30/05/2014
1. What is the meaning of BSRM?
Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills
2. What type of products BSRM produces?
BSRM is the nation’s biggest and premier producer of international quality concrete reinforcing bars conforming to ISO BDS 6935 Gr.500W. This is the best product available in the country. Besides ASTM A 615 grade 40 and grade 60 reinforcing bars are also produced. It also produces structural sections such as angles, channels and flat bars used for the fabrication of steel structures such as factory buildings and power line and telecom towers. BSRM is the country’s only producer of micro reinforcement conforming to ASTM 496 for the manufacture of pre-cast concrete sections and for temperature reinforcement in slab on grade.
3. What is the meaning of BSRM logo?
The lofty ideals of BSRM are embodied in its logo the triumvirate of
Strength, Safety, Sustainability.
4. Where is BSRM factory and head office located?
BSRM Head Office is located at Sadarghat Road in Chittagong city, The old factory for billet making and rolling mills are located in Nasisrabad Industrial Area, Baizid Bostami Road Chittagong. The new factory with the continuous rolling mill and high strength 500 grade rebar production facility is located in Fouzderhat Industrial Area Chittagong.
5. Are BSRM products available everywhere?
Please see the dealers and depots location in the web site to find a BSRM dealer nearest to you. At present BSRM has appointed over 100 dealers throughout the country who sell BSRM products at company listed prices only.
6. Why BSRM products price are higher than others?
While BSRM rebar prices may seem to be higher than other products in the market the overall cost of steel on structures designed with BSRM product will be lower for 3 main reasons:
1. BSRM Xtreme rebar conforming to ISO BDS 6935 has minimum guaranteed yield strength of 500 Mpa which needs 15% less steel compared to Grade 60 bar.
2. BSRM rebar is rolled to a 3% minus tolerance consistently. This is possible only in a high class automatic rolling mill of European design and make, which only BSRM has procured and installed at a very high cost.
3. The other reasons are consistency in length, no short pieces, which minimizes bar splicing and accurate weighing on computerized scales hence less steel consumption.
7. What is grade of Rod? How many grades are found in the market?
There are 2 popular grades of rod known as Grade 40 and Grade 60 which refers to the yield strength 40,000 psi and 60,000 psi, of 2 different types of steel bars. BSRM has now introduced yet another type of bar known as Xtreme 500W which conforms to Grade 500 or having yield strength of 72500 psi which is superior to both to grade 40 and grade 60. Then there is another type of bars from the ship-breaking industry based on the scrap plates and open cast ingots for which there is no mill certificate or test result. These are non-graded steel products and unfit for any properly designed construction.
8. What is the difference between various grades? Is the manufacturing process same for all grades?
The difference between the grades is in its yield strength. Grade 40 and Grade 60 is manufactured using the same hot rolling process; the difference in strength is achieved by adding more carbon to the grade 60 steel which also makes it more brittle. Xtreme 500 is manufactured utilizing a unique European patented heat treatment process which makes the steel very strong without making it brittle. Thus BSRM Grade 500 known as Xtreme is strong and ductile as well. For more details about the unique Grade 500W manufacturing process visit the section on “Xtreme” in the BSRM website.
9. What grade rod is suitable for a 3/4 storied building?
Under any circumstances Grade 500 Xtreme bar is the best choice for 3 reasons.
It saves money by using less steel and needs less construction man-hours to complete a building.
Secondly, the structure will be sound and will have a longer life. This means a lower life cycle cost.
Last of all the building will be more earthquake resistant due to the lesser quantity of steel used in the beams and columns. This means less re-bar congestion and less likely hood of joint failures in an earthquake.
10. How is it possible to save 15% steel costs by using BSRM Xtreme Grade-500 re-bar?
Steel reinforcement in a concrete structure is used to resist tensile and shear forces as plain concrete alone cannot resist such forces. Steel with higher yield strength can resist larger tensile forces. Thus to resist the same force a smaller diameter bar is needed when a higher strength steel is used compared to a bar of lower strength which would need a bar with larger diameter. Conversely, a designer may opt to increase the bar spacing and keep, without changing the bar diameters. This will decrease the total quantity of steel bars needed in the structure. For more details about the details on how steel consumption may be curtailed visit the section on engineers help section n the BSRM website.
11. How can we identify BSRM Re-bar?
All BSRM Xtreme 500W bars and all other BSRM products carry the grade category frog mark and the diameter [size] of the bar which are easily identified along with the BSRM logo embossed on the rod surface.
12. What is the maximum length of BSRM Re-bar?
BSRM Xtreme500W bars are rolled to standard length of 12 meters and folded with a single hairpin bend for convenient truck transport. BSRM can also supply straight length bars in trailers for any major construction works if the customer desires.
13. Are BSRM re-bars produced from its own billet or imported billet?
Both. BSRM produces quality billets at its two own steel making shop known as BISCO and BSRM(SMW). It also imports quality billets from reputed steel companies in the world.
14. If any house builder want to buy rod directly from mill then is their any discount for him?
The best option is to buy from the nearest dealer at BSRM listed price to avoid delays. All BSRM products are sold through dealers at factory listed prices, so there is no point in buying direct from the factory.
15. To avoid rusting on re-bars is their any planning of BSRM to protect it?
Rusting is an inherent property of steel. Rust is produced by steel combining with oxygen in the air. This can only be prevented by coating the rod surface with oil, grease or any other organic coating which is totally unacceptable for the concrete. On the other hand rusting on rod is beneficial in bonding with the concrete as the steel surface loses its smoothness on rusting. The roughened bar surface provides better bonding with the concrete.
Rusting on “Xtreme” bars has an economical benefit to steel users as well, as the dark and thick mill scale found on the bar surface of Grade 40 and Grade 60 is removed in the Xtreme 500W manufacturing process. The weight of this mill scale varies between 0.25% to 0.5% [smaller diameter bars have higher quantity of scale then larger diameter bars, due to comparatively larger surface areas of the small diameter bars] of the total steel weight in Grade 40 and Grade 60 bars.
16. Does BSRM follows ASTM & BNBC while producing 14 mm diameter re-bar?
While ASTM does not have the 14 mm size it is completely permissible to use a 14mm bar in construction as the Bangladesh building code does not prohibit such a size.
All bar standards [ASTM, BDS, BS and IS permits bar sizes from a minimum to a maximum size. Currently the legally permitted smallest bar size in the Bangladesh standard BDS ISO 6935 is 6mm and the largest is 40mm. Any bar size within the upper and lower diameters is permissible. The BNBC permits bar diameters as small as 5.7mm in structural reinforcement.
17. For all grade Re-bar concrete would be same or different?
Concrete compressive strength should always match the yield strength of re-bars. This is necessary to ensure proper structural ductility of the building. Typically for buildings designed with Grade 40 steel a minimum concrete strength of 2200 psi [15 Mpa] is needed. For structures designed on Grade 60 steel concrete strength of a minimum 3000 psi [20 Mpa] is advised. For Grade 500 a minimum concrete strength of 3600 psi [25 Mpa] is advised. As concrete is a field or site manufactured product in most cases in Bangladesh, it is expected that there will be a greater variation in its compressive strength. Concrete prepared in batching plants with admixtures and additives under more controlled conditions have better consistency and reliability.
18. Why it called Grade-500 though yield strength is 72,500 PSI?
The internationally recognized system of units the ISO for stress is the mega Pascal in short Mpa while theU.S. customary unit is pounds per square inches or psi for short. Bangladesh has adopted the ISO system of units and it is legally binding to use the approved units.
19. How does BSRM control environmental pollution of their factory?
There is no pollution from rolling mills. The only solid waste is the mill scales, which is an oxide off iron in the water is removed and collected by setting up a latest state of the art scale removal system and sold of as a by product. The billet making plant, Meghna Engineering Works is the only steel making unit in the country to have installed an Air Pollution Control [APC] system which conforms to Japanese design standards. All BSRM factories are fully environmental control and annually certified by the Department of Environmental Control of the government.
20. Does BSRM ensure accurate weighment by its dealers?
All BSRM factories have accurate electronic load cell weigh bridges which are annually certified by the Bangladesh Standards Testing Institute [BSTI] BSRM expects all its dealers to ensure accurate weighment as required by law of the land. We request customers to ask the shop from where they buy the steel to ask for the up to date BSTI certification of their weighing scales.
21. Xtreme is higher strength bar but concrete is same, so is that building safe?
There is no benefit in using high strength steel with poor quality concrete.
22. How much price difference between G-60 & G-500?
None! Xtreme is priced and sold at grade 60 prices.
23. Is BSRM able to supply straight bar as per customer's need?
Absolutely! According to best construction practices; straight bars require no time in opening the bundles and hammering to straighten the bar. With Xtreme in straight bundles there is no need to hammer the bars at all! It is just cut and place according to size and place.
24. BSRM should take actions to stop production of non grade steel?
The Bangladesh Building Code does not permit the use of any non grade steel and as such the production and use of non grade steel is not only dangerous for public safety but illegal as well. Unfortunately public awareness in this regard is very poor and concerned authorities are lax to enforce the provisions of the BNBC.
25. What is the standard length of Lapping of Bar?
The lengths of lapping in bar splices depend on the structural component and the yield strength of the bar and the concrete compressive strength as well.
