WELDED WIRE FABRIC Welded wire fabric is a prefabricated reinforcing material available in rolls or sheets for use in slabs

and pavements. The common types of such fabric are shown in table 7.5. The rolls are of width 5-7 ft (1.5m-2.5m) and length 150-200 ft (45-60m). The sheets come in widths of 5-10 ft (1.5-3m) and lengths of 10-20 ft (3-6m). Grades Welded wire fabric is available in grades and types shown in Table 7.5. ASTM A82, plain steel wire for concrete reinforcement, is cold-drawn steel wire, as-drawn or galvanized, available in sizes not less than 0.08in (2.03mm) nominal diameter. ASTM A185 covers specifications for welded wire fabric made with A82 plain wires, fabricated into sheets or rolls by electric resistance welding. Wire fabrics consist of a series of longitudinal and transverse wires arranged substantially at right angles and welded together at points of intersection. The welded joints can withstand normal shipping and handling without breakage, but the presence of broken welds does not constitute cause for rejection unless the total number per sheet exceeds 1 percent of the total number of joints. Similarly, rust, surface seams, or surface irregularities will not be cause for rejection provided the minimum dimensions, cross-sectional area, and tensile properties of a hand wire-brushed test specimen satisfy the requirements. The minimum tensile strength of A82 wires (material for welded wire fabric) is 70,000 psi (485 MPa) for sizes smaller than W1.2 and 75,000 psi (515 MPa) for other sizes, and the yield strength is 56,000 psi (385 MPa) for sizes smaller than W1.2 and 65,000 psi (450 MPa) for other sizes. ASTM A496 provides specifications for cold-worked, deformed steel wire for use, as such or in fabricated form, as concrete reinforcement, and is available in sizes having nominal cross-sectional area not less than 0.01 in.2 (6.45 mm2) and not greater than 0.31in.2 (200 mm2). The minimum tensile strength of wires (when used for welded wire fabric) is 80,000 psi (550 Mpa) and the yield strength is 70,000 psi (485 MPa). The requirements of welded wire fabric using this type of wire are covered in ASTM A497. Specifications for fabricated deformed steel bar mats, or sheets, are covered in ASTM A184. The mats consist of two layers of bars that are assembled at right angles by clipping or welding at the intersections. They should be fabricated in a manner that prevents the dislodgement of members during handling, shipping, placing, and concreting. Welds at the intersection should provide attachment or exterior intersections, and at not less than alternate interior intersections. Clips for clipped mats are formed mechanically prior to or during the fabrication and assembling of the mats. Bars of Grades 40, 50, and 60 (300, 350, and 400) used in the manufacture of clipped mats should conform to A615, A616, A617, A706 specifications; bars of Grades 40 (300) in welded mats must conform to A615 specifications. Bars of Grade 60 (400)

used in the manufacture of welded mats are to conform to either A615 or A706 specifications. Sizes As indicated, wires intended for use in welded wire fabrics come in two forms: Plain wires Deformed wires They are distinguished by a system that identifies the form of wire and its crosssectional area. The letter W is for smooth (or plain) wire, and the letter D identifies deformed wire. These letters are followed by a number to represent the cross-sectional area of the wire in hundredths of a square inch. For example, W4.0 is plain wire with a cross-sectional area of 0.04in2, and D4.0 is deformed wire of the same area. Plain wire fabrics develop anchorage in concrete at the welded intersections, whereas in deformed wire fabrics the development of anchorage is through the surface deformations and at the welded intersections. The physical properties of welded wire fabric are shown in Table 7.6. Welded wire fabric is designated by two numbers and two letter-number combinations. An example is 6x8W2.9xW2.9. The first number (6) gives the spacing in inches of the longitudinal wires (Fig. 7.15). The second number (8) is the spacing in inches of the transverse wires. The first letter of the letter-number combination (W) shows the type of longitudinal wire (plain wire), and the second letter (W) shows the type of transverse wire (plain wire).The first number in the combination (2.9) gives the area of longitudinal wire in hundredths of a square inch, and the second number (2.9) represents the area of transverse wire in hundredths of a square inch. The longitudinal wire spacing varies from 2-12in. (5-30cm). Spacings of 4, 6, 8, 9, and 12 in. are common in building construction. Transverse wire spacing is normally 4, 6, 8, 12, or 16 in. Uses Welded wire fabric is used as concrete reinforcement for crack control in residential slabs, driveways, sidewalks, and slabs for light construction. In a slab or grade (or ground-supported concrete slab), cracking is due primarily to three causes: Drying shrinkage Change in temperature and moisture Weak subgrade or soil When the slab cracks, the cracked surfaces become jagged. If the width of the crack is sufficiently small [less than about 1/16 in. (1.5mm)], the jagged faces are interlocked, which helps to transfer the loads. This mechanism is called aggregate interlock. On the other hand, if the crack gets wider, the interlock decreases.

When properly positioned within the cross-section of the slab, welded wire fabric acts to control cracks by keeping the cracked section of the slab closely knit together. This will allow for effective transfer of the load (through the crack) and also makes the crack less noticeable. Smaller cracks minimize the movement of water into and through the slab. The use of reinforcement in a slab also reduces the number of cracks. For proper crack control, welded wire fabric (or similar reinforcement) should be placed in the middle one-third of slabs 4-6in. (10-15cm) thick [or about 2in. (5cm) below the top surface]. Some authorities recommend placing the steel at one-third depth from the top of the slab. The primary objective of placing reinforcement in slabs or grades is crack control. In plain concrete slabs, crack control is accomplished by placing control joints at spacings less than 15ft (4.5m). When these slabs are reinforced with wire fabric, the control joints can be farther apart. The most common types of fabric used are 6 x 6W1.4xW1.4 (10 gage) and 6 x 6W2.9xW2.9 (6 gage). The most common methods of placing welded wire fabrics are (1) by using chairs (or concrete blocks), and (2) by placing concrete in two layers and placing the reinforcement on the first layer. The chairs are supports for steel reinforcement, and are made of steel or plastic. The spacing of chairs or blocks depends on the reinforcement size and spacing; the common practice is to place them 2-3ft (0.60.9m) apart. When the concrete is placed in two layers, the first course is generally to middepth (or slightly more); the reinforcement is then spread on this layer. The top layer of concrete is placed before the lower layer starts to harden.

EPOXY-COATED REINFORCING STEEL The reinforcing bars and welded wire fabrics described in the preceding section are also available with a protective coating of epoxy (applied by the electrostatic spray method). The film thickness after curing is 5-12 mil (0.13-0.30mm), and the coating should be free of holes, voids, cracks, and deficient areas discernible to the unaided eye (ASTM A775). When compared to other corrosion-protection systems or no protection at all, epoxy-coated reinforcement offers low life-cycle costs and has proven to be a very costeffective corrosion-protection method. These bars are used as reinforcement in the construction of bridges, parking garages, and sea-front structures. Ordinary steel can be coated with epoxy either before or after it is fabricated. The most common method is to coat the steel in straight lengths of 40-60ft (12-18m), and then cut or bend the bars as specified. A few custom-coating facilities have the capacity to coat reinforcing bars and other steel shapes after they are fabricated. In this process,

typically, individual bars are hung from a conveyor system and moved through the coating assembly. Welded wire fabrics are coated in this manner. Applying the coating using the traditional single-bar process is more cost effective, but has the disadvantage of potential damage during construction or fabrication. Coating after fabrication is more labor intensive and costly, but eliminates damages caused by bending. The ideal solution to prevent potential damage to the coating is to schedule the delivery of the coated bars as close to the placing schedule as possible. If the storage is expected to be more than two months, the bars should be protected from weather by draping opaque plastic sheeting over the bundle, while still allowing for air circulation around the bars to minimize condensation under the sheeting. To prevent damage during concreting, only rubber or nonmetallic vibrator heads should be used. Epoxy coating typically adds about 25 percent to the installed cost of the reinforcement, or about 2 percent increase in the total structural cost of the project. TESTING The following procedure describes the test to determine the tensile properties of steel using round specimens. Test STL-1: Tension Test of Steel PURPOSE: To draw the stress-strain diagram of steel, and determine yield, tensile strength, and percent elongation. RELATED STANDARDS: ASTM A370, E8. DEFINITIONS: Yield point is the first stress at which the increase in strain occurs without an increase in stress. Yield strength is the stress at which the material exhibits a specified limiting deviation from the proportionality of stress to strain. EQUIPMENT: Tension testing machine, wedge grips, micrometer, extensometer. SAMPLE: Standard 0.5-in. (12.5-mm) round tension test sample with 2-in. (5-cm) gage length. PROCEDURE: 1. Measure the diameter at the center of the gage length to the nearest 0.001 in. (0.025mm). 2. Mark the gage length with ink. Gage points should be approximately equidistant from the center of the length of the reduced section.

3. Grip the specimen at sections outside the gage length. 4. Apply the load at a constant rate. 5. Measure extensions at predetermined load intervals. 6. When the increase in load stops or hesitates, record this load. The corresponding stress is the yield point. 7. When no yielding is noticed, determine yield strength, using the offset (0.2 percent offset) or percent extension method, from the stress-strain diagram. 8. Plot the stress-strain diagram. 9. Calculate the tensile strength by dividing the maximum load during the test by the original cross-sectional area. 10. Calculate the elongation over the gage length and percent increase. REPORT: Report the tensile strength, yield strength (or point) and the method of determination, and percent elongation.