Section 4151. Steel Reinforcement.

4151.01 DESCRIPTION.
Steel for reinforcement of concrete shall be of the size and type specified in the contract documents and shall meet the requirements for the type and use specified. Chairs, bolsters, and other support devices, either plastic or steel, shall meet the requirements of Materials I.M. 451.01.

4151.02 PAVEMENT REINFORCEMENT.
Reinforcement for pavements shall meet the requirements of Article 4151.03, and where mesh is specified, Article 4151.04.

A. Pavement Tie Bars.
Tie bars to be used in pavement on all projects shall be epoxy coated. Epoxy coating shall be in accordance with Article 4151.03, B. Cut or sheared ends need not be recoated. Pavement tie bars which must be bent and later straightened shall be deformed bars meeting requirements of ASTM A 615/A 615M, Grade 40 or 60 (300 or 400). Tie bars shall be bent back reasonably straight. Tie bars broken during rebending shall be replaced by the Contractor at no cost to the Contracting Authority by drilling a hole and setting the bar in epoxy.

B. Pavement Dowel Bars.
Dowel bars shall be plain round bars meeting requirements of ASTM A 663/A 663M, Grade 60 (415) or higher, ASTM A 675/A 675M, Grade 60 (415) or higher, or of ASTM A 615/A 615M, Grade 40 (300) or higher. Approved manufacturers and suppliers of load transfer dowels and dowel assemblies are listed in Materials I.M. 451.03, B, Appendix C.

Dowels, with the exceptions of end of run and header joints shall be furnished in approved assemblies, suitable for skewed or perpendicular joints as shown in the contract documents. All dowels, including end of run and header dowels, shall have an epoxy coating applied by the electrostatic spray method in conformance with requirements of AASHTO M 254, Type B, with a minimum coating thickness of 6 mils (150 µm) after cure. Epoxy powders approved for use are listed in Materials I.M. 451.03, B, Appendix B. The ends of dowels may be saw cut or sheared. The sawed and sheared ends need not be coated. If the dowel bars are saw cut, they shall be free of burrs and projections; and the deformation of the bars from true round shape shall not exceed 0.04 inches (1 mm) in diameter or in thickness. The assemblies shall be dipped in a bond breaker prior to delivery to the work site. The bond breaker may be bituminous or paraffin. The bituminous bond breaker shall meet the requirements of Section 4137, 4138, or 4140.

C. Reinforcement for Bridge Approach Sections, Reinforced Paved Shoulders, and Full-Width Reinforcement of Pavements.
Reinforcement for bridge approach sections, reinforced paved shoulders, and full-width reinforcement of pavements shall be deformed bars meeting the requirements of ASTM A 615/A 615M, Grade 40 0r 60 (300 or 400). Reinforcement shall be epoxy coated and shall meet the requirements of Article 4151.03, except that cut or sheared ends need not be recoated.

4151.03 REINFORCEMENT FOR STRUCTURES.
Unless otherwise specified, reinforcement shall be deformed bars meeting requirements of ASTM A 615/A 615M or ASTM A 996/A996M. Bars shall be fabricated in accordance with Article 2404.04.

Spirals of No. 5 (15) bars or smaller and any bars No. 3 (10) or smaller for stirrups or hoops of a specified shape may, at the Contractor's option, be material meeting requirements of ASTM A 82 reinforcement specified above, or steel meeting physical and chemical requirements of ASTM A 615/A 615M, Grade 40 (300).

Wires for spirals in precast and prestressed concrete piling and all wire ties shall be steel wire with a minimum tensile strength of 40,000 psi (300 MPa). Other properties shall be such as to permit bending as shown in the contract documents.

A. Galvanized Reinforcement.
After cutting and bending in accordance with requirements of Section 2404, all reinforcement required to be galvanized shall meet requirements of ASTM A 123. Precautionary measures shall be taken to prevent any loss in the height of the deformation pattern. All cutting and bending shall be performed prior to galvanizing. A chromate conversion coating shall be applied immediately after galvanizing. This may be accomplished by means of quenching the bars, immediately after galvanizing, in a solution containing at least 0.2% (by weight (mass)) of sodium dichromate in water, or by quench chromating in a minimum 0.2% chromic acid solution. The quench water should be at least 90°F (32°C). Proprietary chromate solutions of equivalent effectiveness may be substituted for the above procedure. If the reinforcing material is allowed to cool before chromate treating as specified above, 0.5% to 1.0% concentration of sulfuric acid should be added as an activator to the chromate solution.

All tie wires and wire or pressed steel chairs to be used with galvanized reinforcing steel shall be galvanized. Cut ends of chairs which may be exposed in the finished concrete shall be coated or turned up. Stainless steel chairs, plastic coated carbon steel chairs, or other types of chairs may be approved by the Engineer. Galvanizing of hangars is optional, required only when to remain exposed, in accordance with Article 2412.03.

Bars shall be handled in a manner which will prevent damage to the galvanized coating.

B. Epoxy Coated Reinforcement.
All reinforcement (deformed and plain) required to be epoxy-coated shall have a protective coating of epoxy applied by electrostatic spray method in accordance with the requirements of ASTM A 775/A 775M. Acceptance and handling of epoxy-coated reinforcing steel reinforcement bars at the project site shall be in accordance with the requirements of these specifications and the requirements of Materials I.M. 451.03B.

C. Surface Preparation.
Reinforcing steel surfaces to be coated shall receive a thorough blast (near-white) cleaning. Mill scale, rust, and foreign matter shall be removed. A suitable anchor pattern profile shall be produced by the blasting media containing sufficient grit. A profile depth of 2.0 to 4.0 mils (50 µm to 100 µm) shall be considered suitable as an anchor pattern. In no case shall the coating be delayed more than 0.5 hour after cleaning.

Additional blast media requirements shall be in accordance with the requirements of Materials I.M. 451.03B.

D. Repair to Damage Incurred During Fabrication.
All coating damage due to fabrication or handling at the fabricator facility shall be repaired with patching material meeting the requirements of Section 3.1 of ASTM D 3963/D 3963M. The fabricator shall be responsible for the repair.

E. Repair of Damage Incurred during Shipment and Handling at the Job Site.

F. Storage, Handling, and Placement at the Job Site

Placed coated bars and/or long-term storage of epoxy coated bars (greater than 2 months) shall be covered with a non-transparent material. Provisions shall be made for adequate ventilation to minimize condensation under the cover.

4151.04 WIRE MESH REINFORCEMENT.
Wire mesh used as conventional reinforcement shall be of the size and spacing shown in the contract documents and shall meet requirements of ASTM A 185.

4151.05 STEEL FOR PRESTRESSING CONCRETE.
Steel for prestressing concrete shall comply with one of the following classifications, as required by the contract documents:

A. Uncoated Seven Wire Stress Relieved Strand.
Wire of this class shall meet requirements of AASHTO M 203, except the Contractor shall furnish a load elongation curve for each heat number delivered. Low relaxation strand described in the AASHTO M 203 Supplement may be furnished at the Contractor's option.

B. Uncoated Stress Relieved Wire.
Wire of this class shall meet requirements of AASHTO M 204.

C. High Strength Alloy Steel Reinforcement.
Bars of this class shall meet requirements of AASHTO M 275.