Nanostructured Coatings Approach for Corrosion Protection of Building Steels

¹ *Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering, Vinayaka Mission’s Kirupananda Variyar Engineering College, Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation (Deemed to be University), Salem, Tamil Nadu, India
² Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering, Jayalakshmi Institute of Technology, Thoppur, Tamil Nadu, India
^3,6 PG Student, M.E. Structural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Vinayaka Mission’s Kirupananda Variyar Engineering College, Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation (Deemed to be University), Salem, Tamil Nadu, India
⁴ Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Jayalakshmi Institute of Technology, Thoppur, Tamil Nadu, India
⁵ Research Scholar, Vinayaka Mission’s College of Physiotherapy, Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation (DU), Salem, Tamil Nadu, India

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is a persistent durability concern for concrete structures, since conventional coatings often fail to provide lasting protection due to poor adhesion and insufficient barriers in harsh environments. This research focuses on advancing corrosion resistance by introducing nanostructured coatings that combine epoxy, cement, and nano-silica materials. Four distinct coating formulations were developed—epoxy, epoxy–cement, epoxy–nano-silica, and epoxy–cement– nano-silica—and subjected to systematic testing under accelerated corrosion conditions. We measured weight loss to see how well the material was doing, since this shows how much it had broken down. The results reveal that adding nano-silica makes the coating much denser and stronger, which lowers the rate of corrosion. The tests showed that the epoxy-nano-silica coatings were the best at keeping rebar of different sizes safe. These results support the idea that nanostructured hybrid coatings could help reinforced concrete last longer in tough conditions.