(1) Mechanical Engineering Department, Tuskegee University, 218 Foster Hall, Tuskegee, AL 36088, USA;(2) Housing and Building National Research Center, P.O. Box 1770, Cairo, Egypt;
Abstract:
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.