Effect of Chloride on Electrical Resistivity in Carbonated and Non-Carbonated Concrete

The resistivity of a concrete structure exposed to chloride ions indicates the risk of early corrosion damage, because a low resistivity is related to rapid chloride penetration and to a high corrosion rate. Concrete resistivity is a geometry-independent material property that describes the electrical resistance, which is the ratio between the applied voltage and resulting current in a unit cell. The current is carried by ions dissolved in the pore liquid. While some data exist on the relationship between the moisture content and electrical resistivity of concrete, very little research has been conducted to evaluate the effect of chloride on the conduction of electricity through carbonated and non-carbonated concrete. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of chloride concentration on the surface electrical resistivity measurement of carbonated and non-carbonated concrete. Chloride concentration had influenced the resistivity of concrete and the relationship showed a linear function. However, for concrete under the combined deterioration of carbonation and chlorides, a reduction in porosity due to the carbonation had a greater effect on the electrical resistivity than the increase in conductivity due to the chloride ions. Conclusively, this paper suggested the quantitative solution to depict the electrical resistivity of concrete with various chloride concentrations.