EoW November 2012

Feature Steel wire, rod & rope production

Stainless steel rebar for 1,000 years

bridge project in Queensland’s history in Australia which was completed in 2011. To ensure a long lifespan, the bridge design specifies duplex LDX2101® stainless steel reinforcement bar in the most critical bridge structures – the splash zones of the two main river pylons. By using stainless steel for about two per cent or 130 tonnes of the steel reinforcement in the bridge, it was possible to increase the planned lifetime of the whole structure.

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is the main cause of premature failure of concrete structures in the world today. Stainless steel rebar is an insurance against corrosion and spalled concrete. To ensure long life spans, stainless rebar has been used successfully in highly demanding structures, including bridges and other road infrastructure, which show no signs of deterioration after decades of service.

The new bridge now has a design life of 300 years. At the same time overall life cycle costs were considerably lower, and it was possible to create a lighter structure. Another example of using lean duplex rebar can be found in a Buddhist temple in Chounbri province in Thailand. The very ambitious goal of the project is to have the temple to serve for more than 1,000 years. To ensure this, stainless steel rebar is used in the most critical concrete structures, particularly in the groundwork and in the pagoda.

As in these cases, stainless steel is specified selectively for parts where it makes a positive contribution. In this way, structures can be built either with no extra cost or for a lower cost than by using carbon steel reinforcement. LDX 2101® offers a cost-effective alternative for durable reinforced concrete structures. Due to its good price stability, LDX 2101® offers construction projects vitally important predictability in costs. The win-win outcome from the use of LDX 2101® rebar is much improved sustainability in our constructed environment. Outokumpu – Finland Website : www.outokumpu.com

▲ Stainless steel rebar used in a temple construction in Thailand

Complete service GER SA Belgium has specialised in the sale of new and second-hand machinery for the wire and cable, ferrous and non-ferrous industry since 1980. For sale are single machines and complete plants for steel rod and wire, non-ferrous wire, steel ropes, electrical insulated cables, etc. A large stock of machinery immediately available guarantees quick help and in case the customer doesn’t find the equipment he is looking for in the listing, GER will search for the machine needed. Amongst them there are rod breakdown machines, fine and intermediate single or multi-wire drawing machines, bunchers, cage and tubular stranders, laying-up machines, armouring machines, drum twisters, extrusion equipment, spoolers, coilers and take-ups. Worldwide exports and selling the machinery in the as-is condition or, upon request, reconditioned and modernised make, GER a strong partner for the industry. The sales department can also send an estimate for complete, ready-to-use production units. Using stainless steel reinforcement (or SSR for short), the long-term cost is often lower than for normally used carbon steel as a result of reduced maintenance costs. Outokumpu provides stainless SSR in several grades. The latest addition in the family is the lean duplex designation, LDX2101®. A good example of sustainable solutions enabled by stainless steel rebar is the Gateway Upgrade Project, the largest road and

New and second-hand machinery from GER

▲

GER also offers brand new electrical control systems, using state-of-the-art drives and components. Test-runs of the machines before shipment as well as installation and commissioning of the machines at the customer’s plant and at the same time training for the operators complete the service for the customer. GER SA – Belgium Website : www.ger.be

46

www.read-eurowire.com

November 2012