AASHTO Raises the Bar to 100 KSI Strength Concrete Reinforcing Steel for Bridge Construction

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) increased the design strength for concrete reinforcing steels to 100 ksi for bridges and other structures, enabling highway engineers to start designing with higher-strength, corrosion-resistant, MMFX₂ rebar (AASHTO MP18 / ASTM A1035 Grade 100 [690 MPa]). This engineering advancement will reduce the costs of replacing our nation’s aging infrastructure and result in better-built bridges and roadways by utilizing less steel, relieving costly rebar congestion issues, and providing a cost-effective, corrosion-resistant, rebar solution.

“…using steel with this higher capacity could provide various benefits to the concrete construction industry by reducing member cross sections and reinforcement quantities, leading to savings in material, shipping, and placement costs. Reducing reinforcement quantities also would reduce congestion problems leading to better quality of construction.”

On July 12, 2012, AASHTO, through the Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures, updated the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Bridge Specifications to permit public bridges and structures to be designed using high-strength reinforcing steels up to 100 ksi yield. The LRFD Bridge Specification is the standard used by state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to set local bridge design codes.

AASHTO, made up of the chief transportation officers from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, is an international leader in setting technical standards for highway systems. AASHTO’s approval of the higher-strength steel standard was based on the finding and recommendations of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 679 released in 2011. The report states, “…using steel with this higher capacity could provide various benefits to the concrete construction industry by reducing member cross sections and reinforcement quantities, leading to savings in material, shipping, and placement costs. Reducing reinforcement quantities also would reduce congestion problems leading to better quality of construction.” The NCHRP report provided AASHTO decision-makers with the necessary background and engineering basis, in the form of experimental and analytical studies, and recommended the application of high-strength rebar, specifically AASHTO MP 18 / ASTM A1035.

This change by AASHTO expands the opportunities for the nation’s DOTs to harness the higher-strength of MMFX₂ rebar to design and build structures with 20% to 50% less steel and up to 60% lower labor costs. MMFX₂ rebar, sold in North America by MMFX Steel Corporation of America and its distribution partners, had previously been limited in designs up to 75 ksi for bridge structures.

In addition to high strength, MMFX₂ rebar offers superior corrosion resistance as previously recognized by AASHTO MP18. Use of uncoated, corrosion-resistant, MMFX₂ steel results in longer-lasting bridges and other structures without the problems and special handling requirements associated with coated rebar.

As the only 100 ksi strength rebar with enhanced corrosion resistance, MMFX₂ meets this new AASHTO standard. Not only can bridges be constructed more efficiently because of the higher strength, the structures will last over 100 years due to MMFX₂ rebar’s superior corrosion resistance. The most significant benefit will be for taxpayers through lower upfront construction and lifetime repair costs for infrastructure, and less disruption to traffic flow.

About MMFX Technologies Corporation

MMFX Technologies Corporation, headquartered in Irvine, California, is a material science company focused on commercializing its patented micro- and nanotechnologies that enable the manipulation of steel microstructure to derive optimum product properties. The Company has successfully commercialized its groundbreaking science through the marketing and sale of its high-demand MMFX₂ branded products, uncoated concrete reinforcing steels that provide superior strength and corrosion resistance. MMFX₂ is marketed and sold through its two operating subsidiaries, as well as Portland, Oregon-based licensee, Cascade Steel Rolling Mills.

About MMFX Steel Corporation of America

An operating subsidiary of MMFX Technologies Corporation, MMFX Steel Corporation of America, also based in Irvine, California, markets and sells MMFX₂ branded concrete reinforcing steel products throughout North America. Applications include bridges and highway systems, high-rise buildings and numerous commercial/industrial applications. Independent scientific tests have shown MMFX₂ rebar to be five times more corrosion-resistant than and up to two times as strong as conventional steel.

About MMFX Steel DMCC

MMFX Steel DMCC (“MMFX DMCC”), a Dubai Multi-Commodity Center corporation, is the Middle East subsidiary of MMFX Technologies Corporation. Utilizing its parent company’s proprietary and patented nanotechnology, MMFX DMCC markets and sells the uncoated corrosion-resistant, high-strength concrete reinforcing steel (“rebar”), MMFX₂, throughout the Middle East and North Africa (“MENA”) region. MMFX₂ rebar is sold under the specifications ASTM A1035 Grades 690 and 830.