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np,30MARCH2010

econference(1)_______________________________________________________
Q.WhichhighstrengthdeformedsteelrebarisbetterforRCConstruction?
TORsteel(Fe415)orTMT(Fe500)

Comments
These days, high yield strength deformed (HYSD) TOR 415 & TMT 500 steel rebars are
widely used in the construction of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures. Following major
parameters should be checked & compared while determining the quality of any steel
rebars;

TensileStrength
Ductility
Bendability
Weldability
Durability
BehaviorUnderCyclicLoading

Atfirst,themanufactureprocessandconfigurationoftheTOR&TMTSteelrebarsshouldbe
thoroughlyunderstoodwhichhavebeendescribedindetailbelow;
(A) ManufactureProcessandConfiguration
TORRebars
Conventionally, Rebars are produced by two different methods of production. In the first
type, the bars possessing ribs at their surface are hot rolled from steel billets along with
definitechemicalcompositiontoachievedesiredstrength.
Another one is produced by Cold Working Process that involves the stretching and
twistingoftheMildSteel(MS)barof250MPainarepeatedmanner.Rebarssuchproduced
areColdTwistedDeformed(CTD)rebars
On loading, Steel will follow a linear elastic path similar to that of original mild steel till it
reaches the point where unloading starts; which also becomes a new yield point. Please
refer FIG1. The required increase in yield strength is achieved by appropriate selection of
unloading point. These rebars are commercially manufactured under the trade name of
TORSteel.TORSteelofFe415gradeiswidelymanufacturedinourcountry.

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FIG1(TypicalStressStrainCurveforMildSteelRebars;ShowingLoading/UnloadingPath)

TMTRebars
TMT stands for Thermo Mechanically Treated steel rebars are produced by applying
latest advanced technologies resulting in far more superior properties than conventional
CTD/TORrebars.
Thermo mechanical treatment is an advanced heat treatment process in which hot bars
comingout of last rolling mill stand are rapidly quenched by a special water spray system.
Rapid quenching provides intensive cooling that converts surface layer of the bar to a
hardenedstructurecalledMartensiteandwithhotcore;austenitic.

FIG2,(LongitudinalViewofTMTSteelRebars)
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The rebars crosssection with a temperature gradient is then allowed to cool in ambient
conditionscalledSelftempering.Uptothisstagetemperatureofcoreishigherthanthat
of the surface. Heat is then allowed to flow from the core to the surface resulting in
tempering of the surface that gives outer surface a strength and toughness while core is
turnedintoaDuctileFerritePearlite.

Special Heat Treatment of Quenching & Tempering thus changes the structure of material
to a composite structure of ductile inner core having a structure of Ferrite Pearlite and
withstrong,toughoutersurfaceofTemperedMartensite.

ThisishowTMTrebarsprovidetheuniquecombinationofstrengthandductility.

FIG3,(CrossSectionsofVariousSteelRebarsShowingtheirConfiguration)

Following describes the parameters those are to be considered in the determination of the
qualitystructuralsteelrebars;

(B) QualityofStructuralSteelRebars
TensileStrength
Obviously, TMT 500 has higher value of yield strength of 500 MPa to that of the TOR 415
which has yield strength of 415 MPa

only. For an applied load on the structural element,

definitely,useofTMT500graderesultsinlowersteelquantity.Ithasbeenfoundthatuse
ofTOR415gradealmostincreasesthesteelquantityby20%tothatoftheTMT500grade.
That also means if the total steel consumption in a project using TMT 500 grade was 200
tons then by using TOR 415 grade total consumption would be 240 tons. There would be
hugesavinginsteelof40tonsbyusingTMT500grade.ReferAppendixformoredetail.
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Ductility
Ductilityisanabilityofanymaterial/structuralelementtodeform,withoutcollapse,even
after reaching the failure load. This property protects the rupture / structural collapse or
prolongs the rupture / collapse process. Materials with no ductility are brittle ones. Also,
Structureswithnoductilitycollapsealmostsuddenly/immediately.Itcantresistthefailure
load without sudden collapse. Mathematically, Ductility is expressed as ratio of Ultimate
DeformationtoYieldDeformation.ReferFIG4.

FIG4,(LoadDeformationCurveofanElastoPlasticSystem)

Duct|||ty =
u
m
u
y

u
m
= U|t|mate deurmat|un
u
y
= Y|e|d deurmat|un

Elongation along with its Yield Strain/Deformation (u

y
) of a steelrebarplays amajor role
initsductility.Elongationofasteelrebarreferstoabilitytoelongatebeforefailure.Itisan
ultimate strain/deformation (u
m
) at fracture. Yield strain/deformation corresponds to the
YieldStrength(f
y
);whichismaximumloadthatanelementcanundertake.ReferFIG4.
Higherelongationvalueprovideshigherductilityingeneral.Also,Lowyieldstrainvalueof
steelrebars provideshigherductility.Steelspermittedtouse as reinforcementbars asper
theISCodes;IS:4321982,IS:17861985alongwiththeircharacteristicsareasfollows:
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Recentcodesdemandforthehigherelongationvalueswithaminimumelongationof14.50
%inalltypesofsteelrebars.
TMTrebars withitssoft ductilecore ofFerritePearliteexhibitexcellentductilebehavior
with anelongationvalue of 16.0%.CommerciallyavailableTMT brands even claimtohave
elongationvalueof1825%.
Though the Yield Strain of TMT rebars is higher than that of HYSD415; sufficient ductility
can be achieved because of its higher elongation values in Reinforced Concrete (RC)
Structures. In RC technology, its not only the yield/elongation values of a steel rebar that
improves its ductile behavior. In fact in RC elements, its the interplay between the steel
rebarsandconcretepropertiesthatdeterminestheductility.
By means of proper design and maintaining other detailing factors sufficient ductile value
canbeeasilyachievedevenwiththesteelrebarshavinglowerelongationvaluesandhigher
yieldstrain.

Bendability
Bendabilityisrequiredtogivesteelrebarsadesiredshape;suchasattheendconnections
ofBeamColumnJoints.
TMT rebars with its soft inner core results in good bendability to achieve various shapes.
TORsteelhasproventrackofitsbendability.

Weldability
TMT rebars with low carbon content are highly weldable. Appropriate Carbon content is
necessary to impart strength in rebars. However higher carbon content hinders the
weldability.
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Various codes allow maximum Carbon content of 0.30 %. However keeping in view of the
superior weldability characteristics, the maximum Carbon content should be less than
0.25%.
Some of the available commercial brands in Nepal claim to have their TMT rebars with
Carboncontent0.17%0.25%.

Durability
Resistance against the corrosion of steel rebars is the key parameter in durability of
structure.
Resistance of rebars against corrosion depends upon its chemical composition. Though
good quality concrete is a prerequisite for the corrosion resistance of RC structure, the
qualityofrebarshasalsoasignificantinfluenceonit.

Duringthecoldtwistingprocessapartofresidualstrainiswithheldintheperipheryofthe
CTD bars. This residual strain in TOR initiates the corrosion process faster than in TMT
rebarsthatdoesntincludeandtwistingandstretchingprocess.

BehaviorUnderCyclicLoading
Earthquakeimposesrepetitiveloadingfornumberofcyclesorcyclicloadinginastructure.
In such, load that doesnt cause failure in a single application can result in failure when
applied for number of cycles. This process of failure under the repeated loading is also
termedasFatigue.
Thus behavior of materials under the cyclic loading should also be checked. It has been
foundthatthestressstrainbehaviorofmaterialslikesteelisalsoahistorydependent.
TMT 500, ThermoMechanically Treated rebars are intrinsically hard and strong than TOR
415.MaterialsthoseareinitiallyhardandstrongshowSofteningBehavior,whereasinitially
softmaterialsshowStrainHardeningundercyclicloading.
BothTOR415&TMT500rebarswiththeirhigherelongationvaluesinminimumof14.50%
can accommodate inelastic strains imposed by cyclic loading; if proper ductility factor is
maintainedinaRCstructure.

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Conclusion
TMTrebarsproducedfromlatestthermomechanicaltreatmentpossessfarbetterqualities
than conventional TOR rebars in much ways as discussed above. It also results in huge
savingincostofsteelbyalmost20%.PleasereferAppendixforcalculation.
Nevertheless,onlyGenuineTMTrebarsmadefromtheSteelBilletsobtainedfromprimary
source,Ironores,shouldbeused.TMTrebarsareoftenmanufacturedfromthesecondary
sourcesasscrapmetals.
AlsotheprocessofTMTmanufactureissophisticated&advancedprocessthatchangesthe
atomic structure in metal to give its enough strength along with the desired ductility. It is
not ensured that all the steel mills from the various companies could perform these
processesinaspecifiedmannerastheyclaim.
If TMT rebars obtained from secondary sources and manufactured in technically sub
standardsteelmillareused;thensuchTMT500rebarscouldhavelowerstrengththanTOR
415. It also could impart high degree of hardness due to high carbon content and other
defectivechemicalcompositionsresultinginlowerductilityandotherkindsofdefectsthat
willputinfrastructuresinperil.

Preparedby
Str.Er.AmreetRTuladhar
M.Sc.inStructuralEngineering
BuildingResearchInstitute(P)Ltd.,Nepal
BREINS,Kathmandu
30MARCH2010

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APPENDIX
ComparativeStudyonStrength&Ductility
Example1onFlexuralElements,BEAMS
LetsConsider,
BeamSize
DepthofBeam = 600.00mm
WidthofBeam = 230.00mm
AppliedMoment = 150.00Knm
GradeofConcrete = M20

DesignoftheabovementionedBeamyieldsfollowingresults.

GradeofSteel

AreaofTensile
SteelRequired

DepthofNeutralAxis

Rotational
DuctilityFactor

TOR415

857.27sq.mm.

186.91mm

1.85

TMT500

711.54sq.mm.

186.91mm

1.68

It is quite clear from the above example that use of TOR 415 results in higher area of
steelreinforcement.Butitsductilityishigherthanthatofbeamsectionreinforcedwith
TMT500.ThoughtheductilityfactorofbeamsectionreinforcedwithTOR415ishigher,
italldependshowmuchofductilityfactorisrequired.Supposeiftheductilityfactorto
be maintained is just 1.5 only, then use of TMT 500 steel rebars would be quite
beneficial.
Also, in the above example, ductility factor in case of TMT 500 could be enhanced to
1.85 bymeagerincrease inbeam depth by15mm;that again lowers itssteel quantity
from711.54sq.mmto686.40sq.mmduetoincreaseinbeamdepthto615mm.
Fromthisexample itisquiteclearthatinordertoachievetherequiredStrengthfor a
givenDuctilityDemand,useofTOR415graderesultsinincreaseinsteelquantityalong
with meager decrease in concrete quantity in comparison to use of TMT 500 grade
steelrebarsbythefollowingpercentages:
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%IncreaseinsteelquantityinusingTOR415overTMT500 = +24.89%
%DecreaseinconcretequantityinusingTOR415overTMT500= 2.44%

Example2onAxialBendingElements,COLUMNS
LetsConsider,
ColumnSize
WidthofColumn = 300.00mm(Xdir.)
DepthofColumn = 400.00mm(Ydir.)

AppliedLoads
P
u
= 905Kn
M
x
= 68.00Knm
M
y
= 110.00Knm
GradeofConcrete = M25

Biaxial Design of the above mentioned column with reinforcement distributed equally
ontwosidesyieldsfollowingresults.

GradeofSteel

%ofSteelRequired
AreaofTensileSteel
Required

RebarDetailing

TOR415

2.38%

2856sq.mm.

420+816

TMT500

2.00%

2400sq.mm.

420+616

%IncreaseinsteelquantityinusingTOR415overTMT500 = +19.00%

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