Compressive strength and electrical properties of concrete with white Portland cement and blast-furnace slag

Abstract Electrical resistivity is an important characteristic of concrete because it allows evaluation of the accessibility of aggressive agents prior to the beginning of the corrosive process and estimation of the corrosion propagation. This study investigated the apparent electrical resistivity of concrete mixes with white Portland cement and with and without blast-furnace slag using Wenner’s four-electrode method. The compressive strength of concrete cylinders and the electrical conductivity of the pore solution were tested. Examined slag contents were 50% and 70% by mass and the results were compared to reference mixtures of 100% white Portland cement and 100% grey Portland cement, as well as to mixtures with equal percentages of slag and grey Portland cement. Larger amounts of slag resulted in increased electrical resistivity and decreases in the electrical conductivity of the pore solution, when compared to the reference concretes. The mixture made of 50% slag and 50% white Portland cement showed, on average, compressive resistance levels between 35 MPa and 60 MPa, electrical resistivity values that were approximately five times greater, costs that were 14.6% less per m3, and whiteness similar to the reference concrete. These results indicate that white Portland cement can be partially substituted by blast-furnace slag.