INTRODUCTION TO STEELX

SteelX 5:25 Gold is Twisted Steel Rebar (TSR) that has a unique ability to bond with concrete due to its twisted shape, providing a torsional anchorage that engages before the concrete fails and that creates a true composite with the concrete.

Each piece of SteelX bonds to the matrix over its full length and must untwist as it pulls out of the concrete. This is significantly different from steel fibres where pullout is governed by friction.

Due to the superior bond of SteelX, the material properties of the concrete are improved prior to a crack forming i.e. SteelX provides proactive reinforcement. After a crack forms, SteelX provides a stable capacity allowing engineers to design just like rebar.

SteelX 5:25 can provide significant cost savings to your clients by removing mesh and rebar, reducing pavement thicknesses, cutting project schedules and improving site safety.

Your client can also save by the removal of the need for concrete pumps, reduced risk of weather-related delays and removal of steel fixing, steel deliveries and set down areas on site. Most importantly, the unique performance of SteelX provides your client with a stronger, more durable solution.

SteelX enhances the material properties of concrete in three ways.

These advantages can be overlooked when designing reinforced concrete with SteelX 5:25, however they are real and tangible and should be recognised for the material benefit that they add to the long-term serviceability and durability of the concrete structure.

SteelX gives your client so much more!

The SteelX design approach is outlined in our Design Manual. To receive a copy of our design method please email us at info@steelxrebar.com.au

The tensile resistance of SteelX is developed from its bond and the unwinding of the twists in each piece. Since the SteelX must stretch and untwist before it can pull out of the concrete, it provides constant tensile resistance regardless of strain up to 1%.   

Using the force equilibrium and strain compatibility approach that engineers employ when designing a reinforced concrete section, the same approach is applied when designing a SteelX reinforced concrete section. SteelX can be designed using a rectangular stress block for the entire area in tension.

The Design Method adopts ‘Design Classes’ based on the consequence of failure and uses the tried-and-true LRFD (Load and Resistance Factor Design) method for deriving resistance factors and producing safe and reliable designs.                                           

Design Classes are:

Class ST: Shrinkage and Temperature
Class S: Supported Structural Reinforcement
Class U: Unsupported Structural Concrete

In addition to the LRFD method, the Design Method employs additional redundancies to ensure stability for any structural concrete application. These include one or more of the following;

For Design Classes ST and S:

• Full support
• Geometric support in the case of lateral structures i.e. walls
• Strain limits to keep the section in a pre-crack environment

• Conventional rebar – for unsupported horizontal or cantilevered concrete.

SteelX provides a stable tensile force that increases linearly based on dosage. To make it simple to design with SteelX, engineers can use a multiplier (the X-Factor) to convert the reinforcement ratio to a SteelX dosage. The Dosage is equal to the reinforcement ratio multiplied by the X-Factor.

The X-Factor is calculated as a function of the tensile strength of SteelX verse the conventional steel being replaced on a weight to volume basis, then converted into a multiplier of the reinforcement ratio.

To learn more about designing with SteelX please contact us for free training.

Design Philosophy

The design philosophy behind the Liberty slab rests on three underlying foundations:

Liberty Slab Design examples

SteelX provide innovative in house training to engineering companies wanting to learn more about SteelX Rebar.