Investigating the Impact of Corrosion on Concrete Strength and the Efficacy of Zanthoxylum Exudate as a Corrosion Inhibitor

This study aims to investigate the effect of corrosion on the failure load and bond strength of concrete cube members and evaluate the efficacy of Zanthoxylum exudate/resin as a corrosion inhibitor. The results showed that corrosion significantly reduced the failure load and bond strength of concrete cube specimens, whereas coating with different thicknesses of Zanthoxylum exudate/resin extract improved the failure load and bond strength of the coated specimens compared to the corroded specimens. The percentile values also confirmed that the coated specimens had higher strength values than the corroded specimens. Furthermore, the study examined the effect of corrosion on the measured diameter of steel bars, revealing that corrosion caused a reduction in the measured diameter of the steel bars. The use of Zanthoxylum exudate/resin as a corrosion inhibitor showed potential in reducing the corrosion of mild steel reinforcement in concrete. The findings of this study suggest that the use of corrosion inhibitors can be an effective solution to mitigate the negative effects of corrosion on concrete structures and improve their strength and service life. Further research is needed to determine the long-term effectiveness of natural extracts as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel reinforcement in concrete.