Kinetic Study of Portland Cement Hydration with Ground Penetrating Radar

The variations of dielectric constant and the amplitude of reflected EM wave of concrete during the first 3 days are measured with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) at 20 oC. The amplitude decreases sharply after mixing with water, and then increases till a stabilized stage, followed by a gradual decline. The relative dielectric constant decreases with increasing hydrating time. The results show that the dielectric properties of concrete can be used as an effective way of studying the kinetics of concrete setting and hardening process at early ages.