ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Welded wire fabric (WWF) is commonly used in reinforced concrete slabs. In Australia, such steel is classified as Class L -low ductility (AS/NZS4671-2001). Typically, the strain at peak stress (termed the uniform elongation) is less than 0.03 and the ratio of tensile strength to yield stress (0.2% proof stress) is in the range 1.03 to 1.10. The relatively low deformation capacity ofWWF has very significant implications in the analysis and design of slabs, particularly with regard to ductility. A reinforced concrete slab containing low ductility steel usually fails by fracture of the tensile reinforcement at the critical section, well before the concrete in the compression zone becomes overstressed, and the conventional understanding of ductile under-reinforced flexural failure is not valid. The failure is brittle and quite catastrophic, often with little or no warning.
