Project Title
Developing High-Performance Nanocomposite Coating for Steel Reinforcement Protection in Chloride-Rich Concrete
Researcher
Dr. Xianming Shi
Project Description
Anti-corrosion coating is one of the most widely used technologies to mitigate corrosion of steel reinforcement in chloride-contaminated concrete. The durability of epoxy-coated reinforcement commonly used is of great concern due to its failure record in high chloride environments and localized corrosion conditions. In this context, this project aims to design a long-lasting, high-performance rebar coating that increases the service life of the rebar in concrete by reducing corrosion at the interface between the rebar and the surrounding chloride-contaminated concrete. A two-layer coating will be applied on steel rebar, with an inhibitor-loaded epoxy nanocomposite coating as the primer and a minerals-loaded epoxy-polyurethane nanocomposite coating as the top coat. Electrochemical corrosion tests, surface analyses, and mechanical tests will be conducted to assess and elucidate the effect of different constituents on the protective performance of such novel epoxy-based nanocomposite coatings.
