Field bending of rebars

partially embedded in concrete

What the code allows, and supplemental findings by researchers

hat can you do if rebars partially embedded in

concrete
have been fabricated incorrectly

have been placed incorrectly

have become accidentally misaligned, or
are no longer properly located because there has been
a design change?
Should such rebars be bent or rebent in the field? If so,
should they be bent cold or hot, and what are the limitations on such bending?
Some answers to these questions are offered in the
Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute Engineering Data
Report, Number 12. The report refers to the provisions of
ACI 318-77, Building Code Requirements for Reinforced
Concrete Structures. In Section 7.3 (bending), the Code
requires only that:
7.3.1All reinforcement shall be bent cold, unless oth erwise permitted by the Engineer.
7.3.2Reinforcement partially embedded in concrete
shall not be field bent, except as shown on the design
drawings or permitted by the Engineer.
ACI 318R-77, the commentary on the code, howe ve r,
provides additional information and instruction:
7.3.1All bends must be made cold unless otherwise
permitted by the Engineer. In this sense the Engineer
may be the design engineer or architect or the engineer
or architect employed by the owner to perform inspec tion. For unusual bends with inside diameters less
than ASTM bent test requirements, special fabrication
may be required.
7.3.2Construction conditions may make it necessary
to bend bars that have been embedded in concrete,
and it usually is not possible to provide a pin of the
minimum diameter specified in the Code at the point
of bend. Such field bending should not be done with out authorization of the inspecting engineer. The in specting engineer must determine whether the bars
can be bent cold without damage, or if heating is nec essary. If heating is required it must be controlled to
avoid splitting of the concrete or damage to the bars.
Partially embedded reinforcing bars can be successfully rebent (or bent for the first time, which should be

less critical) if they are first pre-heated to 1100-1200 F

and then bent as gently and in as gradual an arc as possible. If there is no failure at the bend area, the reworked
bars should perform as originally intended. Heating
must be performed in a manner that will avoid damage
to the concrete. If the bend area is within 6 inches or so
of the concrete, some protective insulation may have to
be applied. The heating operation should be done in
such a manner that the temperature of the steel does not
exceed 1200 F as measured by temperature indicating
c ra yons or the other suitable means.The heated bars
should not be artificially cooled (such as by water or
forced air) until after cooling to at least 600 F.
The above recommendations from the commentary
include provisions for preheating the partially embedded rebar before bending. These were based on a study
by William C. Black (Reference 1). Two other investigators, J.R. Lalik and R. L. Cusick, came to a different
viewthat partially embedded rebars could be bent and
straightened successfully in the field without using heat
(Reference 2). Howe ve r, since their tests were run on #8
bars only, they cautioned that these conclusions needed
substantiation for bar sizes larger than #8.
Later, L.G. Erasmus warned in Reference 3 that it is
hazardous to restraighten partially embedded bars while
cold. He supported the ACI 318R-77 commentary recommendation of preheating to 1100 to 1200 F..
There have been a number of other studies that have
thrown further light on the subject. In one of them The
Associated Reinforcing Bar Producers Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, under a program to study cold
versus hot bending: effects of the type, degree and axis
bend; effect of bar size and deformation pattern; effect
of cold temperature bending; and the differences between accidental and deliberate bending. As a result of
this and earlier studies the Concrete Reinforcing Steel
Institute concluded essentially that:
Reworking of the bars partially embedded in concrete
entails some risk.
Bars of #8 or smaller size can be successfully field bent
or straightened at temperatures above about 32 F.
Bar sizes #9, #10 and #11 have a better change of being

successfully bent or straightened

if the bend area is uniformly preheated to 1400 to 1500 F and extreme care is excercised in the
bending or straightening operation.
the applicability of these conclusions to size #14 to #18 bars is uncertain.
References
1. Black, William C., Field Corrections
to Partially Embedded Reinforcing
Bars, ACI Journal, October 1973,
pages 690-691.
2. Lalik, J. R. and Cusick, R. L. Cold
Straightening of Partially Embedded
Reinforcing Bars, Concrete International, July 1979, PAges 26-30.
3. Erasmus, L. A. Cold Straightening
of Partially Embedded Reinforcing
BarsA Different View, Concrete International, June 1981, pages 47-52.

PUBLICATION #C830244
Copyright 1983, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved