There are four main types of steel bars used in reinforced concrete (commonly known as ‘rebar’ for short). They have different properties, including slightly different appearance, load-bearing tensile strength and price, so it’s often a question of budget vs. expected load. Here’s our quick summary of the four types of steel bars and what they are commonly used for.
‘Deformation’ is usually not a word you want to hear in construction, but it’s an important feature of hot rolled deformed steel bars. Steel bars are rolled while still hot, giving them a textured surface finish. The ribbed deformations along the length of the bars allows them to bond better with concrete, making them a popular choice for reinforcement and achieving a tensile strength of around 60,000 psi.
Cold worked steel bars again have tensile strength of approx. 60,000 psi, but the manufacturing process is different. Instead of being rolled when they are hot, cold steel bars are worked at room temperature. They may be twisted or manipulated in some other way to give them a ribbed texture, which again improves their adhesion to the concrete around them. The benefit of cold working is that the finished steel bars can meet extremely tight tolerances, especially in terms of the straightness of the bar along its full length.
Mild steel plain bars do not have the ribbed deformations to enhance bonding with the surrounding concrete. Instead, hooks are sometimes used on the ends to provide extra purchase. The smooth surface of these steel bars inevitably means lower strength when used in reinforced concrete – typically about 40,000 psi – but they are also cheaper, so if they are unlikely to encounter loads at or above that limit, they’re an economical option.
Prestressing steel bars consist of multiple threads of steel – sometimes two or three strands, but sometimes six spun in a helical spiral around a seventh thicker core strand. The cold-drawn wires together offer very high tensile strength of over 250,000 psi, and this is why prestressing steel bars are used to reinforce concrete that must carry the largest loads, for example in concrete building slabs and bridge decks. A solid concrete foundation is a prerequisite for the installation of a steel building frame, visit our blog post for a guide on how to build your own steel framed house.
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With their diversity of shapes, steel bars can appear in many places throughout your day-to-day life — and yet it can be easy to overlook their effectiveness. Because of this, we want to take a look at how steel bars are actually defined, the various shapes available, where you might see them pop up (or want to use them), and more.
So let’s start with the basics. A steel bar is a solid rod that can be a range of shapes. While their shapes have a lot of crossover with steel tubing, steel bars aren’t hollow and have additional variations that can be used for even more niche applications.
When it comes to steel bar shapes, there are three primary shapes that mirror tubing, and three additional shapes or variations that are unique to bars. They are:
– these products are simple, circular rods that are incredibly common across
many industries
.
– as the name suggests, these have a square cross-section and are also one of the most frequently-used steel shapes.
– typically less than an inch thick, these are rectangular, flat products with two different measured dimensions in addition to length.
– the first of the less common shapes, hexagonal bars are reminiscent of a pencil with their six sides.
– used primarily for aesthetic purposes, these are square (or sometimes flat) bars that have been twisted to create a rope-like appearance with diagonal ridges.
– the final type is actually rebar (short for reinforcing bar, also known as deformed bar), which is a round bar variation that usually has knurls running around its circumference.
With so many different shapes, steel bars can be used in an almost limitless number of applications. However, common uses include structure roofs, bridges, fences, cement reinforcement, furniture, metal grating, railings, and more.
Rebar is the most common type when it comes to concrete reinforcement, and this is the shape’s primary function. Flats are commonly used for steel bar grates, while twisted or square bars are often made into ladders, fencing, or gates. In the automotive industry, round bars are used as axles, shafts, and more.
Steel bars typically come in a variety of lengths, but the largest variation from product to product is in the measuring of the cross-section. Obviously this will depend heavily on the shape you’re looking at, but reading bar measurements is thankfully pretty straightforward.
You’ll usually see a single diameter measurement combined with a length for square, round, or hexagonal bars (although this is sometimes labeled “height” for hex bars). When it comes to flats, they’ll clearly mark a width and height, making it easy to figure out all the important dimensions of what you’re buying.
Steel bars can be purchased in both cold rolled and hot rolled options. As with other rolled products, hot rolled tends to be more economical and used for applications where tight tolerances aren’t necessary, while cold rolled is more precise but also more expensive.
Learn more about the differences between hot rolled and cold rolled steel here.
If you’re looking for a supplier for your project, Service Steel has a huge inventory of steel bars and other merchants like angles and UM plates. We can ship as soon as tomorrow, and always have our team standing by to help you. No matter what steel you need, we’ll make sure you get the highest quality and quickest delivery available. Speak to one of our sales representatives or request a free quote today!
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