Functional Acrylic Polymer as Corrosion Inhibitor of Carbon Steel in Autoclaved Air-Foamed Sodium Silicate-Activated Calcium Aluminate/Class F Fly Ash Cement

Abstract

The study focused on investigating the effectiveness of functional acrylic polymer (AP) in improving the ability of air foamed sodium silicate-activated calcium aluminate/Class F fly ash cement (slurry density of ￡ 1.3 g/cm 3 ) to mitigate the corrosion of carbon steel (CS) after exposure to hydrothermal environment at 200?C or 300?C. Hydrothermally-initi ated interactions between the AP and cement generated the formation of Ca-, Al-, or Na-complexed carboxylate deriva tives that improved the AP’s hydrothermal stability. A porous microstructure comprising numerous defect-free, evenly distributed, discrete voids formed in the presence of this hydrothermally stable AP, resulting in the increase in compres ive strength of cement. The foamed cement with advanced properties conferred by AP greatly protected the CS against brine-caused corrosion. Four major factors governed this protection by AP-incorporated foamed cements: 1) Reducing the extents of infiltration and transportation of corrosive electrolytes through the cement layer deposited on the under lying CS surface; 2) Inhibiting the cathodic reactions at the corrosion site of CS; 3) Extending the coverage of CS by the cement; and 4) Improving the adherence of the cement to CS surface.