This study investigates the effectiveness of Combretum Combretaceae exudates as a natural coating aimed at enhancing both the strength and chloride corrosion resistance of steel pipes. Corrosion, particularly chloride-induced corrosion, presents significant challenges across various industries, including oil and gas, water supply, and infrastructure, leading to substantial economic losses estimated at over $300 billion annually in the U.S. alone. It poses severe safety risks, necessitating the urgent need for effective and environmentally responsible corrosion management strategies. Traditional corrosion protection methods, such as synthetic coatings and galvanization, often rely on harmful chemicals that can have detrimental environmental impacts. This scenario underscores the importance of exploring eco-friendly alternatives that do not compromise protective efficacy. The research presented herein demonstrates that steel pipes coated with Combretum exudates exhibit markedly improved corrosion resistance, evidenced by a reduction in corrosion rates of up to 98.6% compared to uncoated samples. This substantial decrease in corrosion rates highlights the potential of natural coatings in mitigating the adverse effects of corrosive environments. Mechanical testing further reveals that these coatings effectively preserve key mechanical properties, including tensile and yield strength, mitigating degradation over extended exposure periods of up to 210 days. Specifically, coated samples retained 91% of their original tensile strength and 89% of their yield strength, demonstrating the coatings’ ability to provide robust protection against corrosion while maintaining the structural integrity of the steel. The study establishes a clear relationship between the thickness of the Combretum coatings and their protective performance, indicating that thicker coatings correspond to enhanced resistance to corrosion and mechanical degradation. This relationship emphasizes the potential of natural coatings as sustainable solutions for corrosion prevention, paving the way for their application in various industrial settings where both environmental and structural considerations are paramount.

Expansive soils cause significant damage to infrastructure due to their swelling and shrinkage behavior with changing moisture content. This study evaluated the potential of Costus chartaceus mass ash (CCMA), an agricultural waste, in stabilizing expansive lateritic and clay soils from Nigeria for use as pavement subgrade material. Specimens of the problematic soils were mixed with varying proportions (2.5-10%) of CCMA and a fixed 5% cement content. The geotechnical properties of maximum dry density, optimum moisture content, consistency limits, California bearing ratio (CBR), unconfined compressive strength (UCS), and free swell index were determined via standardized tests. Results showed the maximum dry density generally decreased with higher CCMA contents due to ash particles occupying soil voids. However, inclusion of up to 2.5% CCMA increased density through beneficial pozzolanic reactions. Optimum moisture content rose with greater ash amounts owing to its hydrophilic nature. Consistency limits like liquid limit and plasticity index decreased significantly, while plastic limit increased, demonstrating modifications to clay mineralogy restricting water absorption. Both unsoaked and soaked CBR ratios augmented noticeably with rising CCMA up to 7.5%, reflecting strengthened inter-particle bonds. UCS strengths also steadily climbed to a peak at 7.5% CCMA, signifying physicochemical improvements. A judicious combination of 7.5% CCMA and 5% cement achieved optimal performance for controlling volume change and imparting bearing capacities to the problematic soils. This reflects balancing of pozzolanic gain versus dilution effects. The study validates use of CCMA-cement composite for rectifying consistency issues and upgrading strength characteristics of expansive soils. CCMA shows potential as an economical, eco-friendly stabilizer leveraging its high silica and pozzolanic properties compared to other agricultural wastes. Further work could explore CCMA blending with additional activators to maximize stabilization efficacy.

Projectile motion is a fundamental topic in physics, typically taught under idealized conditions such as the absence of air resistance. However, real-world scenarios—such as basketball shooting—show significant deviations from these idealized trajectories. In this study, we investigate the effects of air drag on basketball trajectories, focusing on how it alters the projectile’s path, the effective drag coefficient, and the optimal launch angle for maximum range. We assume standard conditions: gravitational acceleration at 9.8 m/s², air density at 1.225 kg/m³, and negligible Magnus effect. Despite limitations in our model (discussed later), it successfully reveals the differences between ideal and real trajectories, estimates the average drag coefficient (~1.15), and identifies a realistic optimal launch angle (lower than the ideal 45°). This research encourages further refinement of the model and highlights the complexity of real-world physics beyond textbook assumptions.