Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Reinforcement Steel Bars: Case Study on Construction Works in Aden - Yemen

Abstract

Reinforcing steel bars are one of the major construction materials that are used for most of the engineering applications and construction purposes. However, steel reinforcing bars are used daily in the construction of various buildings in Yemen, but their suitability has not yet been confirmed. This study is aimed at assessing the mechanical properties of 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20mm sizes of imported and locally reinforcing steel bars used in building construction in Aden, Yemen. Mechanical properties include ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of the steel specimens that were determined and also compared to the corresponding limit as defined in the British Standard BS4449:1997. The tensile test was performed in the Material Science Lab in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Aden, Yemen, using a tensile testing machine (SM1001). The findings show that the yield tensile strength values of 10, 12, 14, 18, and 20mm bar sizes are ranging from 318 to 444.8, which is lower than the BS 4449 specification of 460, except the 16 mm bar sizes, which are higher and range from 463.62 to 466.36. For ultimate tensile strength tested, only 16 mm bar sizes are conforming to the standard BS4449:1997 specification of 600, which are ranging from 602.12 to 637. This shows that the failure rate is very high among the tested samples. Therefore, it is recommended to critically evaluate the mechanical properties of local and imported reinforcing bars before using them in construction works in the country to achieve optimum safety.