ECO-FRIENDLY CORROSION

INHIBITORS FOR
REINFORCED CONCRETE
Project Guide Mr. T. Ramesh
13C122 Sivaneshan
13C129 Vishal.S

13C209 Manidhar Reddy

INTRODUCTION

Corrosion refers to degradation of the materials properties due to

interaction with its environment.
The extent of corrosion depends on the type of metal, the existing
conditions in the environment and the type of aggressive ions present in
the medium.
Corrosion of reinforcing steel and other embedded metals is the leading
cause of deterioration in concrete.
When steel corrodes, the resulting rust occupies a greater volume than the
steel.
This expansion creates tensile stresses in the concrete, which can
eventually cause cracking, delamination, and spalling.

MECHANISM OF CORROSION

Corrosion is an electrochemical process involving the flow of charges

(electrons and ions). At active sites on the bar, called anodes, iron atoms
lose electrons and move into the surrounding concrete as ferrous ions.
2Fe 2Fe2++ 4e-

The electrons remain in the bar and flow to sites called cathodes, where
they combine with water and oxygen in the concrete.
2H2O + O2+ 4e- 4OH-

To maintain electrical neutrality, the ferrous ions migrate through the

concrete pore water to these cathodic sites where they combine to form
iron hydroxides, or rust
2Fe2++ 4OH- 2Fe(OH)

This initial precipitated hydroxide tends to react further with oxygen to

form higher oxides. The increases in volume as the reaction products react
further with dissolved oxygen leads to internal stress within the concrete
that may be sufficient to cause cracking and spalling of the concrete cover.

IMPORTANCE OF CORROSION
INHIBITION

Corrosion of reinforced concrete is the most challenging durability problem

that threatens reinforced concrete structures, especially structures that
are subject to severe environmental conditions (i.e., highway bridges,
marine structures, etc.)
Large amounts of money($1.1 trillionapproximately 6.2% of GDP - USA)
is spent every year on repairing such damaged structures.
The importance of corrosion prevention is economic as it helps to reduce
material losses resulting from failed structures and safety as corrosion
leads to failure of structures.
Corrosion inhibitors are one of the best methods to combat premature
failure.

CORROSION INHIBITORS

A corrosion inhibitor is a chemical substance, when added in a suitable

concentration to an environment reduces the corrosion rate of a metal exposed to
that environment.
Environmental concerns require corrosion inhibitors to follow certain rules. Most
of the conventional inhibitors that have been developed till today are nonbiodegradable and highly toxic to human beings.
Recent studies have shown the ability of several inorganic and synthetic organic
inhibitors to cause temporary or permanent damage to human organs, such as
kidney or liver
Over the years numerous studies have shown the effectiveness of green inhibitors
against the corrosion of various steel types especially under acidic environment.
Eco-friendly inhibitors are usually extracted from aromatic herbs, spices and from
seeds, leaves or barks of medicinal plants, collectively termed as green inhibitors.

These extracts are admixed to the concrete slabs in different

concentrations and steel reinforcement is embedded into these concrete
blocks.
The natural constituents of these extracts contain N, O, and S containing
hetero cyclic macromolecules, which are reached to the steel surface by
diffusion and adsorbed at the steel concrete interface by electronic
interaction with the metal and metal oxide
There they form protective layers to repeal water molecules and inhibit
ingression of destructive species like Cl- , SO42- , and CO2 which are
responsible for corrosion.
Some green inhibitors are Bambusa Arundinacea(Indian Bamboo),
Vernonia Amygdalina(Bitter leaf) , Chamaerops Humilis(Fan palm) ,
Morinda Lucida , Tobacco, Rhizophora Mangle (Red mangrove)

BAMBUSA ARUNDINACEA

It is a hydrophobic green inhibitor.

The polarization resistance, high concrete resistivity and chloride binding
property have shown its ability to inhibit the initiated corrosion of steel
embedded into chloride contaminated concrete even better than calcium nitrite
inhibitor.
When comparing the inhibitor efficiency of Bambusa arundinacea leaf extract to
that of two well established and effective corrosion inhibitors, calcium nitrite
and ethanolamine, it was shown that the pore blocking ability of Bambusa
arundinacea extract in chloride contaminated concrete was far better than both
of these two conventional inhibitors.
The strong hydrophobic effect was attributed to the formation of a product layer
of two high valent oxides (Fe2O3 and Fe3O4) adherent to the steel surface.
It also reduces the number of surface active sites available for chloride ion
ingression.

PREPARATION OF EXTRACT

Fresh leaves were washed, shade dried and crushed.

200 ml of ethanol is used as the solvent.

5g of crushed leaves are soaked in the ethanol in a closed container for 14

days.
The mixture is then to be subjected to rotary evaporation.
The evaporated filtrate is to then be diluted in 1M HCl solution to obtain
test solutions of 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%

PREPARATION OF CONCRETE
SPECIMENS

100 100 100mm concrete cubes are to be prepared using 1:1.2:2 mixes
designed with a W/C ratio of 0.45.
Calcium nitrite, Ethanolamine and Green Bambusa arundinacea are to be
added as inhibitors. The conventional inhibitors are to be added for
comparison.
The concrete cubes are to be demoulded after 24 h of casting and subjected
to water curing.
Curing is to be done for 7,28 and 90 days.
The various tests on concrete are to be carried out. Previous research has
shown that addition of Bambusa extracts increased the strength by 1.5%.

CONCLUSION

Green inhibitors create minimum natural hazards to the environment

They are found to be extremely effective against rebar corrosion especially
in chloride contaminated concrete.
Some inhibitors changes concrete properties especially its compressive
strength while admixed in a particular concentration.
But the mechanism of action of these inhibitors contains lot of
discrepancies. Hence more research; both theoretical as well as
experimental are to be conducted to find out new green inhibitors to
determine their inhibitory effects as well as compatibility in concrete
environment.

REFERENCES

International Journal of Emerging Research in Management &Technology

ISSN: 2278-9359 (Volume-5, Issue-1)

IJRRAS - Volume 9, Issue 3

International Review of Mechanical Engineering Volume 5, Issue 1