Applying Reused Steel Bars to New Constructions (A Case Study in Gaza Strip)

Abstract

Demands for construction materials and for steel in particular are globally increasing. In 2008, the construction sector consumed 56% of the total 1088 million tons of steel demand. Steel production is a major contributor to greenhouse emissions with an estimated 25% of total CO2 emissions. Therefore, reusing and recycling steel could be beneficial in lowering the global levels of CO2 emissions. This paper examines the possibility of using steel form the debris of damaged buildings during the 2014 war on Gaza, Palestine. The lack of steel bars and their uprising prices in Gaza strip encouraged the trend of using used steel in new constructions. The paper examines the properties of used steel in comparison with the standards. It also compares between steel of known and unknown extraction sources and between steel extracted under an expert supervision and steel extracted by local residents. The validity of reused steel is examined through a process of Re-certification. The process includes applying a tensile and bend and re-bend test to used steel bars. The results indicate that some reused steel bars meet the specification for new constructions. The results also show that steel bars extracted under a specialist supervision shows better performance than those extracted by local steel collectors in Gaza.