ABSTRACT
Electrode heating is a most effective method used to accelerate the hardening of concrete. Electric conductivity or its reciprocal — resistance — is a basic characteristic of any material that is brought into circuit as one of its links. Concrete plays the part of this link in electrode heating. Polarization increases contact resistance between an electrode and concrete due to the release of gases during the decomposition of water and consequently makes the electric heating process more difficult. Electric current is supplied to concrete in electric heating through electrodes. Brought into circuit between electrodes, the concrete acts as a resistance that changes as the concrete hardens. Strip electrodes can heat concrete at the surface and can be arranged on one side of the heated structure. Heating of concrete with thin rod electrodes or with narrow strip electrodes is associated with the appearance of a zone of higher current density at the interface.
