USE & APPLICATION OF

EPOXY COATED BAR IN

RC STRUCTURES
By
Prof. Md. Shafiul Bari, Ph.D
Department of Civil Engg., BUET
Bangladesh University of Engineering
and Technology (BUET), Dhaka-1000,
Bangladesh
sbari@ce.buet.ac.bd

INTRODUCTION
Epoxy-coated reinforcing steel is
the most widely used coated bar.
It is manufactured by passing
cleaned and heated steel through
a cloud of epoxy powder
This presentation is based on
the study to compare epoxy
coated bar and normal bar and
the causes of cracking which
eventually raise the demand of
using epoxy coated bar.

INTRODUCTION
Cracks in buildings are of common occurrence. A building component develops

cracks whenever stresses in the component exceed its strength.

A complete or incomplete separation, of either concrete or masonry, into two or
more parts produced by breaking or fracturing.
Cracking of concrete should be reported based on crack widths and the type of
crack.
Types:

a) Thin
- less than 1mm in width
b) Medium
- 1 to 2 mm in width
c) Wide
- more than 2 mm in width

STRUCTURAL CRACKS AND

NON STRUCTURAL CRACKS
Non-structural cracks can be caused by a number of factors.
Creep damage, settlement, shifting foundations, hydrostatic pressure,
and vegetation or trees can also cause non-structural cracks. These
cracks are often very thin hairline cracks that are usually less than
three millimeters in width.
Structural cracks are caused by a variety
Structural crack
of issues, like poor soil bearing,
overloading, swollen soil, and poor
Non Structural crack
construction sites. These cracks can be
horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or appear like
a staircase.

Generally structural cracks are

wider than three millimeters in
width.

Types of Cracking in Concrete

Types of crack

Typical plastic shrinkage

cracking

Restrained drying shrinkage

Unrestrained drying shrinkage

Cracking of Plastic Concrete

Settlement cracking

Crack formed due to obstructed

settlement
(Price 1982)

Settlement crack
(source: internet)

Cracking of Plastic Concrete

When associated with

reinforcing steel,
settlement cracking
increases with increasing
bar size, increasing slump,
and decreasing cover
The degree of settlement

cracking may be
intensified by insufficient
vibration or by the use of
leaking or highly flexible
forms

Settlement cracking as a function of bar

size, slump, and cover

Types of
cracking

1. Shear cracks
2. Shrinkage
cracks
3. Flexure cracks

4. Bond cracks
5. Buckling of
compression
steel
6. Stirrup fall which
cause buckling of
longitudinal bars

7. Column failure

Factors affect the crack width

Causes of crack
PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF CRACK
Permeability of concrete.
Thermal movement:
Creep
Corrosion of Reinforcement
Shrinkage crack.
Poor Construction practices.
Poor structural design and specifications
Poor Maintenance
Movement due to Chemical reactions.
Indiscriminate addition and alterations

Cracking of Hardened Concrete

Poor construction

practices

Use of poorly graded aggregate

Poor construction practice

Efflorescence on brick

Mud water for mixing

Poor construction practice

Poor construction

practice

Lack of compaction

Poor construction practice

Re-tempering of concrete

Leakage in Formwork

Poor construction practice

Use of rusted Bars

Barsrenrcemen

Construction overloads

VISITED SCHOOL / CYCLONE SHELTER AT COXS

BAZAR

Visited school and cyclone shelter names and establishment

year Inani, Coxs Bazar

REAL PICTURES OF CRACK

Stair Crack at Inani, Coxs Bazar

REAL PICTURES OF CRACK

Structural & Non-Structural member crack at Inani, Coxs Bazar

REAL PICTURES OF CRACK

CEILING REPAIR OF FLAT NO 28/5, BUET - 1

Corroded slab rebar

REGULAR PRACTICES IN BANGLADESH CEILING

REPAIR OF FLAT NO 28/5, BUET

Ceiling surface chipped and

cleaned out from loose
particles
Deep zones were plastered
first to even out the surface.

18 BWG
(12mmX12mm) Wire
mesh used as
reinforcement

Portion of rods suffered from more than 50%

corrosion were cutout and welded with new 10mm
MS rod. Both the old and new rods were painted
with anti-corrosive paint.

REGULAR PRACTICES IN BANGLADESH CEILING

REPAIR OF FLAT NO 28/5, BUET

After completion of the aforesaid steps, a 8mm course of mortar was applied on
the surface. After curing of the mortar course, the wire mesh was spread on the
ceiling surface and tied with royal plug, screw and washer and covered with a
25mm course of mortar.

Errors in design & detailing

Typical crack patterns at re-

entrant corners

Typical cracking pattern of

dapped end beam at service

load

CODE PROVISIONS FOR EPOXY

COATED BAR IN BNBC

BNBC PROVISION 5.3.2.3

GALVANIZED REINFORCING BARS SHALL COMPLY WITH

"SPECIFICATION FOR ZINC COATED (GALVANIZED) STEEL BARS

FOR CONCRETE REINFORCEMENT " ( ASTM A767 / A767M 09).
EPOXY COATED REINFORCING BARS SHALL COMPLY WITH

"SPECIFICATIONS FOR
EPOXY COATED REINFORCING STEEL BARS" ( ASTM A775 / A775M
07B).
GALVANIZED OR EPOXY COATED REINFORCEMENT SHALL ALSO

CONFORM TO ONE OF THE STANDARDS LISTED IN SEC 5.3.2.1 OF

BNBC.

CODE PROVISIONS FOR EPOXY- COATED

BAR
Epoxy-coated reinforcing bars shall comply with
ASTM A775 or with ASTM A934.

Coating prevents adhesion

1. Development Length : 1.2 times than uncoated

rebar
2. a 1.2 factor is conservatively used for epoxy-coated
headed deformed reinforcing bars, the same value
used for epoxy-coated standard hooks.

ASTM RECOGNIZED COATED BARS.

Epoxy-coated

(ASTM A775, A884,

A934)
Galvanized
(ASTM A767)
Dual-coated
(ASTM A1055)
Vinyl-coated
(ASTM A933)

COMPARISON OF CORROSION
RESISTANCE REBAR
Type of rebar

Epoxy coated

Times more
Scratch and chip resistance
corrosion
resistanct than
black rebar
Easily damaged.
69 to 1762
Required field repairs.

Galvanized

38

Very tough hard to damage

GFRP

Won't corrode

Fairly tough to damage

Solid SS

800 to 1500

Not an issue

LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSES

Analysis done by Epoxy Interested Group (EIG) in 2015

USES OF EPOXY COATED BAR

Slab of Cyclone Shelter at
cox's Bazar

Use epoxy coated bar at slab.

RECOMMENDED USES OF EPOXY COATED BAR

Friendship Building at Gaibandha

Fig 28: Friendship Building at

Gaibandha(Ref : Prothom Alo)

RECOMMENDED USES OF EPOXY COATED BAR

Roof top Garden at Nazimgor Resort Sylhet

Treatment of roof top

gardening.

RECOMMENDED USES OF EPOXY COATED BAR at

SCHOOL / CYCLONE SHELTER

Visited school and cyclone shelter at Inani, Coxs Bazar

RECOMMENDED USES OF EPOXY COATED BAR

Picture: Main column of structure has damaged along with

rebar corrosion

RECOMMENDED USES OF EPOXY COATED BAR

Picture: Beam / Column of structure has damaged along with

rebar corrosion

RECOMMENDED USES OF EPOXY COATED BAR

Epoxy reinforcing steel bar with good corrosion resistance is widely used in ETP

RECOMMENDED USES OF EPOXY COATED BAR

Epoxy coated bar may be used in dam, bridge,

barrage.

RECOMMENDED USES OF EPOXY COATED BAR

Epoxy coated bar may be used in basement wall.

Concluding Remarks
Corrosion of reinforcing steel is a destructive form of damage

affecting the strength and stability of concrete structures. Epoxy

coating of reinforcing bars offers an efficient and economic
means of protecting the steel from corrosion. Epoxy coated bars
recommended to use
1)In top most roof slab of all buildings.
2) Slab used for gardening purpose.
3)For basement/retaining wall
4) For ETP & WTP
5) For raft and foundation

THANK YOU