1/16/2015

CalculatingtheLengthofBentBars

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Calculating the Length of Bent Bars

ByDickBirley,PresidentofCondorRebarConsultants,Inc.
FirstpublishedinConcreteInternationalMagazine,March2006

Tighttolerancesleadtosomeinterestingobservations
Whenreinforcingbarsarefabricatedwithbends,thestraightbarisinitiallycuttoalengththatislessthanthesum
ofthespecifieddimensionsofthebentbar.Thedifferencebetweenthedetailedlengthandthecutlengthisthe
"bendcurvaturededuction"andmaybeknowninthetradebyothernamessuchasgain,creep,andgyp.Generally,
fabricatorsandprogrammersobtainthebendcurvaturedeductionfromabenddeductiontable,suchastheone
showninTable1,thatliststhedeductionsfor45and90degreebendsofcommonbarsizes.

AParadigmShift
ConstraintsonReinforcingBarModeling
ReinforcingBarsExceedingStockLengths
RebarandWaterstops
DesigntoMinimumDimensions
Shearwalls&BoundaryElements
SlopedvsSteppedFootings
CalculatingtheLengthofBentBars
BeamColumnJoints
AvoidingtheDeadZone
PlacingDrawingsarenotShopDrawings

TheToleranceCloud
PlacementToleranceClouds
FormingToleranceCloud
Detailing&FabricationToleranceCloud

Figure1showsaNo.8(No.25)barwithastandardhookandsidesmeasuring1ft4in.and4ft(400and1220
mm).Thedetailedlengthofthisbarwouldbethesumofthetwosides,or5ft4in.(1620mm).FromTable1,the
deductionfora90degreebendonaNo.8(No.25)baris21/2in.(65mm).Thus,inthiscase,thecutlengthof
thebarwouldbe5ft11/2in.(1555mm).

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Theusualstandardformeasuringthecutlengthofabarisalongtheactualcenterlineofthebar,which
correspondstotheneutralaxisofthebarcrosssectionpriortobending.Thecutlengthofabentbarisshorterthan
thesumofthefinisheddimensionsfortworeasons.Thefirstreasonisobviousthefilletscreatedatthebend
pointshaveanarclengththatisshorterthanthesumoftheintersectingtangents.Thiscomponentofthebend
deductioncanbefoundwithasimplemathematicalcalculation.Thesecondreasonisn'tsoobvious.Whiletheouter
fibersofthebararefreetoelongate,theinnerfibersofthebararerestrainedbyfrictionagainstthebending
mandreltheneutralaxisthereforeshiftsinwardtowardthemandrel.Thiscomponentcannotbeeasilycalculated.
Fortunately,however,thediscrepancyresultingfromcalculatinglengthsbasedontheactualcenterlineisrarelya
concern.
Afewyearsago,someinterestingsurpriseswerefoundwhiledetailingthereinforcingforalargeprecastsegmental
bridge.Thereweremorethan200differentbarshapes,ofwhichmostweremultisided,closedstirrupswithvarying
angles.Theclientinsistedthatthecutlengthofthebarshadtobewithinatoleranceof10mm(3/8in.),
regardlessofthenumberofbendsonthebarortheangles.Obviously,thiscouldnotbeaccomplishedbyusinga
chart.Theabilitytocalculatetheprecisebenddeductionforeachbendatanyangleoneachbarsizehadtobe
introducedintothedetailingsoftware.
Tomeetthischallenge,thecalculationshadtoincludeatermthatwouldallowtheeffectivecenterlineofthebend
toshiftinwardfromtheactualcenterline.Onewaytoincludethiseffectinthearclengthcalculationsistousean
effectivecenterlinelocatedadistance(db/2)fromtheinsideofthebend,whereisavariablelabeledthefriction
factor.Withzerofriction,=1andtheeffectivecenterlineislocatedattheactualcenterline.Withzeroslip,=0
andtheeffectivecenterlineislocatedattheinsidefaceofthebend.
Foragivenbarsizeandmandrel,acalibrationforthevaluecanbemadebycarefullymeasuringthelengthsof
straightbars,bendingthemtothesameangle,measuringandsummingthedimensionsofthetworesultingsides,
deductingtheoriginalstraightlengthfromthissumtofindthetotalbendcurvaturededuction,andsolvingthe
equationsdefinedinFig.2.

Manyfactors,includingbarsize,steelgrade,angleoftheribtothemandrel,themandrelmaterial,theamountof
wearonthemandrel,thebendingspeed,andthebartemperature(theshopoperatedthroughwinterandsummer),
werefoundtoaffectthevalueof.Therewerefourbendingmachinesintheshop,andeachonewasassigneda
valueforforeachbarsize.Bendingspeedwassetataconstantprescribedrateforeachbender,andthewhole
processwasrecheckedeverycoupleofweeks.The10mm(3/8in.)tolerancecouldbesuccessfullymet,provided
theclientcouldsuccessfullycontrolthevariousfactorsaffecting.
Surprisingly,thevalueofwasusuallyabout0.2to0.25andrarelyapproached0.3.Ifthebendingspeedwas
increased,woulddroptoaslowas0.1.TherewasasmallamountofGrade75(520MPa)barontheprojectfor
whichhadtobesettozero.Thisseemedtoindicatethatfrictionwiththemandrelwassohigh(duetotheforce
requiredtobendthebar)thattherewasnoslipalongtheinnercurveandthatalloftheelongationwasalongthe
outsidecurveofthebar.
DESIGNCONSIDERATIONS
Consideringthevaluesfor,itbecameapparentthat,whenabarwasbent,therewasmuchmoreelongationalong
theoutsideofthebendthananticipated.Ifthemandrelwasnewandverysmooth,thereseemedtobelessfriction
withthemandrel,whichincreasedthevalueof.Increasingthebendingspeedseemedtoincreasefrictionagainst

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themandrel,whichdecreasedthevalueof.InthecaseofGrade75(520MPa)barswithanof0,thedifference
betweenelongationsalongtheoutsideandinsideofthebendwasextreme.
Asanaside,theclientfoundthetaskofmonitoringthefactorsaffectingthebendingsoonerousthatthe
requirementforthe10mm(3/8in.)cuttingtolerancewasquietlydropped,andtheshopgraduallyreturnedto
normalfabricatingpractices.
Acknowledgments
ThankstoM.Lount,FACI,forcontributingthecalculationsforthebendcurvaturedeductionandidentifyingthe
frictionfactor.
ContinuetoBeamColumnJoints>

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