Every day, the number of people worldwide who want TMT Bars (Thermo Mechanically Treated Bars) grows. TMT Bar is the best way to get the best structures that are put in place. There are a lot of brands on the market, but you need to choose the best quality TMT Bar to ensure your house lasts for a long time.
You can do specific tests to ensure that TMT Bar is of good quality. TMT Bars come in different grades, like Fe 415, Fe 500, Fe 550, and Fe 600. The numbers tell you how strong the bars are when they are bent.
What is the best grade of the TMT bar for building?
TMT Bar needs to be strong and flexible in the right way. According to IS Standards, Fe 500d Grade steel reinforcement bars are solid and flexible. It is mainly suggested for all kinds of building projects. However, several tests are done to measure its strength and ability to stretch to ensure its quality. The tests are listed below.
- Tensile Test
- Yield Stress Test
- Bend & Rebend Test
- Test for Chemical Analysis
Tensile Test In TMT Bars
Universal Testing Machine (UTM) measures the strength of reinforcement bars. As per IS 1786, steel bar weight of up to 32 mm can be tested without a machine, but those with a capacity of 32 mm or more need to be tested with it.
Yield Stress Test
- Up to what level can a material handle stress? At what point will it start to change shape? These things can be found during the Yield Stress Test/0.2% Proof Stress.
- Until the material reaches its yield point, it will change shape elastically and return to its original shape when the stress is removed.
- The usual way to do this is to start at 0.002 strains and project a line parallel to the initial elastic region. People often call the 0.002 strain point the 0.2% offset strain point.
- The material’s behaviour can be roughly put into two groups: brittle and ductile. Most of the time, steel and aluminium belong outside the group of ductile materials.
- The group of brittle materials includes glass and cast iron. By looking at the stress-strain curve, you can tell the difference between the two groups.
Bend & Rebend Test In TMT Bars
Most of the time, you’ll find that TMT Bars are getting bent. It happens when the materials are mishandled. So, people who bend and re-bend TMT at construction sites must be careful.
When bending or re-bending on a construction site, the bend radii should not be smaller than what the relevant standards say. If steel reinforcement is bent wrong, it can significantly affect how well it works in use.
There are a few essential things to remember when bending TMT bars:
- Bending should be done slowly and step by step. It doesn’t need to be vibrated while being done.
- A minimum bend diameter has been set for each size of the bar.
- The use of hammers for bending should be strictly prohibited
- TMT Bars should not have dirt or mud in them.
It is essential to choose TMT Bars made at ISPs where advanced quenching technologies are used. During the quenching process, the metal gets stronger and can stretch further. So BIS licences and world-class quenching technologies like Thermex are the most important things to look for when choosing the best TMT bars.
Chemical Analysis Test In TMT Bar
From top to bottom, 50mm/60mm sample length cut from TMT Rebars that have been ground and polished on one side with abrasives are used in a spectrometer to test the chemical composition of materials.
It takes the spectrometer 10 to 15 seconds to print out results for up to 26 elements in the TMT. The spectrometer mostly gives the percentages of carbon, sulphur, and phosphorus, which are essential according to BIS. In the micro-alloyed grade TMT, the spectrometer also shows the percentages of chromium, copper, manganese, etc.
Basic Construction Safety Guidelines
There is always a lot of danger at construction sites. Because of the type of work, the materials, the processes, etc., it is essential for everyone—workers, engineers, employees, and everyone else—to ensure safety at work.
In the same way that it’s essential only to use verified and high-quality TMT bars, there are a few things that need to be taken care of when working on a construction site:
- At a construction site, you must wear safety shoes at all times.
- It is essential to wear a construction helmet while at the site.
- Always have a dust mask with you and wear it when you need to.
- Check all the equipment before using it, and ensure it’s safe.
- To keep everything running smoothly on a construction site, it is important to hire a good supervisor.
- TMT bars are a very strong, hard and durable material, and it is used for various purposes in the construction industry. Tests are performed to ascertain the quality of TMT bars.
