Mechanical and low-cycle fatigue behavior of stainless reinforcing steel for earthquake engineering applications

Use of stainless reinforcing steel in reinforced concrete structures is a promising solution to the corrosion issues. However, for stainless reinforcing steel to be used in seismic applications, several mechanical properties need to be investigated. These include specified and actual yield strengths, tensile strengths, uniform elongations and low-cycle fatigue behavior. Three types of stainless reinforcing steel (Talley S24100, Talley 316LN and Talley 2205) were tested and the results are reported in this paper. They were compared with the properties of A706 carbon reinforcing steel, which is typical for seismic applications, and MMFX II, which is a high strength, corrosion resistant reinforcing steel. Low-cycle fatigue tests of the reinforcing steel coupons were conducted under strain control with constant amplitude to obtain strain life models of the steels. Test results show that the stainless reinforcing steels have slightly lower moduli of elasticity, higher uniform elongations before necking, and better low-cycle fatigue performance than A706 and MMFX II. Among the three types of stainless reinforcing steel tested, Talley S24100 possesses the highest uniform elongation before necking, and the best low-cycle fatigue performance.