Intelligent monitoring and assessment on early-age hydration and setting of cement mortar through an EMI-integrated neural network

•The conductance signatures in response to d31 and d33 vibration modes were monitored.•The localized and overall changes of EMI spectra well correspond to the mortar’s settings.•An integrated neural network was built to evaluate the mortar’s penetration impedance change.•The proposed EMI-IntNet presents superior accuracy and reliability over conventional methods.