Ductility refers to a metal’s ability to plastically deform and adapt, during stresses applied with a tensile load. When a piece of material is pulled longitudinally, prior to breaking, it deforms to adapt to the stress, along with absorbing the energy acting on that area. Therefore, steel can be subjected to extreme stresses, work-hardening, and even some non-tensile forces. In layman’s terms, ductility refers to a material’s property to resist tensile stresses physical expansion of the material itself, and resistance to brittle breaking. Steel in itself possesses high ductility, which enables us to tweak it, based on our requirements. Here are a few reasons why Steel’s ductility is preferred in constructions:
- Formability: Formability is the ability of a given metal workpiece to undergo plastic deformation without being damaged. All the forms and shapes of Steel used in structures, wires, beams, bars and frames, formability accounts for its shape. For shaping the steel components, energy-absorption along with plastic deformation and reshaping is required. By using modern technological processes like casting, moulding, machining, stamping, sintering, etc. steel can be moulded into any shape, based on our specific requirement of any construction.
- Expansion: If a component is subjected to extreme stresses, and rapidly cooled and re-heated (quenching), it can increase the overall strength through the thermo-mechanical process of ‘work-hardening’ and ‘cold working’. These processes contribute to the strength of that steel component. This occurs due to the dislocation movements and dislocation generation within the crystal structure of the material. The ductility of steel also ensures that the component won’t undergo brittle fracture during work-hardening, as the energy of that process is absorbed. Steel being able to withstand extreme loads without developing cracks is quintessential for its usage in constructions.
- Seismic protection: The extent to which a material can support itself during sudden seismic tremors, etc. is elementary during construction in a seismic zone. The ductility of steel enables it to resist deformation due to sudden shocks or tremors to the structure and absorb the energy. The energy/load that the steel is acted upon is absorbed if the impact energy is less than the breaking point of the steel. This adds a vital point for the structure to absorb shocks from the earthquake, etc. in an event of a natural disaster, which makes it easier for the construction to survive seismic activity that can damage its integrity.
- Tensile Strength: Tensile strength is the resistance to longitudinal stress applied to an object. It is the maximum amount of force required for a material to break. Steel possesses high tensile strength (based on the constituents of its alloy), due to the lack of carbon content, and is a direct result of its ductility. The tensile strength of an ordinary TMT Steel rod is approximately 550N/m2, which is equivalent to around 550 average-sized apples.
The leading manufacturers of Steel in India have turned to offering a range of rebars equipped with higher ductility, due to the characteristic property being helpful for its further processing and strength, alongside the ever-increasing demand for steel reinforcements in the 21st century. Agni Steels is the leading manufacturer of ductile steel rods in India and hopes to provide stronger structures and safer homes for the Indian masses.