Advantages of Steel Over Other Materials When Used in Reinforced Concrete

Read through this article the advantages of steel over other materials when used in reinforced concrete. Continue to know more.

Steel is one of the important construction material used for building any kind of structures across the world. When it is combined with concrete it provides the necessary tensile strength and improve the overall strength and durability of the concrete structure and also protect the structure from natural calamity like earthquake.

There are many similar advantages of steel over other materials that are described in this article.

Why is Steel Used in Reinforced Concrete?

Concrete has its own excellent compressive strength but lacks tensile strength but but it is weak in the tensile strength. So it is not resistant to pulling or stretching forces. Whereas steel possess great tensile strength along with compressive strength and can withstand stretching or bending forces. The tensile strength in steel is more as compared to compressive strength. Hence steel is used in reinforced concrete to combine the compressive strength of concrete and tensile strength of steel, which improve the overall strength and durability of the concrete structure and also protect the structure from natural calamity like earthquake.

What is Reinforced Concrete?

This combination of concrete and steel, where concrete resists compression and steel resists tension, is called reinforced concrete.

Advantages of Steel Over Other Materials

There are several advantages to using steel in reinforced concrete that cannot be found in other materials all at once. The list includes the following:

1. Strength

Steel has a high tensile strength and compressive strength that improve the overall strength and durability of the reinforced concrete structure and make it able to withstand stretching or bending forces.

2. Ductility

Steel is a highly ductile material, which means it can deform without breaking when subjected to stress. This property helps reinforced concrete to resist natural calamity like earthquake, wind loads and other dynamic forces.

3. Bendability

Steel has great bendability that means it can be easily bend into any shape and formed into different sizes and shapes. This property make the steel suitable for use in various types of reinforced concrete structures.

4. Durability

Steel is highly durable because of it is resistant to corrosion. This property makes the steel suitable for use in reinforced concrete structures exposed to harsh environmental conditions.

5. Toughness

Steel has high toughness quality. Due to this property the steel can observe and distribute the energy or load applied to the reinforced concrete structure by transmission without any failure.

6. Cost-effectiveness

Steel is a cost-effective product that easy to install and easily available. It makes the steel a popular choice for building reinforced concrete structure.

7. Eco-friendly

Steel is a 100% recyclable material. So it causes less harm to nature and also saves a lot of money.

8. Bonding

Both steel and concrete have same Thermal Expansion Coefficient that helps them to form a strong bond between them.

9. Long Lasting

Although, bamboo and concrete also have same Thermal Expansion Coefficient but bamboo has a life span of 20 years. So, steel is considered better because it lasts for more than 100 years.

These are the advantages of steel over other materials in the case of using it in reinforced concrete structures.

Final Words

Steel is an essential component of reinforced concrete structure because it provides to structure the necessary tensile strength to resist cracking and deformation under stress and load. Its strength, ductility, bendability, durability, toughness and cost-effectiveness make it a preferred choice for use in reinforced concrete structures. In summary, steel is the best reinforcement material that can be used in concrete structures.

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