The grade of TMT steel is one of the most important factors that determine the strength and longevity of a structure. Once you know the procedure, you will be able to judge any TMT manufacturer based on the adherence to the various steps in the process, and hence ensure that you get nothing but the best quality TMT steel. 

In today’s article, we will tell you about the manufacturing process of TMT bars. It primarily involves three steps

Processing of raw iron ore for steel making

The raw material that goes into steel manufacturing is basically iron ore. The iron ore is processed, mixed, and unmixed as per the necessities of TMT steel. Coal and dolomite also go into the process. In the first stage of the process, the iron ore goes via beneficiation which leads to a rise in the iron substance. The metal fines are gathered together which leads to an improvement in the efficiency of the substance.

By the end, the iron ore gets purified, the required materials are mixed with it in the requisite proportions, and all the impurities get collected separately in the form of slag. 

Conversion of Iron into Steel

To make steel, the iron needs to be separated from the oxygen and a tiny amount of carbon needs to be added. During this step, oxygen is combined with carbon in the iron ore, with the help of an oxygen furnace. This pre-treatment eliminated carbon dioxide from the mixture. After this, the under-process steel is passed through the furnace. Molten steel from Furnace is slowly transmitted to the continuous casting machine, from where it flows further into the water-cooled molds. Solidification happens at this step as the steel now takes the shape of TMT bars.

Thermo Mechanical Treatment

It includes three essential treatments.

Quenching: The process of quenching is meant to tune the hardness and ductility of the steel bars in making, and ensure the right and desired properties. As soon as the hot rolled steel bars get out of the finished mill, they are thrown into a water spray system known as the ‘Thermex System’. In the process, the temperature of the outer layer of the steel bars is brought down rapidly, which leads to its hardening while the inner core remains hot and flexible. This entire process is called as ‘quenching’ of the steel bars. 

Self-Tempering: Once the rebars are out of the Thermex Quenching box, the core remains hot compared to the surface allowing heat to flow from the core to the surface causing Tempering of the outer Martensite layer thus forming a structure called ‘Tempered Martensite’.

Atmospheric Cooling: The third and final sub-step in the Thermo Mechanical Treatment is known as Atmospheric Cooling. Post-self-tempering, the almost ready TMT steel bars are put on a cooling bed, which is at the normal atmospheric temperature. During this step of atmospheric cooling, the austenitic core of the bars turns into a ferrite-pearlite structure. As a result of this entire process, the output, that is the TMT steel bars that we get display peculiar and desirable properties.

Conclusion

Birla TMT Bar has excellent strength and better anti-corrosive quality than other similar products on the market. Now that you know the elaborate process that goes into the manufacturing of TMT steel, you must make the choice of TMT steel manufacturer consciously. We are delivering the best quality products with 25 years of business legacy in the Indian construction and infrastructure industry. All the protocols are followed with utmost care with guaranteed quality while manufacturing Birla TMT bars. To know more about Birla TMT bars join our Instagram handle @birlatmtsteel_rajasthan