STEEL

Iron alloy containing carbon from as low as 0.03 percent (as in ingot steel) to 2.5 percent by weight
(as in cast iron), and varying amounts of other elements (mainly chromium, manganese,
molybdenum, nickel, and silicon) depending on its end use. Higher amounts of carbon make the
steel more fluid and castable, and lower amounts make it purer for specialized purposes such as
electrical steel and stainless steel. Carbon steel exits in three main stable crystalline forms: (1)
Ferrite (body centered cubic crystal), (2) Austenite (face centered cubic crystal), and (3) Cementite
(orthorhombic crystal). Steel has a thermal expansion coefficient nearly equal to that of
modern concrete. If this were not so, it would cause problems through additional longitudinal and
perpendicular stresses at temperatures different from the temperature of the setting.[10] Although
rebar has ribs that bind it mechanically to the concrete, it can still be pulled out of the concrete
under high stresses, an occurrence that often accompanies a larger-scale collapse of the structure.
To prevent such a failure, rebar is either deeply embedded into adjacent structural members (40–
60 times the diameter), or bent and hooked at the ends to lock it around the concrete and other
rebar. This first approach increases the friction locking the bar into place, while the second makes
use of the high compressive strength of concrete.

REFORCING OF STEEL

Reinforcing Steel

Most people are familiar with reinforcing steel, commonly called "rebar". It is used in bridges,
buildings, skyscrapers, homes, warehouses, and foundations to increase the strength of a concrete
structure.

Rebar is used in concrete to provide additional strength, as concrete is weak in tension, while steel
is strong in both tension and compression. Steel and concrete have similar coefficients of thermal
expansion, so a concrete structural member reinforced with steel will experience minimal stress as
the temperature changes.

Steel is the product of choice thanks to specific advantages over other materials:
 Ability to be bent – Reinforcing steel can be bent after being manufactured. This
simplifies the construction and provides for rapid delivery of fabricated materials.
 Robustness – Reinforcing steel is robust and able to withstand rigors of construction.
 Ability to be recycled – Reinforcing steel is able to be readily recycled at the end of the
structure design life.
 Compatibility with concrete – Reinforcing steel does not need to be tied directly to the
formwork and does not float in concrete.
 Availability – Reinforcing steel is available in every region of the country. Due to the
number and distribution of plants, LEED and other sustainability credits are available.
A tied rebar beam cage. This will be embedded inside cast concrete to increase its tensile strength.
Rebar (short for reinforcing bar), collectively known as reinforcing steel and reinforcement
steel,[1] is a steel bar or mesh of steel wires used as a tension device in reinforced concrete and
reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and aid the concrete under tension. Concrete is strong
under compression, but has weak tensile strength. Rebar significantly increases the tensile strength
of the structure. Rebar's surface is often deformed to promote a better bond with the concrete.
The most common type of rebar is carbon steel, typically consisting of hot-rolled round bars with
deformation patterns. Other readily available types include stainless steel, and composite bars
made of glass fiber, carbon fiber, or basalt fiber. The steel reinforcing bars may also be coated in
an epoxy resin designed to resist the effects of corrosion mostly in saltwater environments, but
also land based constructions. Bamboo has been shown to be a viable alternative to reinforcing
steel in concrete construction. These alternate types tend to be more expensive or may have lesser
mechanical properties and are thus more often used in specialty construction where their physical
characteristics fulfill a specific performance requirement that carbon steel does not provide. Steel
and concrete have similar coefficients of thermal expansion,[2] so a concrete structural member
reinforced with steel will experience minimal stress as the temperature changes

PRODUCTION OF STEEL
Steelmaking is the process for producing steel from iron ore and scrap. In
steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon are
removed from the raw iron, and alloying elements such
as manganese, nickel, chromium and vanadium are added to produce different grades of steel.
Limiting dissolved gases such as nitrogen and oxygen, and entrained impurities (termed
"inclusions") in the steel is also important to ensure the quality of the products cast from the liquid
steel.

Steel is the world's most popular construction material because of its unique combination of
durability, workability, and cost. It's an iron alloy that contains between 0.2 and 2 percent carbon
by weight.

According to the World Steel Association, some of the largest steel producing countries are China,
Japan, US, and India. China accounts for roughly 50 percent of this production.

The world's largest steel producers include ArcelorMittal, Hebei Steel Group, Baosteel, POSCO
and Nippon Steel.

The Modern Steel Production Process

Methods for manufacturing steel have evolved significantly since industrial production began in
the late 19th century. Modern methods, however, are still based on the same premise as the original
Bessemer Process, which uses oxygen to lower the carbon content in iron.
Today, steel production makes use of recycled materials as well as traditional raw materials, such
as iron ore, coal, and limestone. Two processes, basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS) and electric arc
furnaces (EAF), account for virtually all steel production.

Modern steelmaking can be broken down into six steps:

Ironmaking, which is the first step, involves the raw inputs of iron ore, coke, and lime being melted
in a blast furnace. The resulting molten iron, also referred to as hot metal, still contains 4 to 4.5
percent carbon and other impurities that make it brittle.

Primary steelmaking has two primary methods: BOS (Basic Oxygen Furnace) and the more
modern EAF (Electric Arc Furnace) methods. BOS methods add recycled scrap steel to the molten
iron in a converter.

At high temperatures, oxygen is blown through the metal, which reduces the carbon content to
between 0 and 1.5 percent. EAF methods, however, feed recycled steel scrap through use high-
power electric arcs (temperatures up to 1650 C) to melt the metal and convert it to high-quality
steel.

Secondary steelmaking involves treating the molten steel produced from both BOS and EAF routes
to adjust the steel composition. This is done by adding or removing certain elements and/or
manipulating the temperature and production environment. Depending on the types of steel
required, the following secondary steelmaking processes can be used:

 Stirring
 Ladle furnace
 Ladle injection
 Degassing
 CAS-OB (composition adjustment by sealed argon bubbling with oxygen blowing)

Continuous casting sees the molten steel cast into a cooled mold causing a thin steel shell to
solidify. The shell strand is withdrawn using guided rolls and fully cooled and solidified. The
strand is cut into desired lengths depending on application; slabs for flat products (plate and strip),
blooms for sections (beams), billets for long products (wires), or thin strips.

In primary forming, the steel that is cast is then formed into various shapes, often by hot rolling, a
process that eliminates cast defects and achieves the required shape and surface quality. Hot rolled
products are divided into flat products, long products, seamless tubes, and specialty products.

Finally, it's time for manufacturing, fabrication, and finishing. Secondary forming techniques give
the steel its final shape and properties. These techniques include:

 Shaping (cold rolling)

 Machining (drilling)
 Joining (welding)
 Coating (galvanizing)
  Heat treatment (tempering)
 Surface treatment (carburizing)

Stresses of STEel
1. DEFINITION:  Locked stresses in steel which are present prior to the application of stress
are called “Residual stresses.”  These stresses are unintended and undesirable in structural
steel which cause it to fail prematurely.  Research shows that residual stresses are typically
ranging from 10ksi to 15ksi.  Thicker the section higher will be the residual stresses.
2. 4. Collapse of silver bridge:  Silver bridge of West Virginia collapsed in December 1967.
 Eye-bar crack growth was encouraged by the high levels of residual stresses in the steel.
3. 5. CAUSES: Residual stresses occur mostly of the following cases: 1. Manufacturing of
rolled steel members. 2. Welding in steel members 3. Cold straightening 4. Flame cutting
4. 6. 1. Rolled members as they cool:  Molten steel members as the cool the flange tips cool
and contract and gain stiffness  As the adjacent fibers cool they contract and pull on the
previously cooled portions putting them into compression.  Cooled portions restrain inner
portions from shortening so the inner portion undergoes a tensile stress as they cool.
5. 7. 2. Residual stresses in welding  Residual stresses in welded joints primarily develop due
to differential weld thermal cycle (heating, peak temperature and cooling at the any moment
during welding)  localized heating and cooling leading to differential volumetric
expansion and contraction of metal around the weld zone.
6. 8. 3. Cold straightening:  An initially curved column member can be straightened by an
application of load which causes the same amount of permanent deformations in the reverse
direction. 4. Flame cutting: The difference in temperature occurs during cutting of steel
sections imparts residual stresses for steel
7. 9. Measurement of Residual stresses: Destructive Techniques • Contour Method • Sach's
Boring • Slitting Semi destructive Techniques • Deep Hole drilling • Ring core Non
destructive Techniques • Neutron Diffraction • X-Ray Diffraction • Ultrasonic
8. 10.  Quenching and Tempering • Quenching is the act of rapidly cooling the hot steel to
harden the steel. • Quenched steel is hard and brittle. • Often it is just too brittle and must
be made more malleable, This is achieved by a process known as tempering. Remedial
measures for Residual stresses
9. 11. • The quenched steel is heated again but this time to a temperature between 200 °C and
300 °C. • When the metal reaches the tempering temperature, it is quenched again in cold
water or oil. The result is a steel that is still hard but is more malleable and ductile. • Because
they are quenched and tempered, rolled steel shapes are partially stress-relieved, so residual
stresses are small.