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Published in:
2025 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
Concrete Resistivity Revisited: Experience with Testing on Existing Structures
Authors : Rob Polder, Karla Hornbostel, Bart Craeye, Bjorn Van Belleghem
Published in: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Concrete Repair, Rehabilitation and Retrofitting
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland
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Abstract
The resistivity of concrete expresses its ability to conduct electrical current, which is carried by ions dissolved in the pore liquid. This is relevant for depassivation of embedded reinforcement by chloride transport, corrosion propagation and the application of electrochemical protection methods. Testing resistivity on existing structures may (i) reveal zones where corrosion initiation could occur early, due to high cover permeability and/or increased wetness, (ii) provide an indication of corrosion rate after depassivation, (iii) give information for defining zones in cathodic protection systems and (iv) help specify repair materials for matching resistivity with the parent concrete, as is required for cathodic protection. Several methods can be applied on site, for example non-destructive testing by means of a four-point electrode probe (Wenner probe), or destructive testing a.o. using a two electrode method on extracted cores.
A set of RILEM Technical Recommendations published about 20 years ago is now under revision by the RILEM TC-OCM and the authors are members of the working group revising the Recommendation for On-site Resistivity Testing. This paper provides background, describes execution of on-site measurements using the four-point method and reports on experience in the field based on several cases in different countries, including measurement variability and the influences of exposure and concrete composition.