SUITABILITY OF TMT FOR EARTHQUAKE RESISTANCE

BUILDING FOR TOMORROW – THE ONLY WAY TO BUILD
When we build a home, we build it for a lifetime. After all, it is an investment of our hard-earned savings over many years. Naturally, during construction, we aim to build a home that is not just beautiful and comfortable but one that also has a strong foundation and a sturdy framework that would remain intact in the face of usual wear and tear as well as any natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes.
BUILDING RIGHT – RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING
Especially if a house is being constructed in an earthquake-prone area it becomes very important to build it right using the most suitable materials. This is because the necessary strength can only be imparted to the construction during the process of building and not afterward. No degree of reinforcements can ever make up later for any negligence towards ensuring the strength of the structure while construction is underway. It is therefore important to identify the correct requirements of the intended structure during the design and planning process to ensure that the most suitable materials are sourced at the right time and in the right quantity to ensure the best quality construction.
BUILDING RIGHT TO WITHSTAND EARTHQUAKES
India is a country with several highly earthquake-prone areas. As per the Bureau of Indian Standards [IS 1893 (Part I):2002], India has four main seismic zones – Zone II, III, IV, and V. Of these, Zone V has the highest seismic activity and Zone II has the least.
Naturally, it is important to take the requirements of building right when constructing your home in the zones with higher seismic activity such as Zone V including the North-eastern states, Jammu, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Gujarat, North Bihar, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
HOW TO REINFORCE YOUR CONSTRUCTION FOR THIS DEVASTATING PHENOMENON
No matter how good its quality, plain concrete is not sufficient to withstand high stress. Although it is strong enough to handle high-stress compression it is not good for withstanding high levels of tension by itself.
Well-Engineered steel reinforcement of a high-grade TMT bar framework added to the construction imparts ductility to concrete, as concrete is inherently a very brittle material.
However, it can resist high levels of stress when reinforced with a material like high-grade steel TMT bar, which has the desired strength in tension, ductility, and superior bonding capacity.
To put it into practical perspective, an optimally reinforced concrete structure were to fail in tension, the ductility of the bars would ensure that such a failure is preceded by a visibly large deformation, giving the occupants plenty of time and a warning ahead of the impending collapse, to leave the structure for a safer location.
Hence it is important to use good quality TMT (Thermo -mechanically treated) bars to impart the necessary strength, ductility (bendability) and enhanced bonding to cement. In fact, the use of the most suitable grades of TMT is absolutely necessary while building the framework of the structure.
Using good quality, high-grade TMT bars such as Fe 500 and Fe 500 D is critical to impart the structure with the strength and flexibility to withstand high seismic activity and even high-velocity windstorms. Lower grades of TMT Bars contain impurities resulting in flaws and cracks and may significantly lower the strength of the structure to withstand high-stress situations.
Fe 500 and Fe 500D are produced with properly controlled and optimum UTS and YS. These are some of the better-quality TMT steel bars that are available in the market today and have become a go-to choice when it comes to choosing construction steel.
TMT bars are the backbone of every civil construction, be it residential or infrastructural. With their strength added to the foundation, they bear the load of buildings, slabs, beams, columns and of course the live load of people and their belongings.
ELECTROTHERM (INDIA) LIMITED – BUILDERS OF A BETTER FUTURE
Electrotherm (India) Limited is a leading manufacturer of construction steel products in Gujarat. It is the proud pioneer of cutting-edge steel-production technologies in the state with its world-class facility based in Kutch, Gujarat.
The company uses sponge iron with the Ladle Refining Furnace (LRF) method to produce the finest quality steel free from impurities such as carbon, sulphur or phosphorus for high-quality TMT steel bars compliant with the BIS norms.
GLOBAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Today, Electrotherm (India) Limited has emerged as a highly reputed and reliable brand in the construction steel space. In fact, it has won several awards for its contribution to raising the bar of industry quality standards, good business practices and being a top driver of development in the state of Gujarat.
These include the ‘Ispat Agrodoot Award’ by the All India Induction Furnace Association (AIIFA), and the Silver Award under the Metal Sector, in the ‘Large Category’, India Manufacturing Excellence Awards (IMEA), by Frost and Sullivan and the prestigious the ‘Gujarat Growth Ambassador Award’ by the Gujarat chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers of India (CREDAI). It has also won the Construction World Global award, 2019, as one of ‘India’s Top Challengers’.
At Electrotherm (India) Limited we are committed to excellence – the only way to Build for the Future.