Durability Assurance of Production-Scale High-Performance Concrete using Surface Resistivity

Abstract

As India advances towards performance-based specifications for reinforced concrete, there is a need for field-relevant durability performance indicators that can be rapidly verified during construction and linked to long-term service life requirements. Conventional durability tests such as water permeability and rapid chloride penetration test (RCPT), while informative, are laboratory intensive, time-consuming, and not well suited for real-time quality assurance in large-scale construction. This study presents a comprehensive field database of surface electrical resistivity measurements obtained from production-scale high performance concrete mixes placed in critical infrastructure elements across ten infrastructure projects in India with mixing volumes ranging from 22 m³ to 420 m³, all produced under stringent quality control regimes.  Using the Wenner 4-probe method on saturated surface-dry uncarbonated specimens, resistivity measurements were obtained from 60 concrete cubes of M30‑M60 grades incorporating supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) and other admixtures, cast alongside actual structural elements. The compressive strength, charge passed and water penetration depth were also recorded for applicable cases. Based on approximately 400 measurements in total, resistivity values ranged from 3.2 kΩ.cm to 165 kΩ.cm, RCPT results ranged from 118 C to 1666 C, and water penetration depths varied from 3 mm to 10 mm. Higher resistivity values, especially as observed in concretes with SCMs, were consistently associated with lower charge passage, while trends in water penetration depth were more scattered. The results establish a representative pan-India field database that demonstrates robustness and practical relevance of surface electrical resistivity as a durability performance indicator under production conditions.