The Electrical Resistivity of

Concrete

BY
G. E. Monfore
Principal Research Physicist
Applied Research Section
Research and Development Laboratories
Portland Cement Association

SYNOPSIS
Electrical properties of concrete are of importance concrete ties may, under certain condi-
in several applications: pf current interest is the elec- tions, be about one-tenth of the resistance
between rails on timber ties. This resis-
trical resistivity of concrete crosstier since this resistivity
affects the operation of railroad signal systems. An
investigation of electrical properties, including both tance between rails can be increased by in-
direct and alternating current studies, showed that sulating the rails from the concrete, a
moist concrete is essentially an electrolyte having a
method adopted by European railroads, or
r e s i s t i v i t y o f t h e o r d e r o f IO4 o h m - c m , a v a l u e i n t h e
range of semiconductors. Oven-dried concrete has a by increasing the resistance of concrete it-
r e s i s t i v i t y o f t h e o r d e r o f IO o h m - c m , a r e a s o n a b l y self. An investigation of the latter possibili-
good insulator. \ ties provided the basis for the present
Several admixtures that were studied made only
m o d e r a t e c h a n g e s i n r e s i s t i v i t y o f portland c e m e n t study. The literature on electrical proper-
pastes. ties of concrete was found to be meager;
Various coatings applied to dried concrete were the most thorough general study noted was
that of Hammond and Robson.( They
ineffective in preventing ingress of water and conse-
quent lowering of resistance.
The resistance of concrete crossties probably can- found that the electrical resistivity of con-
not be increased sufficiently by use of admixtures or crete was highly dependent upon the mois-
coatings on the ties. However, studies of methods of
ture content, and that the resistivity of
insulating rails from concrete crossties, to be published
soon, i n d i c a t e t h a t s a t i s f a c t o r y r a i l - t o - r a i l r e s i s t a n c e concrete made from calcium aluminate ce-
may be obtained by such methods. ment was about 10 times greater than the
The present studies suggest that electrical methods resistivity of concrete made from portland
might have practical applications in concrete research.
cement. These authors also included 27
KEY WORDS: admixtures (concrete): aggregates; refer_ences in their review of the subject;
reviews in the present paper, accordingly,
alkali content: coatings; concretes: conductivity: elec-
trical properties; moisture content; mortars; pastes;
railroad ties will be limited to those not covered by
Hammond and Robson. Nikkanen(2) con-
cluded that paste and concrete.are conduc-
INTRODUCTION tors similar in nature to electrolytes, and
Increasing use of concrete crossties by the listed data showing that the temperature
American railroad industry has emphasized coefficient of electrical conductivity of fresh
the need for additional information con- paste is of the same orde_r of magnitude
cerning the electrical properties of con- as that of common electrolytes. Henry(s)
crete. Such properties are of interest be- found the electrical resistivity of concrete
cause the railroad signal systems operate
through the rails. Field data indicate that *Numbersin parentheses designate references at
electrical resistance between rails laid on end of paper.

bevelopmenf Laboratories, May 7968 35

 to increase with age and decrease with in-
creasing salinity of mixing water. Several
investigators have correlated resistivities of
cement pastes with setting times. Studies by
Tobio,t4) utilizing very high frequencies,
indicated peaks in admittance curves that
generally occurred at times corresponding
to those of final set.
SCOPE
Since both direct and alternating cur-
rents are used in the various railroad signal
systems, the present investigation included
measurements of DC and AC electrical
properties of concrete. The primary pur-
pose of this study was to determine if there
were practical ways of increasing the re-
sistivity of concrete that would be usable in
the production of concrete crossties. A
secondary purpose was to strive for a better
understanding of the mechanism of electri-
cal conduction through concrete and to
note any useful applications for electrical
methods in concrete research.
THEORY
The volume of evaporable water in paste
found in the usual saturated concrete
varies from about 60 percent at the time of
mixing to about 40 percent when the port-
land cement is completely hydrated.(a) This
water contains ions, primarily Na+, K+,
Ca++, SO--, and OH-, whose concentra-
tions vary with time. The concentrations
of some ions increase while those of others
decrease. It would be expected then that
conduction of electricity through moist
concrete would be essentially electrolytic,
as Nikkanenta) suggested. Tests by Ham-
mond and Robsonc 1) support the view
that conduction is by means of ions in the
evaporable water. They found the resistivi-
ty of a certain concrete, which was about
10 ohm-cm after 7 days moist cure, was
increased to about 1O1* ohm-cm when the
evaporable water was removed by drying at
105 C. This is an increase of 10 million
times, and places dried concrete in the class
with electrical insulators.
The resistance of an electrolyte, or any
other material, is directly proportional to
the length and inversely proportional to
the cross-sectional area. Thus
36
L
R=PA . . . . . . , . . . . ,
where
R is resistance in ohms,
is resistivity in ohm-cm,
l is length in cm, and
A is cross-sectional area in sq cm.
Resistivity, P, is essentially constant for a
given material under constant conditions
and is numerically equal to the resistance
of a l-cm cube of the material.
Ohms law states that the direct current
through a metallic conductor is directly
proportional to the potential applied and
inversely proportional to the resistance of
the conductor, i.e.
I=4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
where
I is current in amperes, and
E is potential in volts.
If the conductor is an electrolyte, the
passage of direct current will cause polari-
zation and the estabkhment of a potential
at the electrodes that opposes the applied
potential. In such a case the current is
I= Erl - ED
R
where
E, is the applied potential in volts,
and
E, is the polarization potential in
volts, or back emf, as it is fre-
quently called.
In order to evaluate R and E, from
measurements of I and E,, it is necessary to
make measurements using at least two
different values of E,. Assuming that E, is
independent of E, for a certain range of
values of E, (subsequent tests showed that
this is essentially true), Eq.(3) may be writ-
ten as
1 = Ea* R
- E,
1 . . . . . . . . . . .(4)
and
1 = JL - E, . . . . . . . . . . . (5)
2 ~ R
where I, and I, are currents resulting from
potentials E,, and E,,, respectively.
Journal of The PCA Research and
 From Eqs. (4) and (5),
E = JL 1,I, -
P _ Ea,
I, 11 . . . . . . . . (6)
and
R=Eaz--E,,
12--I, ***.**.. . . (7)
Polarization potential (back emf) results
from reactions that take place at the
electrodes, reactions which depend upon
the ions present and the materials of the
electrodes. Thin films of oxygen, hydrogen,
or other gases may be formed on the elec-
trodes and may influence the potential
created.
Alternating currents are commonly used
in the study of electrolytic solutions to
avoid such polarization effects. Apparently,
however, the polarization effects are not
really avoided but are simply manifest in a
different manner. Jones and Christian(s)
presented data indicating that polarization
associated with the passage of AC through
an electrolyte has the effect of a large
capacitance in series with the resistance of
the electrolyte. Terry(r) suggested that the
capacitive effect may be due to a very thin
film of gas between electrode and electro-
lyte. Other investigators, including Ham-
mond and Robson,( 1) consider the capaci-
tance to be in parallel with the resistance.
Also in laboratory measurements of AC
properties of electrolytes, the4 balancing
capacitor and resistor are connected in par-
allel. In the present paper the behavior of
concrete subjected to AC potentials will be
considered to be equivalent to a capacitor
and resistor in parallel. The current through
such a combination is
I=+ . . . . . . . . . . . . .
where
I is current in amperes,
E is potential in volts, and
Z is impedance in ohms.
For the particular case of a resistor and
capacitor in parallel
where
w = 2 ?r f, f being in hertz, Hz (cycles
per second), and
C is capacitance in farads.
Development Laboraiories, May 7968
Concrete may be considered as a compos-
ite system of various-sized aggregate parti-
cles embedded in a matrix of portland
cement paste. The resistivity of such a com-
posite will depend upon the resistivity of
the particles, the resistivity of the matrix,
and the relative volumes of the two materi-
als. Maxwell derived a formula(s) for a com-
posite having uniform spherical particles:
-P m - 1 -Pm - 1
-....-=V$.--.-.
P . . . . . . .(lO)
p+2 fz+2
P
where
Pm is the resistivity of the matrix,
i P is the resistivity of the composite,
Pa is the resistivity of the particles,
and
V, is the fractional volume of the
particles.
If the resistivity of the particles is as-
sumed to be infinite and if V,, is expressed
a s l - V , , where V, is the fractional vol-
ume of the matrix, there results
3 - v
2 . . . . . . . . .(ll)
P=Pm 2v,
Fricke(a) deduced a similar equation for
uniform ellipsoidal particles, which for the
special case of nonconductive particles, is
p=pm 1 +k-V,,,
kV . ..*.... (12)
Ill
where k depends upon the shape of the el-
lipsoids. For spheres k is 2, and for a partic-
ular sand studied by Fricke k was 1.4.
Thus, for that sand,
pzpm 1 4v
2.4 - V,
1.. . . . . . .(13)
- m
The resistivity of a composite consisting
of nonconductive particles embedded in a
conductive matrix may also be expressed in
terms of an effective path length, L,. Since
the current must travel a tortuous path be-
cause of the obstructing particles, the effec-
tive path length is longer than the dimen-
sion of the composite in the direction of the
current. Noting that the cross-sectional
area of the matrix in a I-cm cube is numer-
ically equal to V,, the resistivity of the
37

I-INCH CUBE 4-INCH
Fig. I - Locations of Stainless Steel
Electrodes in Cubes.
composite may be written, from Eq.(l),
L Enough of this mixture was used to supply
/dy . . . . . . . . . . . (14)
m a total absolute volume of cement plus fly
Tortuosity, T, a term frequently used in
the description of the structure of rocks, is
related to the effective path L, by the
equation
these cements shown in Table 1, note that
the alkali content of Cement A was low
and that of Cement B was high. The sur-
face areas of these cements, as determined
by the Blaine Method, were 3870, 3800,
and 3470 sq cm/g, respectively, for A, B,
and C.
The sand used in the mortars consisted
of rounded quartz particles that passed a
No. 10 sieve and were retained on a No. 20
sieve.
Concretes contained 6 bags of cement
(564 lb.) per cubic yard and 4.64 gallons of
water per bag of cement (water-cement ra-
tio = 0.41 by weight). The aggregate was
CUBE composed of 41 percent by volume of Elgin
sand and 59 percent Eau Claire gravel hav-
ing a maximum size of s/4 inch. Air con-
tents ranged from 5 to 6 percent. A mixture
of 75 percent portland cement and 25 per-
cent fly ash by weight was used in concretes
that were steam cured or autoclave cured.
ash equivalent to that of the cement used
in the normal concretes; and all other in-
gredients, including water, were the same.
TABLE l-CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CEMENTS

Composiiion, yo by wt
where L is the apparent path length, i.e., Componenl
Cement A Cement B Cemenl C
the actual dimension of the composite in
the direction of current flow. SiO2 20.66 21.82 20.90
TEST SPECIMENS 5.62 4.72 5.42
AMA
One-inch paste cubes and 4-inch concrete
cubes were found to have electrical proper- , Fez01 2.17 2.57 2.64

ties compatible with components of the coo 63.74 63.32 63.06

measuring circuits to be described later.
Me0 2.97 2.91 2.87
These cubes were connected into the cir-
cuit by means of heavy brass plates that SO.3 2.55 2.14 2.18
contacted opposite faces of a cube through
Total No20 0.12 0.16 0.35
a stiff graphite-water paste. Such a paste
was used by Hammond and Robson( 1) in Water-Soluble NozO* 0.06 0.10 -

their studies. Total K?O 0.1 1 1.30 0.69

In addition to these plain cubes, other
cubes were cast with embedded stainless Water-Soluble K20* 0.04 0.94

steel electrodes to better simulate a con- Mll20? 0.3 1 0.05 0.22

crete crosstie that normally has embedded
Loss on Ignition 1.97 1.15 1.56
stainless steel bolt anchors. The sizes and
locations of these internal electrodes are Insoluble Residue 0.1 1 0.08 0.12
shown in Fig. 1.
Three ASTM Type I cements were used
in these studies. From the compositions of 72-hr extraction.

38 Journal of The PCA Research anoDE

 SbXWJe
Precison Battery
Potentiometer
Vacuum Tubs
Cuoncret
Voltmeter
n r l ,
r
Cube
Fig. 2 -Circuit for DC Measurements.
Slumps of the normal concretes ranged
from 2 to 3 inches, but slumps of the con-
cretes containing fly ash were as high as 6
inches.
Unless otherwise noted, specimens were
demolded following 24 hours in a moist
room at 73 F and were then stored at 73 F
in limewater (water saturated with calcium
hydroxide) until tested. Concrete, mortar,
or paste made with Cement A will be re-
ferred to as Concrete A, Mortar A, or Paste
A, while those made from Cements B and
C will carry the designations B and C, re-
spectively.
DC PROPERTIES
Equipment
The circuit used in the determination of
DC properties of concrete is SIiown in Fig.
2. The clip-on milliammeter was used only
for readings taken when the current was
changing rapidly. At other times, the more
precise, but slower, potentiometer was used
for current measurements. The resistance
of the vacuum tube voltmeter was 104
ohms; hence during the measurement of
polarization potentials, the meter itself did
not influence the readings as would a con-
ventional voltmeter having a resistance of
only several thousand ohms.
Four-inch concrete cubes having internal
stainless steel electrodes were used for all
DC studies.
Current-Potential-Time Characteristics
The response of Concrete A, moist-cured
7 days, to the passage of direct current is
shown in the left side of Fig. 3. Note that
the current due to an applied potential of
4 volts dropped rapidly during the first
minute and was approaching equilibrium
fopmenf Laboratories, May 7968
Fig. 3 -Current-Potential-Time Characteristics
of Concrete Specimen.
by 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the poten-
tial was increased to 6 volts and main-
tained at this level for an additional 10
minutes. The current increased immediate-
ly with the increase in applied potential
and rapidly reached an equilibrium value.
*Twenty minutes after the first application
of potential, the battery circuit was
opened, and the potential of the electrodes
in the concrete was measured during the
following 10 minutes. This potential de-
creased rapidly at first, as shown by the
right side of Fig. 3, but was still greater
than 1 volt after 10 minutes. Similar curves
were obtained with Concrete B.
Polarization Potential and DC Resistance
To verify Eqs. (6) and (7), a specimen
made from Concrete C was subjected to DC
potentials of 4, 6, 8, and 10 volts after 19
days of moist cure. Currents were deter-
mined 10 minutes after the application of
each potential. From the values of applied
potential and the resultant currents, polar-
ization potentials and resistances were cal-
culated and are listed in Table 2. These
values are essentially constant and would
seem to verify the assumptions used in de-
riving Eqs. (6) and (7).
Further verification was obtained by
measurements on other concrete cubes at
TABLE 2-POLARIZATION POTENTIAL AND RESISTANCE
Concrete C
Applied
DC Potential, E ur R,
volts volts ohms
4 and 6 1.77 327
6 and 8 1.78 325
8 and 10 I 1.75 I 328 I
I I I
39
 TABLE 3-POLARIZATION POTENTIAL AND RESISTANCE TABLE 4-EFFECT OF FREQUENCY AT
A POTENTIAL OF 4 VOLTS
Concrete B
concrete Aget R,
days ohms Frequency,
hertz R. C, Z.
A 7 412 (cycles per set) ohms microforads ohms
A 20 514
A 90 642 100 571 0.072 17 570.8

B 7 4 and 6 1.80 308 1,000 561 0.00301 560.9

B 28 4 and 6 1.76 435
B 90 4 and 6 1.77 598 10,000 551 0.00040 551.0

ages of 7, 28, and 90 days as listed in Table
3. Resistance increased with age, as later
AC measurements substantiated, but E,
was essentially constant for a given cement.
E, for Concrete A was slightly higher than
that for Concrete B.
AC PROPERTIES
Equipment
The bridge circuit used in studying AC
properties of pastes, mortars, and concretes
is shown in Fig. 4. All components were
usual laboratory equipment except the de-
tector which was an audio frequency spec-
trometer. This instrument includes a series
of narrow-band filters connected between
the bridge and the null indicator. Although
such an instrument is not required, it was
OSCILLATOR
IOOO-OHM STANDARD
DETECTOR
VARIABLE CAPACITOR
Fig. 4- Bridge Circuit for. AC Messurements.
available and its use allowed very sensitive
balancing of the bridge since harmonics
from the oscillator were filtered out.
As the reference arms of the bridge of
Fig. 4 are equal, the resistance and capaci-
tance of the specimen are equal to the
corresponding values of the variable resis-
tor and capacitor at balance. It will be
shown later t t impedances of concrete
9
specimens calculated by Eq. (9) were essen-
tially equal to the resistances, and thus the
capacitances were of minor importance in
the present studies. Nevertheless, the vari-
able capacitor was necessary in order to ob-
tain a sensitive balance of the bridge.
Reproducibility
The coefficient of variation of six com-
plete determinations of the resistance of a
single plain l-inch paste cube was 1.1 per-
cent, and the coefficient of variation of the
determinations of the resistances of six
companion l-inch paste cubes was 1.4 per-
cent. A somewhat higher coefficient of vari-
ation of 4.9 percent was found for the de-
terminations of the resistances of six 4-inch
concrete cubes having internal electrodes.
The first set of three of these cubes was cast
on one day and another set of three was
cast a week later.
Testing Procedure Variables
Variations in the testing procedures for
ranges used in the present study, except for
temperature, affected the value of resist-
ance of concrete only slightly.
Frequencies of 100, 1009, and 10,000 Hz
(cycles per set) made minor differences in
resistance but major differences in capaci-
tance as shown in Table 4. However, values
of impedance Z, calculated from Eq. (9),
were essentially equal to the measured re-
sistances. Measurements were made at 90
 days on a 4-inch Concrete B cube having inch plain paste cubes is shown in Table 7.
internal electrodes. Notice that the resistivity of paste having a
Since the resistivity of electrolytes de- water-cement ratio of 0.40 was about dou-
creases with increasing temperature, the re- ble that of paste having a ratio of 0.60.
sistivity of moist paste, mortar or concrete Note too that resistivity increased with
would also be expected to decrease with in-
time of continuous moist storage. Decrease
creasing temperature. Measurements of the
of evaporable water with continuing hy-
resistivity of a paste over the temperature
range from 40 to 100 F are shown in Fig. 5. dration would have likely been a factor in
For this specific range, an average increase this increasing resistivity, but other effects,
in temperature of one degree F caused an such as continuing release of alkalies and
average decrease in redstivity of one per-
cent.
The effect of potentials of 2 to 8 volts on
resistance or impedance was slight as shown
in Table 5. The specimen used for those
measurements was a 4-inch cube of Con-
crete A having internal electrodes, and was
tested after 7 days in limewater and 14 days
drying in an atmosphere of 50 percent rela-
tive humidity and 73 F.
Resistivities of 4-inch cubes having inter-
nal electrodes cannot be calculated directly 600~
from measured resistances because of un- I
4 0 6 0
I
8 0 100
I

known path lengths and cross-sectional TEMPERATURE, F

areas. However, estimations of resistivities
can be made on the basis of data listed in Fig. 5 -Effect of Temperature on
Table 6. The resistances of companion 4- Resirtivity of Paste A.
inch concrete cubes with internal and with TABLE S-EFFECT OF POTENTIAL AT A
external electrodes were measured after FREQUENCY OF 1000 HERTZ
moist curing periods of 7, 28, and 90 days. Concrete A
The resistance of a 4-inch plain cube may
Applied
be estimated from the measured resistance Potential, C, L
of a cube having internal electrodes by volts microfarods ohms
means of the ratios of Tab& 6, and resistiv-
I I I

2 964.4 0.00140 964.4

ity of the plain cube is readily computed by
use of Eq. (1). A 0.00207 962.7

6 0.00267 961.8
Paste and Concrete Variables
Water-Cement Ratio. The effect of wa- 8 961.4 0.00295 961.3
ter-cement ratio on the resistivity of l-

TABLE 6-EFFECT OF TYPE OF ELECTRODE

Resistance, ohms
I I Age.
(1000 hertz, A volts) External Resistance
Internal Resistance
days Externa Internal
Electrodes Electrodes (ratio)

7
28
483
616
380
481
I 1.27
1.28
90 844 621 I 1.36

,Developmen+ Laboratories, May 7968 47

z;
I,000
: ll
5 IO 50 IO0
TIME. DAYS
F i g . b- Effect of Continuous Moist Storage.
F i g . 7 - Resistance of Pastes at Early Ages.
leaching, might also influence the resistivi-
tY.
Resistivities of paste having a water-ce-
ment ratio of 0.41, the ratio used in the
concretes, were computed from the data of
Table 7. Resistivities of Paste A and Con-
crete A, having the same water-cement ra-
tio, are shown by the curves of Fig. 6. The
resistivity of the concrete was about five
times that of the paste.
Alkalies. Paste A, which had a lower al-
kali content than Paste B, might have been
expected to have a higher resistivity than
Paste B, but the opposite was observed at
ages of 7 days and longer, Table 7. To pro-
vide further comparison, additional meas-
urements on Pastes A and B were made at
early ages using l-inch cubes* with internal
*These cubes were contained in plastic molds
during test, and water was available to the tops
of the cubes via small diameter syphons. By this
arrangement the cubes were kept continuously
moist without any appreciable leaching.
42
1 w-
cc
'0 0 z-- 0.4 0.6 0 8 I.
NORMALITY OF NoOH
Fig. 8 - Resistivity of Sodium Hydroxide
Solutions Saturated with Calcium Hydroxide.
-
5 0 0
o--Fm
01 IO
TIME. HR
100 i 000
F i g . g- R e s i s t a n c e o f P a s t e s o f GA a n d CsS.
stainless steel electrodes. As shown in Fig. 7,
the early relationship was dilferent. The re-
sistance of paste A was considerably higher
than that of Paste B during the first day, by
4 days the resistances were equal, and
thereafter the resistance of Paste B was
higher, in pgreement with the data of Ta-
ble 7. It should be noted that resistances of
both pastes were essentially constant fol
about the first 5 hours and then began to
increase. The inflection in the curve for
Paste A is considered to be real, as it was
observed several times.
In connection with the effect of alkalies,
some measurements on solutions may be of
interest. Fig. 8 shows that the resistivities of
sodium hydroxide solutions, which were
saturated with calcium hydroxide, de-
creased markedly as the concentration of
sodium hydroxide was increased.
Pure Compounds. Also of possible inter-
est are the resistances of pastes of C,A and
Journal of The PCA Research and
 C,S at early ages as shown in Fig. 9.+ The TABLE 7-EFFECT OF WATER-CEMENT RATIO
resistance of the C,A paste was higher than AND TIME OF MOIST STORAGE

the resistance of the C,S paste at early ages, Resistivity, ohm-cm

probably due to the absence of calcium hy- Net w/c, ( 1 0 0 0 h e r t z , 4 volts)
Paste
droxide in the hydration products of C,A. (wt ratio)
7 days 28 d a y s 9 0 days
Later, however, the resistance of C,S in-
creased to a value higher than that of C,A. A 0.40 1030 1170 1570
The resistance curve of C,S was similar to A 0.50 790
530
880 1090
A 0.60 700 760
those of portland cements, Fig. 7.
Curing. The influences of normal curing B 0.40 1230 1360 1660
B 0.50 1200
in limewater at 73 F, steam curing, and B 0.60
a20
570
950
730 790
autoclave curing are shown in Fig. 10.
Specimens were 4-inch concrete cubes with
internal electrodes. The steam-cured speci-
Drying. Substantial increases in resis-
mens were read immediately after the cur-
.tance resulted as 4-inch concrete cubes,
ing cycle which consisted of 4 hours at 73 F, having internal electrodes, were allowed to
4 hours increase to 160 F, 12 hours at 160 F,
dry in an atmosphere of 50 percent relative
and 4 hours decrease to 73 F. The auto-
hhmidity and 73 F, Fig. 11. Hammond and
clave-cured specimens were held for 24
Robson have shown that the removal of
hours at 7.3 F, then subjected to an increase
all of the evaporable water by oven drying
in temperature to 350 F in one hour, held
increases the resistance of concrete drasti-
for 6 hours at 350 F, allowed to cool for 17
cally.
hours sealed in the autoclave, and finally
read at 48 hours immediately after removal Admixtures. The use of ammonium
from the autoclave. Note that the initial phosphate in concrete has been reportedc 10)
resistances of the autoclaved specimens to increase the electrical resistance of the
were quite high. Following the initial read- concrete. Kesults of tests with ammonium
ings of the steam- and autoclave-cured spec- phosphate and three other admixtures in
imens, they were stored in limewater at 73 pastes having 0.50 water-cement ratios are
F for additional measurements. At 90 days listed in Table 8. At early ages, the admix-
the resistances of the steam-cured specimens tures generally caused decreases in resistivi-
were highest for both concretes. The steam- ty, but at later ages pastes with some ad-
and autoclaved-cured specimens contained mixtures did show moderate increases.
fly ash, but the normal-cured specimens did Type of Aggregate. The resistivities of
not. four types of rocks which might be used as
concrete aggregate are listed in Table 9.
These measurements were made on l-inch
*The type of specimen and test procedure were
the same as just described in the section on cubes after 7 days immersion in a saturated
alkalies. calcium hydroxide solution. It is seen from

CONCRETE E

IO loo I IO 100 5 IO 5 0 100 5 0 0 5 IO 5 0 100 5 0 0

AGE, DAYS DRYING TIME. DAYS

Fig. IO- Effect of Type of Cure. Fig. I I - Effect of Drying et 50% RH end 73 F.

Development Laboratories, May 7968 43

 TABLE 8-EFFECT OF ADMIXTURES IN PASTES
(w/c = 0.50)

Admixture Resistivity, ohm-cm

(1000 hertz, 4 volts)
AmOUnt, Paste A Paste B

Kind oEx; 7 days 28 days 90 days 7 days 28 days 90 days

.
NOW 790 880 1090 820 950 1200

Ammonium Phosphate, 0.2 610 740 1440 760 930 1480

hW)zH% 0.5 540 630 1120 680 830 1250
1 .o 490 590 820 610 740 1070

Hydroxyacetic 0.2 630 830 2320 750 920 1830

A c i d , HOCHsCOOH 0.4 540 720 2200 670 840 1420
0.8 - - - 540 700 1520

Hydroxyethyl 0.5 550 750 1180 630 850 1340

Cellulose

Calcium Chloride, 1 .o 770 910 940 920 1070 1130

CaCls . 2HsO 2.0 650 790 810 BOO 990 1480
4.0 570 690 700 670 890 1650

Table 7 that the resistivity of a paste hav- cement ratio was held constant at 0.50;
ing a water-cement ratio of 0.50 is only hence the resistivity of the paste matrix was
slightly greater than 1000 ohm-cm at an age the same for all of the specimens. Values of
of 3 months. The resistivities of the marble the resistivity of the mortars, calculated
and granite are essentially infinite as com- from Eq. (13), are listed in Table 10 and
pared to the resistivity of paste, and the are seen to agree very well with the mea-
resistivities of the sandstone and limestone sured values. Effective path lengths, L,,
are considerably greater than that of paste.
calculated from Eq. (14) and also listed in
However, the resistivity of some aggregates
when embedded in concrete, and thus ex- Table 10, should be constant for a given
posed to alkalies, would be lower than the specimen provided the particles remain
value obtained for specimens saturated nonconductive. It will be noted that the
with limewater. Even so, the resistivity of values of L, were indeed reasonably con-
the usual moist concrete must be consider- stant.
ably dependent upon the resistivity of the
paste matrix. TABLE 1 0-RESISTIVITIES AND PATH LENGTHS
OF MORTARS
Correlation between Measured and
Computed Values Re&ttvity, ohm-cm
(10,000 hertz, 4 volts) L
A series of l-inch mortar cubes were % Age,
made from Cement A and varying amounts days Measured Computed cz
of the 10-20 mesh quartz sand. The water- 1 3 757 - 1
14 1071 - 1
28 J154 - 1
T A B L E 9-RESISTIVITIES OF ROCKS
0.654 3 1430 1440 1.24
\ Absorption, Resbtivity, ohm-cm 14 2030 2040 1.24
% by wt (1000 hertz, 4 volts) 28 2200 2200 1.25
\ Type
I
0.486 3 2140 2130 lx37
14 3000 3010 1.36
28 3330 3240 1.40

0.386 3 2780 2820 1.42

14 3810 3990 1.37
28 4370 4300 1.46

Journal of The PCA Research and

 An effective path length for concrete may
be calculated from Eq.(14) by using resis-
tivity data for pastes and concretes having
the same water-cement ratio, such as the
data shown in Fig. 6. Values so computed
are listed in Table 11. Bearing in mind
that Eq.( 14) assumes nonconductive parti-
cles, these values of L, have some interest-
cent of the evaporable water significantly
contributed to electrical conduction. This
is in qualitative agreement with recent
studies by Seligmann(r2) which showed
that a considerable part of the evaporable
water in paste is tightly bound.
Coatings

ing implications. The value of 0.81, for in- Specimens taken directly from an auto-
stance, is an impossible value since the the- clave, or normal-cured or steam-cured speci-
oretical effective length can never be less mens that are air-dried for sufficient time,
than 1. This must mean that the aggregate have resistances manyfold greater than cor-
was conductive. Also the theoretical effec- responding moist specimens. Various coat-
tive path length of a given specimen cannot ings were tried on dry specimens to de-
change with time. The increase in values of termine if this high resistance could be
L, with time must therefore mean that the maintained.
conductivity of the particles was decreasing Dry 4-inch cubes with internal electrodes
with time. This might mean that reactions were given two applications of each mater-
occurred between Na+ and K+ ions and the ial tested, and after the coatings had
aggregate which reduced the number of hardened, the cubes were immersed in
conducting ions. This view has some sup- water. Resistances measured after several
port in the fact that values of L, were low- periods of immersion are shown in Fig. 12.
er for the high alkali Cement B than for
Cement A, and that the increase of L, with
time was greater for Cement B than for
TABLE 1 1-RESISTIVITIES AND PATH LENGTHS
OF CONCRETES
Cement A.
The foregoing discussions stemmed from
considerations of mortars and concretes as
composites of nonconductive particles in a
paste matrix. The paste itself may also be
considered as a composite of nonconductive
particles in a matrix of conductive evapor-
able water. The uncertainties, however, are
much greater in the latter case. The follow-
ing discussion is therefore of a speculative
nature, but is felt to be of value. The vari-
ous steps in the calculation of properties of TABLE 12-PASTE A, CONSIDERED AS A COMPOSITE

paste considered as a composite are out-

w/c = 0.50, age 28 days

lined in Table 12.

The fractional volume of the matrix V,,
V,, fractional volume of matrix 0.44
(evaporable water, measured)
evaporable water in this case, and the resis-
tivities of the paste were determined ex- p, reristivity of composite
(paste, measured)
880 ohm-cm

perimentally with results as shown in the

table. From these values of V,,, and p and an L, effective path length 1.4 cm

estimated L, taken from Table 10, resistivi-

(Table 10)

ties of the matrix pm were calculated by pm, resistivity of matrix 280 ohm-cm

Eq.(14). A reasonable value for the nor- h. (14) 1

mality of the evaporable water might be Assumed normality of matrix 0.2

taken as 0.2,(11) and the rests*Yrvity of such (Reference I 1)

a solution is 29 ohm-cm, Fig. 8. This value Resirtivity of 0.2 normal solution 29 ohm-cm
of 29 ohm-cm should be compared to the (Fig, 8)

value of 280 ohm-cm calculated from resis- Apparent fraction of matrix available 0.1
tance measurements on the paste. The in- for conduction
dications are thus that only about 10 per-

Development L a b o r a t o r i e s , M a y 1 9 6 8 4: i

TIME AFTER IMMERSION IN WATER, DAYS
Fig. l2-Effect
The epoxy coating was the most effective,
but after 28 days of immersion in water,
the resistance was only moderately greater
than that of the uncoated specimen. Some
materials actually decreased the resistance
of the specimens.
In another phase of the investigation,
coatings were applied to steel anchor nuts,
Fig. 13, designed to be embedded in con-
crete crossties to receive the hold-down
bolts. These tests were part of an investiga-
tion, to be published soon, by Hanson and
Hsu,(r3) of methods of insulating rails from
concrete crossties. In contrast to the experi-
ence with coatings on concrete, several
coatings on steel anchor nuts embedded in
concrete were found to be effective, Fig. 14.
The intent of the study was to compare
the effect of the various materials when ap-
plied in equal coating thickness. The act&
coatings, however, varied considerably .in
thickness as indicated by the measured val-
ues given in Fig. 14, and resistances gener-
ally increased with increasing thickness.
The coatings on the steel anchor nuts were
applied by a commercial firm using their
own formulations, while those on the con-
crete specimens were applied in the PCA
Laboratories.
CONCLUSIONS
Conduction of direct current or alternat-
ing current at audio frequencies through
moist concrete is essentially conduction by
an electrolyte. Polarization effects that oc-
cur at the electrodes are evident with either
direct or alternating currents. Resistivity of
AA
Concrete A Concrete B
AUTOCLAVE - AUTOCLAVE -
w/c=0 47
\ 1
u
e+ n c o t _ e d , 0
IO
-A 20 30
of Coatings on Concrete.
concrete is considerably dependent upon
the paste matrix, is influenced only slightly
by frequency in the audio range or by po-
tentials in the range of 2 to 8 volts, but is
sensitive to temperature.
Resistivity of concrete may be increased
manyfold by air-drying, and upon oven-
drying at 105 C values in the range of good
insulators are obtained. Several coatings
that were applied to dry concrete were in-
effective as barriers to the ingress of water
and consequent decrease in resistance.
Furthermore, the most effective admixture
used in the present study provided an in-
crease in resistivity considerably less than
needed. It seems, therefore, that insulation
of rails from concrete crossties would be the
most successful way of obtaining adequate
rail-to-rail resistance. A paper to be pub-
lished soon(r3) will describe in detail vari-
ous insulation methods.
Some metals, particularly steel and alu-
minum, may be subject to electrolytic cor-
rosion under certain conditions when em-
bedded in concrete.( 14,*5) The resistivity of
the concrete is likely a factor in the rate of
such corrosion that might be due to either
stray or galvanic currents.
Since the conduction of electricity
through moist concrete may be visualized
as the movement of ions in the evaporable
water of the paste matrix, and in some
cases in the pores of the aggregate particles,
any factor that affects the amount or
properties of the liquid, or the kind or
number of ions will influence the resis-
Journal c.f Tfre PCA Research and
 tance. Electrical resistance methods thus IDOO-
might have various practical applications CONCRETE B

in concrete research. polyethylene (0.027thick)

-0
NOTATION : IOO- _ epoxy (0.023)
0 0
A = cross-sectional area, sq cm Z-
Or
C = capacitance, farads Q
E = potential, volts - - IO-
E,, E,, , E,, = applied potential, volts 82
zg
Er, = polarization potential (or back
emf), volts
f = frequency, Hz (cycles per sec-
ond)
Hz = hertz, cycles per second
I = current, amperes
I,, I, = current, amperes, from applied
,,,* , ----- ,J
Al
teflor

5
potentials E,,, E,, i IO 20 5 0
TIME, D A Y S

INTERNAL Fig. 14- Effect of Coatings on Anchor Nuts.

k= constant that depends upon

shape of ellipsoidal particles
L = apparent length of conductive
path, or dimension of com-
posite, cm
L, = effective length of conductive
path, cm
R = resistance, ohms
T = tortuosity
V, = fractional volume of particles
Vm = fractional volume of matrix
Z = impedance, ohms
p = resistivity, or resistivity of
composite, ohm-cm
Pa = resistivity of particles, ohm-cm
pm = resistivity of matrix, ohm-cm
o=27rf

REFERENCES
I. Hammond, E., and Robson, T. D., Compari-
son of Electrical Properties of Various Cements
and Concretes, The Engineer (London), 199,
No. 5165, 78-80, and No. 5166, 114-115 (January
21 and 28, 1955).
2. Nikkanen, P., On the Electrical Properties of
C o n c r e t e a n d T h e i r A p p l i c a t i o n s , Valtion
Teknillinen Tutkimuslaitos, Tiedotus, Sarja III,
Rakennus 60 (1962), 75 pages. In Finnish with
English summary.
3. Henry, Robert L., Water Vapor Transmission
and Electrical Resistivity of Concrete, Final Re-
port, U. S. Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory,
Port Hueneme, California, Technical Report
Fig. 13 -Anchor Nut. R-314 (June 1964), 39 pages.

Development iaboraforifs May t96l3 47

 4 . Tobio, J. M., A Study of the Setting Process.
Dielectric Behavior of Several Spanish Cements,
Silicates Zndustriels, 24, 30-35 and 81-87 (Octo-
ber 10, 1959).
5. Powers, T. C., Structure and Physical Proper-
ties of Hardened Portland Cement Paste, ./our-
nal of the American Ceramic Society, 41, No. 1,
1-6 (January 1958); PCA Research Department
Bulletin 94.
6. Iones. Grinnell, and Christian, Schuyler M..
;IThe Measurement of the Conductance-of Elec:
trolytes. VI. Galvanic Polarization by Alternat-
ing Current, Journal of the American Chemical
Society, 57, 272-280 (February 1935).
7. Terry, Earle Melvin, A DVANCED LABORATORY
PMCITCE IN E LECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM, 2nd
Ed., McGraw-Hill, N.Y. (1929), see page 197.
8. Fricke, Hugo, The Electric Conductivity and
Capacity of Disperse Systems, Physics, 1 (August
1931). See page 106.
9. Fricke, Hugo, same as reference 8. See page 108.
10. Freitag, Friedrich E., (Dyckerhoff and Widmann
Kommanditmsellschaft), Increasing the Elec-
trical Resistance and. Strength of Concrete,
G e r m a n P a t e n t N o . 1,064863 (September 3,
1959). In German. See abstract in English in
48
Chemical Abstracts, 55, No. 8, 7798d (April 17,
1961).
11. Budnikov, P. P., and Strelkov, M. I., Some
Recent Concepts on Portland Cement Hydration
and Hardening, in SYMPOSIUM ON S TRUCTURE
OF PORTLA~ C EMENT PASTE AND C ONCRETE, High-
way Research Board Special Report 90 (1966).
see Table 3, page 450.
12. Seligmann, Paul, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
S t u d i e s o f t h e W a t e r i n H a r d e n e d Cement
-----
Paste, Journal of the PCA Research and Devel-
opment Laboratories, 10, No. 1, 52-65 (January
1968); PCA Research Department Bulletin 222.
13. Hanson, Norman W., and Hsu., T. T. C., Tests
of Rail Fasteners. To be published.
14. Monfore, G. E., and Verbeck, G. J., Corrosion
of Prestressed Wire in Concrete, Journal of the
American Concrete Institute (November 1960);
Proceedings, 57, 491-515 (1960-61); PCA Research
Department Bulletin 120.
15. Monfore, G. E., and Ost, Borje, Corrosion of
Aluminum Conduit in Concrete, Journal of
the PCA Research and Development Labora-
tories, 7, No. 1, lo-22 (January 1965); PCA Re-
search Department Rulletin 173.
PCA.RdrD.Ser.1347-1
Journal of The PCA Research adc