Steel Reinforced concrete is concrete in which steel reinforcement bars, plates or fibers have been incorporated to build up a material that would otherwise be fragile. In industrialized countries, nearly all concrete used in construction is reinforced concrete.
There are a number of building materials that have been found to be exceptional when it used in the construction of buildings. One of these exceptional building materials is steel concrete. Steel-reinforced bridges are also among the most common type of bridge built. In fact, the vast majority of highway bridges is of this type and is most frequently encountered along interstate highways. For added strength and support, the concrete used in constructing these bridges is often reinforced with embedded steel bars which are commonly called as rebar.
Steel concrete is a specific type that has had strong steel rebar or fibers added to it while dripping, creating a very strong type of concrete that is able to withstand almost anything when it has dried. Because the results of using steel reinforced are so good for the strength of the building, most modern buildings today use steel reinforced concrete in the construction process.
Steel concrete can fail due to insufficient strength, leading to mechanical failure, or due to a reduction in its durability. Corrosion and freeze may damage poorly designed or constructed reinforced concrete.
Physical characteristics of steel reinforced concrete:
o The coefficient of thermal expansion of concrete is similar to that of steel, eliminating internal stresses due to differences in thermal expansion or contraction.
o When the cement paste within the concrete hardens this conforms to the surface details of the steel, permitting any stress to be transmitted efficiently between the different materials.
o The alkaline chemical environment provided by calcium carbonate causes a passivating film to form on the surface of the steel, making it much more resistant to corrosion than it would be in neutral or acidic conditions.
Fiber concrete is also becoming an increasingly popular construction material due to its improved mechanical properties over non-reinforced concrete and its ability to enhance the mechanical performance of conventionally reinforced concrete.