Corrosion inhibitors for enhanced strength, durability, and microstructure of coastal concrete structures

Abstract

The prevalence of catastrophic structural member failure caused by steel corrosion in civil infrastructure underscores the importance of reducing reinforcement corrosion to enhance overall infrastructure costs, reliability, and sustainable development. The present research investigates the potential of corrosion inhibitors to enhance the durability and strength of concrete structures, with a focus on their long-term effectiveness in resisting corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. Multiple approaches such as inhibitors, repairing processes, and coatings have been explored to prevent concrete corrosion damage, with an emphasis on concrete corrosion performance in coastal and corrosive situations. This study investigates the effect of six different corrosion inhibitors (zinc oxide, magnesium oxide, urea, sodium nitrate, sodium molybdate, and diethyl ether) on the compressive strength and durability of concrete samples. The compressive strength is assessed using both destructive (28 days cube compressive strength) and non-destructive (Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity) test methods, while concrete durability is evaluated using the rapid chloride permeability test (RCPT). The compressive strength of the admixture incorporated samples are found to be higher than the control sample by almost 50% and above with excellent concrete quality. The RCPT values of inhibitor-incorporated samples are moderate and low with control samples having high permeability even in adverse conditions of freezing, thawing, and deicing. The samples incorporated with inhibitors also show less negative half-cell potential which is 1.43 times less than that of the control sample indicating the lesser probability of occurrence of corrosion. SEM imaging is also conducted to analyze the microstructure of each mix. The findings of this study highlight the importance of inhibitors in enhancing the durability of reinforced concrete structures.