Assessment of nano-FeTiO3/non crystalline silica cold galvanizing composite coating as a duplex corrosion guard system for steel electricity transmission towers in severe aggressive media

Abstract

The cold galvanizing duplex system is considered a vital paradigm for corrosion mitigation of steel electricity transmission towers (SETTs). To boost this concept, ilmenite nanoparticles (FeTiO3 NPs) were obtained by a physical ball milling method and fabricated non crystalline silica grains were processed to compose nano-FeTiO3/non crystalline silica (NI/NCS) particles as an anticorrosion modifier for cold galvanizing coating (CGC). Characterizations for the investigated FeTiO3 NPs and non crystalline silica grains were made by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques. The nano-features of FeTiO3 NPs were demonstrated by transmission electron microscope (TEM) study. Different one-component cold galvanizing coating formulations were prepared using various uniformly dispersing amounts of the processed NI/NCS particles to construct nanocomposite coatings for C-steel surface applications. The duplex anti-corrosion performance properties of surface modified nanocomposite cold galvanizing coated films against unmodified conventional coating in oil-wells aggressive formation water solution have been studied by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique. For supporting the protective behavior of these nanocomposite coatings, salt spray accelerated corrosion test was performed. The corrosion protection performance of the investigated modified nanocomposite coated film compared to the unmodified conventional one on the C-steel surface in severe aggressive formation water medium was surveyed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDX) investigations. The results of this consideration assured that the surface modified NI/NCS cold galvanizing coating displayed a duplex corrosion mitigation behavior on the C-steel surface.