Evaluation and improvement of the quality of Senegalese reinforcing steel bars produced from scrap metals

Senegalese reinforcing steel bars manufactured from scrap steel exhibit poor welding and bending abilities. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and to correlate the geometrical, mechanical and metallurgical characteristics of these steel bars in order to identify possible causes for their breaking during bending. The relevance of the technical specification defined by the manufacturer and its ability to lead to products of good quality will be discussed. A diagram is proposed to control the expected quality of reinforcing bars from a simple Vickers hardness measurement before the final forming stage.