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Suitability of Steel as Reinforcing Material Many traditional materials such as bamboo and natural fibres have been tried as reinforcement in earlier times. But steel is found to be the most appropriate form of reinforcement. It is the most suitable reinforcing material in R.C.C. because of following reasons : 1. Steel is very strong in compression, tension, shear, and torsion. 2. Concrete develops a very good bond with steel. 3. Steel is ductile in behaviour. More ductility means more elongation of steel before failure. 4. The steel bars can be cut, lifted, and welded easily with commonly available tools and machines. 5. Steel has a longer life. 6. Steel is easily available. Steel reinforcement has various advantages as listed above, which make it a suitable reinforcing material. However, steel has a few disadvantages which are listed below. 1. The biggest disadvantage of steel reinforcement is rusting. If concrete is porous or if the cover to the reinforcement is not sufficient, stee