2018 Standards
Back in February 2018, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) and the country's Standardization Administration announced the new high strength rebar standard (GB/T 1499.2-2018) that officially came into effect on November 1st 2018.
Under the new standard, 0.03% vanadium will be incorporated in grade three steel, with this amount increasing with each grade to require more than 0.1% in grade five rebar.
Vanadium organisation Vanitec’s John Hilbert said the new standard is a “positive development” towards boosting vanadium consumption world-wide. “Vanadium is the most common addition for high strength rebar, because it offers the best combination of high strength, good ductility, bendability, weldability and reduced sensitivity to strain aging,” Mr Hilbert explained.
The lack of inspections and enforcement measures have allowed substandard steel to continue unchecked in recent years.
2024 Standards
On June 25 when China's State Administration for Market Regulation approved two new mandatory national rebar standards (GB1499.1-2024 and GB1499.2-2024)
On June 25, 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of China officially released the new national standard "Steel for Reinforced Concrete Part 2: Ribbed Reinforcing Bars in Hot Rolling" GB 1499.2-2024. This revision will be implemented from September 25, 2024, replacing the previous national standard GB/T 1499.2-2018.
Key Technical Changes
Compared to GB/T 1499.2-2018, in addition to structural adjustments and editorial changes, this new standard has made significant technical changes in terms of weight tolerance, fatigue requirements, inspection items, and sampling quantities.
The main changes in the new standard are as follows:
1 For the rebar product itself, the new standard is more stringent in terms of weight tolerance, fatigue performance, surface quality, and weight accuracy, further improving the quality of rebar products.
2 For production enterprises, to meet the technical requirements of the new standard, they may need to upgrade or transform production equipment or invest in research and development, which will increase production costs. Additionally, the new fatigue performance and sampling tests will increase the investment in rebar testing, further increasing operational costs.
3 For high-strength rebar grades, the new standard requires the addition of ladle refining processes and welding connection methods, which will greatly improve the quality and performance stability of high-strength rebars.
4 For the market itself, the implementation of the new standard will increase production costs in the short term and also improve the quality of rebar products. With the improvement of standards, the market demand for high-quality rebar will increase, and rebars that meet the new standard will be favored by users, with a certain quality "premium".
5 The new standard is a mandatory standard that must be implemented. Production enterprises should familiarize themselves with the changes in the standard and adjust production processes before the standard is implemented. Considering the inventory digestion cycle, old standard rebar products accumulated by distributors after the implementation of the standard cannot be sold.
6 Faced with the challenges and opportunities brought by the new standard, steel production enterprises should accelerate production technology transformation in the short term to meet the strict requirements of the new standard; at the same time, they should plan production reasonably, and balance the inventory structure of old and new products at the beginning of the standard implementation.
7 The implementation of the new standard will undoubtedly bring profound changes to China's rebar industry. Although in the short term, rebar enterprises may face the dual pressures of rising costs and market adjustments, in the medium and long term, this standard may promote related production enterprises to improve product quality and safety, create a standardized and orderly market environment, and is conducive to building a modern industrial system that is autonomously controllable, safe and reliable, and has strong quality competitiveness, promoting the industry to the high end. With technological innovation to consolidate the core competitiveness of products, accelerate the transformation to high-end, green, efficient, and intelligent, and then achieve high-quality development and improve the overall competitiveness of the industry.
Conclusion
Under the new 2024 rebar standard (Steel for Reinforced Concrete Part 2, GB 1499.2-2024) although there is no need to increase the percentage of alloying elements (the 2018 standard GB/T 1499.2-2018 requiring 0.03% vanadium in grade three steel, with this amount increasing with each grade to require more than 0.1% in grade five rebar remain in effect), rebars are required to meet stricter tolerances regarding production accuracy, fatigue performance, smelting processes and testing methods, as Mysteel Global has reported. More stringent and stricter implementation / enforcement will eliminate “cheaters” and substandard rebars that have plagued China’s steel industry. In order to adhere to the new 2024 quality rebar standards producers must also strictly adhere to the 2018 alloying element requirements therefore Vanadium consumption will significantly increase.
DYODD