Impact of adding plant leaves powder on compressive strength and corrosion rate of steel mortar

Materials Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad-Iraq.

^* Corresponding author: randsalihfarhan@gmail.com

Abstract

Incorporating olive leaves powder into mortar may minimize corrosion rates and improve its compressive strength. Different amounts of carbon leaves filings (5 g, 10 g, and 15 g) and olive leaves powder (5 g, 10 g, 15 g, and 20 g) were combined to create various mortar specimens. All specimens were tested for compressive strength, and a weight-loss method was used to evaluate corrosion rates. There were three specimens for each test with a volume size of (5, 5, 5) cm3. After each test, the average value for three specimens is taken and dependent. Mortar specimens with 15 g of olive leaves powder and 5 g of carbon steel filings had the best results in terms of decreased compressive strength and increased corrosion rates. These fillers replaced the sand component of the mortar. The effects of curing duration, pH levels, and salt concentrations were also examined in the research. The mortar specimens were submerged in water for 7, 14, 28, 90, 150, and 210 days. They were also submerged in solutions with varying pH levels and sodium chloride concentrations. After immersion, the mortar specimen was dried and evaluated for corrosion rate and compressive strength. Notably, longer immersion periods were associated with greater compressive strength values, demonstrating that strength increased with extended contact with water. With an increase in both acidic and alkaline environments, with an increase in acidic conditions being especially noticeable, pH 7 showed the lowest corrosion rate across all pH solutions for all mortar samples. Furthermore, increased salt concentrations caused a faster rate of corrosion in the mortar samples. The carbon steel file samples submerged at pH 7 with a 5% salt concentration during immersion durations of 28 and 90 days, respectively, showed the best combination of compressive strength and low corrosion rate. Olive leaf powder is a green organic corrosion inhibitor that is safe to use since it is non-toxic, biodegradable, and devoid of harmful chemicals like heavy metals. Additionally, it is cheap, easily available, renewable, and good for the environment. To prevent toxicity and waste in green chemistry, a passive oxide layer is often used as a corrosion barrier. The phenolic compound of the olive leaves powder is found to be responsible for the olive leaves’ inhabitation effect.