Task Force on Grade 600 Steel
Item Task list laid down in
No. TOR set by TC
1 Study the national guideline
in the Austrian NA to
Eurocode on the application
of Grade 600 Steel
2 Find out about the
experiences of countries
such as S.Korea, Austria,
which have used Grade 600
Steel and the issues
3 Understanding the science
behind using Grade 600
Steel to assist TC to better
evaluate the implications on
steel bar performance (such
Task Force Findings Remarks
The Taskforce has studied the Austrian NA and sent a list of queries to No special issues were noted.
the Austrian Standards Body. Reply from Austrian Standards Body
showed that there are no special requirements for the use of Grade 600
bars in Austria.
The replies from Austria is listed in Annexure 1.1
A. A search for published papers & articles on the use of high strength
steel Grade 600 or higher was made and the papers & articles as listed in
Annexure-2.1 were found. USA is using higher than Grade 600 bars for
Infrastructure and Building projects.
B. In South Korea, Grade 600 rebar is being used for about 3 years in the
construction of high-rise buildings and is mainly driven by Korea Land and
Housing Corporation (LH) due to the High Strength, Productivity and
Green benefits. Please see Annexure-2.2 for a list of South Korean project
references.
C. Japan has been using Grade 600 and higher strength steel for high rise
construction for about 10 years. The Japan Standard limits steel grade to
490 MPa. However, the use of higher grade steel such as grade 600 &
700 are being certified by authorities such as the Ministry of Land &
Transport and the Ministry of Construction. Please see Annexure-2.3 for a
list of Japanese project references and Annexure-2.4 for approval letter
from Japanese Authorities for the use of Grade 600 & 700 steel bars.
D. A query made by Arup Singapore through Arup’s knowledge sharing
platform for the Grade 600 steel in Europe came out with nothing against
Grade 600 steel.
A. The requirements of the steel reinforcement to be used together with
SS EN 1992-1-1 are specified in clause 3.2 Reinforcing steel and in
Annex-C (Normative) of SS EN 1992-1-1. Based on these requirements a
detailed report was prepared titled “Requirements of Reinforcement Steel
to be used together with Eurocode 2 – Grade 600” and is included in
Annexure-3.1. This document describes the characteristics of the steel
as ductility / bond, crack reinforcement including Chemical & Mechanical Properties, ductility etc
width) with reference to SS EN 1992-1-1:2008, EN 10080:2005 (E), SS560 :
2010 & B4707:2010. If the test results of the steel samples conform to
these requirements then the steel reinforcement can be considered for
construction use.

B. Test for Chemical and Mechanical properties including Yield strength,

Tensile Strength, Ductility was done on Grade 600 bars and the test
results are attached in Annexure-3.2. The test samples conform to the
requirements of steel reinforcement as per item 3.A above.

C. Bond tests (pull-out test method as per EN 10080) by SETSCO on

Grade 600 samples indicated that the test samples conform to the
requirements of steel reinforcement as per item 3A above. Test report on
Bond test is appended in Annexure-3.3.

D. Limited bond tests (pull-out tests and beam tests) carried out at NUS
indicated that EC2 Eq. 8.2 gives conservative estimates of the ultimate
bond stress. The test report is appended in Annexure-3.4.

E. Moment Re-distribution formula: The NDP for Cl. 5.5 (4) needs to be
provided for Grade 600 steels. The TF proposes the following three
approaches for the TC to decide.
i) Grade 500 to follow UK & Grade 600 to follow Eurocode
ii) Grade 500 to follow UK & Grade 600 to follow Prof. Tan derivation as
appended in Annexure-3.5
iii) Grade 500 & 600: To follow Eurocode recommendation

F. Ductility characteristics of reinforcement steel are adequately covered in

the Eurocode Clause 3.2.4.

G. Crack width considerations are adequately covered in the Eurocode

Clause 7.3.

H. Micro Alloyed Vs. Temp core Steel: There are no performance

differences between the steel produced by either Micro alloying or Temp
Core processes. Both these steel conforms to the product specifications
such as Yield Strength, Tensile Strength, Ductility etc. Moreover, the

4 Study detailed information
from available experimental
data and if a range of tests
beyond what is commonly
used is available from
NatSteel to guide local
users on using Grade 600
Steel
5 Address what designers
need to be aware if Grade
600 Steel is adopted for
design to EC2-1-1 such as
limitations on its use in
members under
compression / shear, etc.
specifications (BS & SS) allow the steelmaking and manufacturing
processes to the discretion of the manufacturer.
I. Weldability of Steel: The Weldability requirements of all grades of steel
are specified in terms of chemical composition and in particular the carbon
equivalent value. Mr Sze (Singapore Welding Society) commented that the
carbon equivalent value of 0.5 and 0.52 is within the value required for
weldable reinforcement. As long as the welding of rebar is following the
welding procedure as specified in ISO standards, there should not be any
concerns. He also highlighted to limit the Sulphur and Phosphorus content
to within the specification limits.
In addition to the test results mentioned in Item 3.B to 3.D, the following
were done.
A. Trial design of a building at NTU was done using Grade 500 & Grade
600 steel (for comparison) and the results are presented in Annexure-4.1.
The trial design addresses the issues that could be faced by the Design
Engineers when using Grade 600 steel.
B. Experimental studies were carried out at NTU using Grade 600 steel
reinforcement in a research work that focused on use of high strength
materials. The tests indicated that Grade 600 steel could be used for
Shear Reinforcements of beams, Slab reinforcements (with reinforcement
ratio > 0.5%) and Walls. However, since these limited tests were primarily
focused on shear behavior of the structural elements (Beam, Slab & Wall),
the test results should be interpreted only from the shear reinforcement
angle. The observations on the test conducted by Prof. Susanto Teng are
appended in Annexure-4.2. Tests primarily focused on Design principles
Vs. behavior. Therefore this does not relate to the TF study.
A. EC2 covers adequately the use of Grade 600 steels. However, A general Comment
designers need to comply EC2 fully especially when using higher strength
concrete and rebars. There is a need to alert designers and accredited
checkers of any changes in requirement from British Standard to
Eurocode.
B. The Task Force felt that there are no technical reasons for specifying a
minimum concrete strength for use with grade 600 steel. Japan has such
a provision as their design code does not allow the use of compression
steel for flexure design. Also EC 2 limits the x/d ratio to 0.45 and

6 Changes to other relevant
standard(s) that is needed
therefore there is no compatibility issue between low concrete strength
and high strength steel.
Proposed changes to the SS560 to incorporate Grade 600 were drafted Nil
and are presented as in Annexure-6.1. Unless otherwise specified, all the
clauses in the SS560 are applicable for both Grade 500 & 600.
Alternatively, these proposed changes together with the common clauses
(that are common for both Grade 500 & 600) could be published as
SS560 Part-2 as a standalone product code for Grade 600.
Date: Thursday, 13 November, 2014 3:22 PM
Subject: RE: TC Composition updates (for info) & Formation of WG on Grade 600 steels (for approval )

The following points are my recommendations on the use of Grade 600 rebars in design using EC2 for the ultimate limit states.

In general, the full strength (fyk = 600 MPa) is available for tension rebars. Limited strength (fyk & fywk = 500 MPa) can be used for compression rebars and
for shear reinforcements.

Some specific examples:

1. For designing beam reinforcements:

- bottom tension rebars - use full strength (fyk = 600 MPa).
- top tension rebars carrying negative moments over continuous supports - use full strength (fyk = 600 MPa)

- shear reinforcements - use limited strength, fywk = 500 MPa.

- top or bottom rebars carrying compression - use limited strength (fyk = 500 MPa)

2. For designing slab reinforcements:

- bottom tension rebars - use full strength (fyk = 600 MPa).
- top tension rebars carrying negative moments over continuous supports - use full strength, fyk = 600 MPa.
- shear reinforcements - use limited strength, fywk = 500 MPa or lower. Limiting fywk to 400 MPa for links is even better.
- top or bottom rebars carrying compression - use limited strength (fyk = 500 MPa), if used.

3. For designing column reinforcements:

- tension reinforcements in columns - use full strength (fyk = 600 MPa)
- compression reinforcements in columns - use limited strength (fyk = 500 MPa)
- shear reinforcements in columns to resist large lateral shear forces - use limited strength (fywk <= 500 MPa)

4. For designing structural wall reinforcements:

- tension reinforcement at the tension end of a wall - use full strength (fyk = 600 MPa)
 - compression rebars at the other ends of a wall - use limited strength (fyk = 500 MPa)
- shear reinforcements in middle section of a wall (vertical and horizontal rebars to resist in-plane shear forces) - use limited strength (fywk <= 500MPa)

For compression rebars, if the typical characteristic stress-strain curve is available, the value of fyk can also be more accurately obtained from the typical
stress-strain curve as the stress that corresponds to the crushing strain ecu3 of the concrete.

If the value of crack width and/or deflection is needed, then the crack width and/or deflection should be calculated at a higher rebars stress.