Materials’ testing is crucial. It entails measurement of characteristics and behavior of substances like metals, ceramics, and plastics under varying conditions. Consequently, we obtain data that acts as a foundation to specify the suitability of the materials for various applications. Steel bar reinforcement is not an exception; it is equally put under testing to identify its numerous specific uses.
In fact, the most common test for steel bar reinforcement is the tensile test, bending test and chemical analysis.
Maybe, you are not too familiar with chemical analysis. When a researcher is dealing with any kinds of product that we consume, it needs to conduct chemical analysis to know the quantity and quality of chemical components in a certain product such as steel bar reinforcement, structural steel and round or flat bar.
What is a mill certificate?
It refers to a quality assurance document that one uses in the metal industry showing a metal product’s compliance with the international standards. It has to accompany materials to intermediate suppliers and finished goods manufacturers. It certifies both the chemical and physical properties. This document provides the end user of the raw material verification that the material they receive is per the order requirements. Also, it helps maintain the traceability of the material from inception stage to inclusion in a finished part.
What is Bending Test?
A bend test is an inexpensive qualitative test that is used to determine the flexibility and soundness of materials. Bend tests deform a test steel material midway causing a bend to form without a fracture. Consequently, you specify the material’s resistance level. A bend test’s goal is to load the sample material into a specific shape.
Bend tests help determine whether a material will fail under pressure especially in construction processes. The frequency of bending test is necessary to maintain so that no steel reinforcement with failed bending test reports can be used and prevent it from the possible structural issue.
What is Tension Test?
A tension test of materials is a destructive process that provides information about the tensile strength, yield strength and the elasticity of the sample. This test is done to determine how the material reacts when you apply force on it. Usually, by pulling the metal, you identify the material’s tensile strength, yield strength as well as how much it will elongate.
Tension test is one of the critical criteria where you submit a steel bar sample to tension which is under control until failure stage.
Primarily, it is from tension test that you will also identify Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio and strain-hardening characteristics of the material.
Tension testing is essential:
• Predicting a material performance in use under normal and extreme forces
• Finding out the requirements specification to ensure meeting the regulation of the contract
• Providing a basis for technical communication
What is Yield Strength Test?
Yield Strength testing involves taking a steel sample whose cross-section area you determine prior, then pull it with a controlled gradual increasing force until the metal changes its shape or breaks.
When a metallic material demonstrates a yield phenomenon, you reach a point during the test at which plastic deformation occurs without an increase in the force.
What is Chemical Analysis?
Literally, an analysis is defined as a process to test in order to get data, information, and conclusion in a certain job. However, chemical analysis has a specific definition in which someone conducts a job to analyze the chemical substance in a certain product in a laboratory. A chemical analyst conducts a test to check the chemical contents of a sample and learn the composition, structures, and material properties from the atomic scale up to molecule scale.
Usually, chemical analysis is done to check the chemical content level in some steel materials used for construction such as apartment, bridge, fly over, and much more. In addition, there are also two types of chemical analysis; they are Quantitative Chemical Analysis and Qualitative Chemical Analysis.
Basically, a Quantitative chemical analysis is a method to find out the number of chemical contents in a sample and know the level of chemical content in the sample is. Meanwhile, a Qualitative chemical analysis is a method to find out the quality of the chemical substances and what kinds of chemical contents are in the sample.
What is the purpose of the chemical test?
It is really important to conduct a test on a steel quality or product to know the level of chemical contents and find out whether there is a dangerous chemical substance in the sample. As it is mentioned, this chemical analysis or test is usually done to check some steel materials used for construction projects to know the strength of the material used so it does not endanger people life. If the number of chemical content is too excessive, the analyst will reduce the quantity according to the standard or when it is less, then the analyst will add more according to the standard determined.
Most of the commercial products have to pass the chemical test. This chemical test is also done to check the level of chemical substances in other products for construction purposes such as cement and others. In this case, chemical test only has a purpose to make sure that the product used is safe for use in the construction of a building. If an earthquake happens, the standard steel and cement will be durable to hold the shake so the construction will not be damaged.
What are the chemical elements involved in the Chemical test?
The chemical elements involved in the chemical test may depend on the sample that will be analyzed. Each sample has its own way to test the quality and the quantity of the chemical substance. In this case, when dealing with steel material test, analysts need to use some of kinds of chemical substances to know the quality of a certain steel material for construction.
For example, a corrosion test may be needed to know whether the iron or steel used is easy to rust or not. Iron and steel are two kinds of material that are mostly used in construction. A contractor needs to use steel material that cannot be rusty. The analysts can use some chemical elements like kerosene, H2O or water, boiled water, NaCL liquid, mineral water, oil, NaCl without liquid, open space with O2, CO2, Nitrogen, liquid soap, and lemon liquid.
Usually, the best solution to avoid corrosion is by coating. The iron will be coated with a chemical substance which is not easily penetrated by oxygen. It can be metal or non-metal which is not easily oxidized such as silver, gold, tin, nickel, platinum, and copper. When it uses non-metal substances, it may use paint, glass, plastic, Vaseline, and much more.
What is the yield strength?
Yield strength refers to a test to find out the maximum stress of a material that will be used for a certain product. This test is conducted to find the elastic limit of a certain material without causing plastic deformation. This test is really necessary before it is converted to a product that will be used by the public. Thus, a manufacturer will only choose a material that has sufficient yield strength for their products.
What are the purpose and calculation?
The purpose of yield strength is basically to find out the strength of a material which will be used for a certain product component. It is important to find the value of the yield strength, especially in the structure construction. In this case, the material must be strong enough to hold a burden for a longer period of time. The yield strength test can be obtained by entering it into stress curves in the test machine. Some of the material will be broken on its elastic limit while the other materials may experience deformation that is irreversible.
Quality Engineer Tip:
Conducting an internal audit is greatly important in an ongoing project I recommend checking out this book Internal Auditing: A Simple Guide to Super Effective ISO Audits, it will be helpful for you to audit a project. A quality engineer should conduct an audit every 6 months or every 3 months depending on how big the project is.
By auditing your project periodically, it will help reduce the nonconformance given by Consultant. So this book is necessary to read and study especially quality engineers, internal auditors as well as construction staff.
If you are the auditor make sure you conduct an internal audit and audit the above-mentioned test of steel reinforcement.
Conclusively, no errand is devoid of challenges and so is material handling-steel. There is a lot to reap from taking caution. In this case, always ensure you work with materials that are verified and have undergone the tension, bending and yield strength testing. There is no better point to start than working with steel products where you have an assurance of high quality. Results will be equally outstanding and hence trend all over the world.
We can also conclude that chemical analysis and yield strength test are very important to get the best material for products which will be used for construction such as building an apartment, public facility, bridge, fly over, tower, and much more. In this case, the chemical test will make sure that the products are safe from dangerous chemical substances while the level of chemical contents is also sufficient.
Meanwhile, yield strength is also an important test to know how strong the material will be used for a product is so that it meets the standard determined. Well, that’s all about chemical analysis and yield strength test which are crucial in order to make sure the products are safe and good enough for a construction project and it will not endanger people life when the material is applied to the building.
Do you conduct a periodical audit? Do you send to an independent laboratory a sample of steel bar reinforcement for test? How important is 4 test of steel to you?