Reference: B.J. Christensen, T.O. Mason, D.P. Bentz, and E.J. Garboczi, in Advanced Cementitious Systems: Mechanisms and Properties, edited by F.P. Glasser, G.J. McCarthy, J.F. Young, T.O. Mason, and P.L. Pratt (Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings Vol. 245, Pittsburgh, 1992), pp. 259-264.

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Experimental and Computer Simulation Results for the DC Electrical Conductivity of Portland Cement Paste

B.J. Christensen, T.O. Mason, and H.M. Jennings
Northwestern University
Department of Materials Science, Evanston, IL

D.P. Bentz and E.J. Garboczi
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Building Materials Division
Gaithersburg, MD.

ABSTRACT

The electrical conductivity of portland cement paste is an important transport property, especially since, when properly normalized by the pore fluid conductivity, it is equivalent to the normalized ionic diffusivity of the material via the Nernst-Einstein relation. This paper presents experimental and computer simulation results for / o, where is the conductivity of the bulk paste as determined from impedance spectroscopy, and o is the conductivity of the pore solution. Comparison between simulation and experiment is carried out for an 0.5 water:cement ratio white cement paste as a function of capillary porosity. Reasonable quantitative agreement between theory and experiment is achieved.





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