Abstract
Soil corrosion is an important degradation mechanism affecting buried carbon-steel infrastructure, including pipelines, storage tanks, grounding systems, and underground utilities. This study examines the association between selected soil physical, chemical, and biological characteristics and the corrosion behavior of buried mild-steel coupons. Three soil environments—sandy, clay, and saline—were considered, and the reported exposure period was 90 days. The parameters considered in the present manuscript are moisture content, pH, chloride concentration, soil resistivity, temperature, organic matter, and corrosion morphology. Corrosion damage was assessed by the weight-loss method and by visual/microscopic examination of the exposed surfaces. The reported corrosion rates were 0.18, 0.42, and 0.81 mm/year for sandy, clay, and saline soil, respectively. These values show an association between the overall soil environment and corrosion severity, with the saline soil producing the most severe attack. However, because the available dataset contains only three soil conditions and does not provide independent replicate measurements, formal statistical significance cannot be established from the reported values. Similarly, microbial activity was not directly measured in the present experiment; therefore, microbiologically influenced corrosion is discussed only as a literature-supported mechanism and not as an experimentally demonstrated cause. The revised manuscript distinguishes correlation from causation, clarifies the methodological limitations, and identifies the need for controlled experiments in which moisture, chloride concentration, pH, and microbial activity are independently varied. The study provides a preliminary experimental basis for understanding how combined soil conditions may influence corrosion morphology in buried mild steel.
KEYWORDS
Soil Corrosion, Buried Mild Steel, Corrosion Morphology, Moisture Content, Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion. Soil Resistivity.
Monika Sharma1*, Rekha Israni2
¹Research Research, Department of Chemistry, Bhagwant University, Ajmer-305004, Rajasthan, India
²Professor, Department of Chemistry, Bhagwant University, Ajmer-305004, Rajasthan, India