The effect of curing, specimen thickness, and saturation on surface resistivity of concrete

Electrical resistivity measurements are used to assess the potential durability of concrete. The surface resistivity method is a popular method because of the ease of testing, non-destructive nature, and time efficiency. The moisture state of concrete has a significant influence on the resistivity results. Laboratory specimens cured using practical curing methods should be saturated before testing to eliminate this effect and avoid incorrect interpretation of the results. However, the available standard test methods for surface resistivity do not deal with this issue. Consequently, an experimental study has been conducted on the effect of drying on concrete resistivity values, as reported in this paper. The results show that a reduction in the specimen thickness can improve the ability of the surface resistivity method to be used for assessing curing effectiveness.