Impedance and electrical conductivity of C-S-H

Abstract

The impedance and complex electrical conductivity of C-S-H have not been directly measured, even though electromagnetic measurements are a key non-destructive technique for probing cement systems. Here, we evaluate the frequency-dependent electrical conductivity of C-S-H using molecular dynamics simulations for the first time. The effect of nanopore size is assessed for pores spanning the interlayer to the gel range, showing that interlayer conductivity is governed by subdiffusive ion dynamics while Fickean dynamics drives gel pores behavior. Ionic self-correlations dominate the conductivity, while water–ion and solid–ion contributions are smaller but non-negligible. By combining molecular dynamics with mean-field homogenization, we obtain gel-scale estimates consistent with available data (i.e., with ratio between gel conductivity and pore solution conductivity on the order of 1/100). As with other transport properties, accounting for anisotropy and associated dimensionality loss is critical for understanding electrical conductivity bottom-up. Our results provide direct evaluation of the frequency-dependent conductivity of C-S-H, offering valuable input for multiscale modeling and for interpreting electromagnetic measurements of cementitious materials.