Stainless Steel Rebars – Vital Component of Reinforced Concrete

Stainless steel rebars are the vital component of widely used reinforced cement concrete. These stainless steel rods are incorporated into cement concrete structures like foundations, slabs, beams, walls, columns, and so on to make them incredibly strong. The ridge pattern on each piece of stainless steel rebar creates a good mechanical connection between cement concrete and steel when the concrete solidify. As a result of this, the concrete slab, wall, beams, or any other structure gains significant strength, especially the tensile strength. A reinforced cement concrete structure using rebars will be able to tolerate force created by expansive soil or by seismic activity.

Stainless steel rebar manufacturers these days make rebar in varied thickness as well as in varied grades to suit different corrosive atmosphere. Construction specifications and building codes mainly determine rebar’s size and its quantity required in the reinforced concrete structures. To provide continuity and structural integrity, individual lengths of steel rebars are twisted around the corners and flapped so that they can be tied with stainless steel tie wire. For critical structures such as concrete beams and columns, rebar cages are formed and positioned before the concrete is poured. Concrete slabs and foundations often contain rebar cages as well as steel wire meshes.

Before stainless steel, the common problems related to concrete and rebars, were cracking, spalling, and sometimes shifting of the structure. Unlike stainless steel, ordinary metal rebars were susceptible to rust and corrosion. More often, when the salt from the road or chloride from the atmosphere seeps into the concrete structure, it corroded the rebars. With the powdery rust forming inside the high compression cement concrete, a tremendous pressure is created, which eventually resulted in cracks and spalling of the structure. Hazardous situations were created, which often required extensive repairs, and sometimes the replacement of the structure.

To address this problem, stainless steel was introduced to the rebars. This metal was robust, but more importantly it was corrosion resistant as well as economical. The role stainless steel rebar performed was identical to ordinary metal rebar, but this metal prevented corrosion and rendered a longer life to the concrete structure. Using rebars made from stainless steel can render concrete structure a life up to 125 years. Some of the other benefits of stainless steel rebars are as follows:

1. Better tensile strength than ordinary metal
2. Availability with both magnetic and nonmagnetic properties
3. Exceptional welding ability
4. Better performance in both low and high temperature
5. No corrosion will form even when it is cracked or scratched