How To Assess The Quality Of Steel Bars To Ensure The Safest Construction?
Best quality TMT bars are the ones that ensure flexibility, strength, and longevity. As per the IS Standards, Fe 600 grade steel reinforcement bars have these properties and stand out as the best quality steel bars. In all types of constructions, be it residential or commercial, the best quality TMT bars are highly recommended by the largest steel companies in India.
And how to ensure that the TMT bars are of the best quality? There are certain tests that determine the elongation properties, strength and overall quality of the TMT bars.
a. Tensile Test
TMT bars with capacity of 32mm can be tested without the need of a UTM (Universal Testing Machine) that measures the strength of reinforcement bars. Above 32 mm, however, you would need the machine to test.
b. Bend and Rebend Test
TMT bars made with the wrong materials often tend to bend easily. Hence, it is important to check its bending properties at construction sites or before purchasing it. This test ensures that the bending radii are not created below the relative standard sizes. Incorrect bending can badly affect the performance of steel reinforcement.
c. Yield Stress Test
Talking about the best quality TMT bars, up to which level a material can take stress? And after when does it start to deform plastically? Yield stress test gives you answers to these. The material will deform elastically until it reaches the yield point, and then gets back to its original form once the stress is released. Ductile and brittle are how the material’s behaviour is divided as. Aluminum and streel are ductile, while cast iron and glass are brittle. Comparing the stress-strain curve makes it easier to understand the two categories.
d. Chemical Test
Chemical test is done in spectrometer by chemical composition testing that takes few seconds and gives results in printed form of 26 elements present in the TMT bar. It is done to find out the percentages of carbon, phosphorus, and sulphur. Sometimes, the percentages of copper, manganese and chromiumare also found by spectrometer. It is a must done by the BIS.
The largest steel companies in India, including MS Life, undertakes these tests for their TMT bars to ensure quality and strength of the steel they provide. It is, for this reason, suggested to buy steel bars from reputed and trusted brands that perform tests to assess the quality of their TMT bars.
