Welded wire fabric

Photo: Ivy Steel & Wire Company

Concrete reinforcement with a new look

BY RICHARD A. RAMSEY MANAGER, ENGINEERED SALES IVY STEEL AND WIRE COMPANY

elded wire fabric, which is frequently referred to as wire mesh, is manufactured from controlled quality hot-rolled rods. These rods are cold drawn through a series of dies to reduce the rod diameter and to increase the yield strength of the steel. It is manufactured to the specifications of both the American Society for Testing and Materials and the Canadian Standards Association, as shown in the table. Each wire intersection is electrically resistance-welded by a continuous automatic welder. Pressure and heat fuse the intersecting wires into a homogeneous section. The application of welded wire fabric that first comes to mind for most engineers and contractors is the reinforcement of nonstructural slabs on grade with rolls of building fabric. This is usually light mesh designated 6x6W1.4xW1.4 (old designation 6x610x10). The first pair of numbers indicates the spacing of the wires in inches. The second pair gives the size of the respective wires in cross-sectional area. The amount of wire depends on the load on the slab, the slab thickness and the spacing of the joints. The Portland Cement Association in the publication Concrete Floors on Ground provides a selection chart for distributed steel that is a good guide to the designer. When longer joint spacing is desired to reduce the number of joints more steel is required. Concrete pipe manufacturers depend on welded wire fabric, either smooth or deformed wire, to meet the criteria of the industrys ASTM standards. This mesh is usually supplied in large rolls that are easy to ship and store. Its ability to delay the concrete from cracking under test loads has made it the selected reinforcement for concrete pipe of all sizes and shapes. The use of welded wire fabric produced to rigid ASTM standards has given concrete pipe a high confidence level of acceptance. For concrete streets, highways and runways welded wire fabric is used in large sheets. This paving may take the form of jointed reinforced concrete pavement or continuously reinforced concrete. In jointed slabs, the reinforcement is selected based on the traditional subgrade drag theory and the amount of steel will vary based on the yield strength of the steel, the thickness of

This large mechanical bender at a wire mesh plant is capable of bending 12 -inch-diameter wire at 4 inches on center in sheets up to 30 feet long. Movable mandrels adjustable to various spacings permit the bending of many different shapes with precision.

U.S. AND CANADIAN SPECIFICATIONS FOR WELDED WIRE FABRIC

U.S. Specification Canadian Standard

Title* Cold-Drawn Steel Wire for Concrete Reinforcement Welded Steel Wire Fabric for Concrete Reinforcement Deformed Steel Wire for Concrete Reinforcement Welded Deformed Steel Wire Fabric for Concrete Reinforcement

ASTM A82

CSA G30.3

ASTM A185

CSA G30.5

ASTM A446

CSA G30.14

ASTM A497

CSA G30.15

* ASTM specifications and Canadian standards have identical titles.

The entire cage of reinforcement for a concrete median barrier is made from one sheet of welded wire fabric using heavy-gage wire bent to the exact shape required.

Median barrier reinforcement can be made in a single cage with variable spacing of wires in either direction. Wires as large as 12 inch in diameter have been used. Once the sheet of mesh is designed to meet all the steel requirements, it is bent to the exact shape and dropped into the form. It eliminates all the labor of tying small rebars to make a cage. Precast utility trenches that require the steel to be spaced to accommodate openings cast in the concrete are another application for this mesh reinforcement. The ability to get the right amount of steel just where you want it without having to cut away a lot of extra steel is an important factor in control of costs. Because the steel is welded into a rigid pattern, it will stay in place when the concrete is placed. Drainage structures such as concrete pipe, precast box culverts, cast-in-place box culverts or low-flow drainage ditches can all be reinforced with welded wire fabric. The cast-in-place box culvert and the low-flow drainage

the slab, the spacing of the joints and the friction of the subgrade. Sheets as large as 13 feet by 40 feet have been used in paving projects. The amount of reinforcement in jointed slabs is relatively low, usually in the range of 0.05 to 0.20 percent. In continuously reinforced concrete pavement, the steel is designed to provide closely and uniformly spaced cracks that will remain tight and not ravel. The percentage of steel most commonly used is 0.60 percent.

Variable wire spacing and special benders

Welded wire fabric is taking on a new look and a new dimension. Wire sizes as large as 12 inch in diameter and the capability of varying the spacing of the wires in either direction are now available in the United States. Long considered a standard in Europe and other parts of the world, this style of mesh is now being well received by precasters and general contractors alike in the United States. A development that has helped to expand the use of welded wire fabric is the mesh bender. The mechanical bender is capable of shaping mesh into column ties, beam stirrups and stair reinforcement for buildings as well as for more complicated shapes of precast concrete. The bender is made up of a series of adjustable mandrels that are moved to coincide with the wire spacing. The radius of the bend can be changed by adding attachments to the mandrels that will enlarge the radius. The degree of the bend, which can vary from zero to 180 degrees, is set by controls on the bender. After the proper setting is made, the machine will repeat this exact bend for each sheet of mesh. Most mesh benders can accommodate three different settings or degrees of bend at one time. By turning the sheet over and rotating it, bends in opposite directions can be made. Reinforcement for concrete median barriers and stadium seats can readily be bent this way.

Stirrups for an inverted T-shaped beam are bent from wire fabric in two cages that slide together to make the final shape. Wires were precisely located to prevent interference when the two parts are joined.

ditch represent recent applications. Bent fabric of heavy sheets can be placed in the field much faster and with greater accuracy than tying small bars. The mesh is placed in two layers in the walls, roof and floor of the box culverts to meet the design requirements. Where heavy additional steel is required, bars are added. Tying up column cages has always been a time consuming operation for the steel placer. Now, sheets of mesh designed to provide the spacing and steel area for ties in one direction and just enough wire perpendicular to that to stiffen the cage for handling are bent into column cages, cutting required time by as much as 75 percent. On projects with a lot of columns the same size, this can amount to a large saving in money and time. Beam stirrup cages are made similar to the column cages. In addition to providing shear steel in rectangular beams in buildings, mesh stirrups are being used in pre-

at 12 inch centers to make the placing of the bars and their inspection easier. In doing this he will usually over-steel the slab. By using a sheet of mesh with the exact area of steel required, he assures himself of the right amount of steel at the right place. Another tonnage saver is the use of a higher yield strength when designing in welded wire fabric. The ACI Building Code allows for the use of a higher yield up to 80,000 psi in most design applications, provided the design yield is measured at a strain of 0.35 percent. This makes possible a considerable saving of steel in comparison with the normal design yield of 60,000 psi. Projects using 80,000 psi have been built on the West Coast and projects using 70,000 psi and 72,500 psi are common elsewhere in the United States. Reinforcement for underground utility structures is manufactured with wires spaced at irregular intervals. This allows for forming openings in the concrete without having to cut the wire mesh.

Other new applications

New applications of welded wire fabric are not limited to those reported here; there will be more. The Wire Reinforcing Institute with its headquarters in Washington D.C. is constantly looking for new ways to increase and improve the use of mesh. One research project under consideration is the use of wire mesh column reinforcement. In this project, the vertical wires as well as the column ties would be considered in the design. A new specification for a high yield wire is being considered that would reflect some of the new materials and methods of the manufacturer. This continuing research should result in more applications for welded wire fabric in the near future. PUBLICATION#C810803
Copyright 1981, The Aberdeen Group All rights reserved

cast beams for both highway and building construction. In L-shaped and T-shaped beams, the stirrups are made in two cages that slide together to make the final shape. This is accomplished by leaving out the longitudinal carrying wires in the area common to both cages.

Savings in steel tonnage

The capability of making wires at various sizes and spacings gives the designer a means to provide the exact area of steel per foot required and thus save tonnage on many high-rise projects. A designer may call for #3 bars