Relationship between Chemical Shrinkage and Electrical Resistivity for Cement Pastes at Early Age

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the chemical shrinkage and electrical resistivity of portland cement pastes during the first 3 days. Plain cement pastes with water to cement (W/C) ratios 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 were used in this paper. Chemical shrinkage was measured by dilatometry according to industry standards for test methods for chemical shrinkage of hydraulic cement paste. Electrical resistivity was measured by a noncontacting electrical resistivity apparatus. The relationship between electrical resistivity and degree of hydration was investigated. The results obtained show that the relationship between chemical shrinkage and electrical resistivity appears to be roughly linear after 12 h. Note that the electrical resistivity after 12 h can be used to determine the chemical shrinkage and degree of hydration.