 SCC45.40MS7.5 450 0.4 SF 7.5 740 949 65.9
33 SCC45.40MS7.5 480 0.4 SF 7.5 715 918 69.5
34 SCC45.40P15 450 0.4 Pumice 15 740 949 46.5
35 SCC45.40P15 515 0.4 Pumice 15 686 883 58.2
36 SCC45.40R10 450 0.4 RHA 10 740 949 55.9
37 SCC45.40R10 495 0.4 RHA 10 703 903 61.3
38 C25.45 250 0.45 – – 910 1112 65.3
39 C25.55 250 0.55 – – 881 1077 52.5
40 C25.60 250 0.6 – – 867 1060 42.3
41 C30.45 300 0.45 – – 866 1059 61.9
42 C30.55 300 0.55 – – 832 1016 46.7
43 C30.60 300 0.6 – – 814 995 35.3
44 C35.45 350 0.45 – – 822 1005 54.0
45 C35.55 350 0.55 – – 782 956 42.6
46 C35.60 350 0.6 – – 762 931 33.8
47 C42.45 425 0.45 – – 756 924 46.5
48 C42.55 425 0.55 – – 707 864 36.8
49 C42.60 425 0.6 – – 683 835 28.3
50 C32.50MS0 325 0.5 SF 0 825 1009 28.4
51 C32.50MS7.5 325 0.5 SF 7.5 825 1009 34.7
52 C40.50MS0 400 0.5 SF 0 755 923 23.1
53 C40.50MS7.5 400 0.5 SF 7.5 755 923 32.6
54 C32.40MS0 325 0.4 SF 0 863 1054 48.3
55 C32.40MS7.5 325 0.4 SF 7.5 863 1054 43.1
56 C40.40MS0 400 0.4 SF 0 801 979 33.6
57 C40.40MS7.5 400 0.4 SF 7.5 801 979 41.0

If the electrical resistivity is high, then the movement of chlo-

Fig. 1. Schematic figure of electrical resistivity meter [21].
ride ions in concrete will be slow and consequently the corrosion
rate of reinforcements in concrete will decrease. Therefore, con-
crete elements will be more durable and have a longer life cycle.
The results of Polder’s investigation [22] show that there is a linear
relationship between electrical resistivity and probability of corro-
sion in concrete.
On the other hand, there are some differences between concrete
resistivity and its permeability. Concrete resistivity (rspecimen) de-
pends both on the microstructure properties of the concrete (F)
and the conductivity of the pore solution (rporesoln). Parameter F
 A.A. Ramezanianpour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 2472–2479 2475

Table 3 Table 4
Ages of tests. Comparison of ionic conductance [24].

No. Mixtures Test ages Ions Conductance (X1 m2)


SR RCPT W.P. Cl 0.007523
OH 0.019800
1 C35.50P0 72,890,180 90,180 90,180
2 C35.50P10 72,890,180 90,180 90,180
3 C35.50P15 72,890,180 90,180 90,180
4 C35.50P20 72,890,180 90,180 90,180 The conductivity property of the concrete is predominantly gov-
5 C35.50T15 72,890,180 90,180 90,180 erned by the chemical compositions of the pore solutions, although
6 C35.50T20 72,890,180 90,180 90,180
also affected by the pore structure of the concrete [24]. OH-ions,
7 C35.50T25 72,890,180 90,180 90,180
8 C42.45R0 – 72,890,180 72,890,180 for example, have a greater ionic conductance than chloride ions
9 C42.45R7 – 72,890,180 72,890,180 (Table 4). Consequently in pore solution with a high concentration
10 C42.45R10 – 72,890,180 72,890,180 of OH-ions, these would be much more contribute to the cell cur-
11 C42.45R15 – 72,890,180 72,890,180
rent that chloride ions, and thereby by misleading any unsuspect-
12 C40.45MS0 72,890,180 2,890,180 28
13 C40.45NS4.5 72,890,180 2,890,180 28
ing observer to believe, that the tested concrete shows an
14 C40.45NS7.5 72,890,180 2,890,180 28 unacceptably high level of chloride permeability. In addition, Shi
15 C40.45MS4.5 72,890,180 2,890,180 28 et al. [25] showed that the presence of silica fume can alter the
16 C40.45MS7.5 72,890,180 2,890,180 28 composition of the concrete pore solution to the extent that the
17 C40.45M0 72,890,180 72,890,180 72,890,180
electrical conductivity of the concrete may be reduced by 90%
18 C40.45Ma5 72,890,180 72,890,180 72,890,180
19 C40.45Ma10 72,890,180 72,890,180 72,890,180 against conventional mixtures with Portland cement alone.
20 C40.45Ma15 72,890,180 72,890,180 72,890,180 During the RCPT test because of the high voltage of 60 V, and
21 C40.45Ma20 72,890,180 72,890,180 72,890,180 relatively long duration of the test (6 h), temperature of specimens
22 C40.45Mb5 72,890,180 – – increases, causing to enhance the total passing charges. Tempera-
23 C40.45Mb10 72,890,180 – –
24 C40.45Mb15 72,890,180 – –
ture may also increase the microstructure damages and can change
25 C40.45Mb20 72,890,180 – – the chemical composition of pore solutions, and thereby the pri-
26 C40.45Mc5 72,890,180 72,890,180 72,890,180 mary condition of concrete will be changed especially in a high
27 C40.45Mc10 72,890,180 72,890,180 72,890,180 water/cement ratio concrete. Therefore, due to the widespread
28 C40.45Mc15 72,890,180 72,890,180 72,890,180
use of RCPT, the idea of utilizing SR test instead of RCPT test is
29 C40.45Mc20 72,890,180 72,890,180 72,890,180
30 C45.40MS0 7,284,290 7,284,290 72,890 favorable. It means change in the type of measured data (conduc-
31 SCC45.40MS0 7,284,290 7,284,290 72,890 tivity instead of total charge) is an option that provides an
32 SCC45.40MS7.5 7,284,290 7,284,290 72,890 improvement to the RCPT test. It is noticeable that the correlation
33 SCC45.40MS7.5 7,284,290 7,284,290 72,890 between total charge and conductivity should be confirmed if it is
34 SCC45.40P15 7,284,290 7,284,290 72,890
35 SCC45.40P15 7,284,290 7,284,290 72,890
expected to use SR test instead of RCPT test.
36 SCC45.40R10 7,284,290 7,284,290 72,890 Assuming constant conductivity of concrete samples during the
37 SCC45.40R10 7,284,290 7,284,290 72,890 test process, and based on physical principles of RCPT and SR tests,
38 C25.45 728 728 728 it can be concluded that the relationship between the two tests
39 C25.55 728 728 728
should be linear. However, the results of this study, show that
40 C25.60 728 728 728
41 C30.45 728 728 728 there is a strong power relation (y = axb) between them with a level
42 C30.55 728 728 728 of agreement (R2) of 0.898 for a wide range of concrete specimens
43 C30.60 728 728 728 (see Fig. 2). Because temperature increases during the RCPT test,
44 C35.45 728 728 728 electrical resistance of samples decreases and the current through
45 C35.55 728 728 728
46 C35.60 728 728 728
the sample increases. As a result, this correlation would not be lin-
47 C42.45 728 728 728 ear and therefore with greater conductivity and higher permeabil-
48 C42.55 728 728 728 ity of concrete specimens, the power of relation (b) will be lower.
49 C42.60 728 728 728 Based on Julio-Betancourt and Hooton [26] investigation, if the
50 C32.50MS0 28 28 28
sample temperature during the RCPT test remains constant, then
51 C32.50MS7.5 28 28 28
52 C40.50MS0 28 28 28 a linear relationship between conductivity and total charge from
53 C40.50MS7.5 28 28 28 RCPT test will be achieved with R2 = 0.988. They also recommend
54 C32.40MS0 28 28 28 the 1 min conductivity test using the RCPT test equipment as a
55 C32.40MS7.5 28 28 28 practical way of improving the current ASTM C1202 standard.
56 C40.40MS0 28 28 28
57 C40.40MS7.5 28 28 28
One of the main factors of concrete durability is permeability. In
this study, water penetration test in accordance with BS EN-12390-
8 has been used to evaluate the permeability of concrete. As can be
is an experimentally constant factor and represents the effects of seen in Fig. 3, there is a relation with R2 = 0.827 between electrical
microstructure on permeability of concrete and it depends on resistivity and water Penetration of concrete in various mixtures.
many factors. As can be seen in Figs. 4 and 5 a good relationship is obtained
with the same type of cementitious materials (R2 = 0.875 and
rspecimen ¼ rporesoln =F ð1Þ
0.866). However when samples with different cementitious mate-
Thus, a concrete containing a low-alkali cement should exhibit a rials are used, the correlation coefficient is reduced. This phenom-
lower resistivity even when it has the same microstructure as one enon can be described in that the result of SR test depends on both
produced by using a high-alkali cement. This is one of the com- microstructure and pore solution of concretes while water pene-
monly cited limitations in utilizing conductivity methods to assess tration test depends only on microstructure.
diffusive transport in cement based materials [6,23]. As can be seen In the concrete samples with different cementitious materials
in RCPT and SR test results, the passing charge and electrical resis- the chemical compounds of pore solution is changed and various
tivity of concrete samples containing pozzolanic materials are im- level of conductivities for pore solution are achieved. Therefore,
proved 4–5 times compared to control samples. the resistivity of concrete samples changes and the correlation
2476 A.A. Ramezanianpour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 2472–2479

Fig. 2. Relationship between RCPT and SR for all mixtures.

Fig. 3. Relationship between water penetration and SR for all mixtures.

Fig. 4. Relationship between water penetration and SR for mixtures containing metakaolin.
 A.A. Ramezanianpour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 2472–2479 2477

Fig. 5. Relationship between water penetration and SR for plain mixtures.

Fig. 6. Relationship between compressive strength and SR for all mixtures.

Fig. 7. Relationship between compressive strength and SR for mixtures containing metakaolin.
2478 A.A. Ramezanianpour et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 2472–2479
Fig. 8. Relationship between compressive strength and SR for plain mixtures.
Table 5
Obtained models.
Model no. Obtained models R2
1 SR = 67,998 RCP1.028
R2 = 0.90
2 SR = 107.88 Depth0.777 R2 = 0.83
between the results of SR and water penetration is reduced. How-
ever in samples made with the same cementitious materials and as
a result of the similar chemical compounds of pore solution, the re-
sults of both tests are more sensitive to microstructure of concretes
and a good correlation between the results can be achieved.
Compressive strength is one of the most important mechanical
properties of concrete and a simple test is used to measure it. In
this paper several trial and error relationships between compres-
sive strength and surface resistivity have also been studied. Gener-
ally, one of the main factors in compressive strength is the strength
of Interlayer Transition Zone (ITZ) that has no significant effect on
concrete resistivity. On the other hand, chemical compound of pore
solution has a great influence on concrete resistivity while not
affecting the compressive strength of concrete. Therefore, as seen
in Fig. 6, there is no sensible correlation between compressive
strength and concrete resistivity (R2 = 0.413) when concrete mix-
tures are made with various cementitious materials. However in
the case of similar cementitious materials and due to the relation-
ship between compressive strength and permeability, better corre-
lations (R2 = 0.767 and 0.872) can be observed between
compressive strength and concrete resistivity (see Figs. 7 and 8).
Finally, considering to obtained correlations, two new models
for correlating SR with RCPT and water penetration are presented
in Table 5.
4. Conclusions
Based on the correlation of concrete resistivity with water pen-
etration and Rapid Chloride Penetration Test (RCPT) data, a rela-
tionship that can be used to estimate permeability of concrete
from the measured resistivity values was discovered.
For a wide range of concrete compositions in terms of cement
type and w/c ratio, it appears that surface resistivity (SR) can be
used as an electrical indicator of concrete chloride penetration
resistance. It can specially be used on concretes when a large por-
tion of their cementitious chemical reactions have been completed
such as those concretes made with silica fume or metakaolin. The
test should be used as a quality control predictor of the chloride
Parameters
SR: surface resistivity (KX C m), RCP: charge pass through the specimen (C)
SR: surface resistivity (KX C m), Depth: depth of water penetration (mm)
penetration resistance of the concrete, but not as a predictor of dif-
fusion behavior for all kinds of concretes or as replacement of the
long term diffusion tests. The long term diffusion tests should still
be used when new concrete formulations are used in order to
establish if the relationship between electrical properties and dif-
fusion properties still holds.
Results show that although in concretes with similar cementi-
tious materials different relationships can be found, but generally
because of different mechanisms of compressive strength and elec-
trical resistivity, there is no appropriate relationship between
them. Consequently it is not recommended to use electrical resis-
tivity as an indicator for evaluation of compressive strength.
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