Concrete is an excellent construction material, but it does have weaknesses. While it is good at handling compression under heavy weight, it is not very good at handling tension, or stretching out. That’s where rebar tubing comes in. This video will explain how rebar tubing helps concrete.
Concrete on its own is not a good structural material because it can not adequately handle the mix of stresses that it will be put under. To get proper support from both compressive and tensile forces, contractors will use steel rebar. Rebar offers a great balance to the concrete’s natural compressive resistance.
Rebar will help prevent breaks in the concrete from tensile forces, and it will slow down catastrophic failures. Instead of snapping in two instantly, a concrete beam with rebar tubing will show cracks slowly and the failure will occur over a longer period of time. This will help in evacuation and repair efforts on large buildings.
Rebar is cheap, well-tested, and has been used for decades, which means it’s well understood. There are additional ways to improve the rebar. If you’re interested in how rebar is strengthened to better support concrete, check out the video in the link above.
