Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Science - Department of Physical Chemistry

Corrosion of mild steel is one of the challenges that faces the development of construction industries. It results in massive repair costs, sometimes costs above the total construction expense, or in extreme situations to the final collapse of the structures. The need for global sustainability bring with it new and emerging corrosion issues whose negative impacts must be minimized through appropriate materials selection, mitigation and monitoring, and new materials development. This study evaluates the performance of two polymers as protective coatings against chloride-induced corrosion in reinforced concrete and also used to blend with ordinary portland cement (OPC). Polyurethane presents the organic polymer and the other polymer is inorganic produced geopolymer paste. The inorganic produced geopolymer is characterized by its low cost and facile preparation that is prepared from most available industrial wastes in Egypt as water cooled slag (known as ground granulated blast furnace slag) and metakaolin. The total replacement of cement by geopolymer shows promising results, even better than using geopolymer coating. Surface coatings on concrete can provide an effective and efficient protection for both concrete and the steel embedded in it. Despite the promising electrochemical results of polyurethane coating, it's not recommended because of its low heat resistance beside expensive cost. So, it is highly recommended to use geopolymer-coated concrete or total replacement of cement in concrete by geopolymer materials

Issued also as CD