Effect of Capillary Water Absorption on Electrical Resistivity of Concrete with Coal Gangue Ceramsite as Coarse Aggregates

Abstract

This study intends to access the influence of the capillary action on electrical property of the concrete containing the coal gangue ceramsite. For this purpose, four kinds of concrete samples were prepared; the coal gangue ceramsite was adopted at four volume ratios of 0%, 30%, 60%, and 100%, respectively. The resistivity of the samples was explored using the two-electrode method during the capillary action. The effects of the coal gangue ceramsite contents on capillary water absorption capacity and resistivity of the matrix were verified. The variation of the resistivity of the matrix under the influence of capillary water transmission was analyzed. The results demonstrated that, for the unsaturated concrete, the resistivity of the matrix increased with the increment of the coal gangue ceramsite dosage. The electrical properties of the concrete were affected noticeably by the capillary water absorption of the matrix; the resistivity of the matrix dropped significantly under the capillary suction, which may be attributed to the formation of the new conductive channels caused by the absorbed water. The variation of the resistivity of the concrete under the capillary suction sustained the two-stage reduction curve. The ability of the capillary water absorption of concrete was enhanced with the addition of coal gangue ceramsite, compared to the traditional aggregates concrete, the initial sorptivity, and secondary sorptivity of the matrix increased by 47% and 16% with the 100% content of coal gangue ceramsite. However, during the process of the capillary suction, the resistivity of the coal gangue ceramic concrete was always greater than that of the concrete with traditional crushed aggregates.