Early age compressive strength of pastes by electrical resistivity method and maturity method

The compressive strength development of Portland cement pastes was investigated by the electrical resistivity method and the maturity method. The experiments were carried out on the cement pastes with different water-cement ratios at different curing temperatures. The results show that the application of the maturity method has limitation to obtain the strength. It is found that both of the compressive strength and the electrical resistivity follow hyperbolic trend for all the mixes. The hyperbolic equation of each mix is obtained to estimate the ultimate resistivity value which can probably be reached. The relationship between electrical resistivity and compressive strength of the cement pastes is established based on the test results and interpreted by the empirical Archie equation and a strength-porosity equation. The relationship between the electrical resistivity after temperature correction and the compressive strength was linear and independent of curing temperature and water-cement ratio.