Fatigue Resistance of Reinforcing Steel Bars

During the last few years there has been an intensification of interest in the fatigue performance of steel reinforcement bars in concrete structures. Although fatigue has not proved to be a problem to date, loading cycles are becoming increasingly severe so that the margin of reserve strength is progressively being reduced. In this paper the authors present and discuss results of fatigue life tests performed for reinforcing steel bars which is one of the most widely used construction material in the world. Endurances can be influenced by type of steel, geometry and size of the bars, nature of the loading cycle, welding and presence of corrosion. The experimental part deals with fatigue testing of specimens for identification of the strain-life behaviour of reinforcing bars and determining the number of cycles to failure.