SPECIFICATIONS FOR MATERIALS

Standard Specification for

Steel Welded Wire Fabric, Plain, for Concrete Reinforcement

AASHTO DESIGNATION: M 55M/M 55-94

(ASTM DESIGNATION: A 185-90a)

1. SCOPE 4. ORDERING INFORMATION able mesh-type product having substan-

tially square or rectangular openings. It
shall be fabricated and finished in a
1.1 This specification covers welded wire 4.1 Orders for material to this specifica- workmanlike manner, shall be free from
fabric to be used for the reinforcement of tion should include the following infor- injurious defects, and shall conform to
concrete. mation: this specification.
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be 4.1.1 Quantity mass [weight or square
regarded as the standard. area], NOTE 2-A variation of manufacturing in-
cludes the application of one or more longitu-
4.1.2 Name of material (welded wire dinal convoluted wires at one edge of fabric
2. REFERENCED DOCUMENTS fabric for concrete reinforcement), for concrete pipe reinforcing cages. This shape
allows the cage ends to be expanded to a larger
4.1.3 Wire spacing and sizes,
diameter to accommodate the bellshaped ends
2.1 AASHTO Standards: 4.1.4 Exclusion of oversteeling, if of concrete pipe.
required (See Section 9.4.2),
M 32M Cold-Drawn Steel Wire for
Concrete Reinforcement 4.1.5 Length and width of sheets or 7. MECHANICAL PROPERTY
rolls, REQUIREMENTS
2.2 ASTM Standards:
4.1.6 Packaging (see Section 16), and
A 700 Recommended Practices for
Packaging. Marking, and 4.1.7 AASHTO Designation and year 7.1 Tensile-Wire for the production of
Loading Methods for Steel of issue. welded wire fabric is described in
Products for Domestic Ship- NOTE 1-A typical ordering description is as AASHTO M 32M. Tensile tests may be
ment follows: 950 m- welded wire fabric for con- made on wire cut from the welded wire
2.3 Military Standards: crete reinforcement, 100 X 300-W15 X W6, in fabric and tested either across or between
flat sheets, 2500 mm wide X 6000 mm long, in the welds; no less than 50 percent shall
MIL-STD-129 Marking for Ship- secured lifts, to AASHTO M 55M [10000-ft2 be across the welds. Tensile tests across
ment and Storage welded wire fabric for concrete reinforcement,
the weld shall have the welded joint
MIL-STD-163 Steel Mill Products 4 X 12-W15 X W6, in flat sheets 96 in. wide
X 240 in. long, in secured lifts, to AASHTO M located approximately at the center of the
Preparation for Shipment and wire being tested and the cross wire
55____].
Storage forming the welded joint shall extend
2.4 Federal Standard: approximately 25 mm (1 in.) beyond
5. MATERIALS each side of the welded joint.
Fed. Std. Nº 123 Marking for
Shipment (Civil Agencies) NOTE 3-Tensile, reduction of area, and bend
5.1 The wire used in the manufacture of testing are normally done at the time the wire
welded wire fabrics shall conform to is drawn. The manufacturer's finished product
3. TERMINOLOGY AASHTO M 32M. still must satisfy the mechanical properties
when tested after fabrication.
5.2 Welded wire fabric shall be furnished
3.1 Description of Terms Specific to this either in flat sheets, or in rolls, as speci- 7.2 Reduction of Area-The ruptured
Standard: fied by the purchaser. section of the tensile specimen is meas-
3.1.1 Convoluted Wire-when wire for ured to determine this property. In the
welded fabric is formed into a sinusoidal case of a specimen which has been tested
6. MANUFACTURE across a weld, the measurement shall be
wave shape, it is commonly referred to as
convoluted wire. The wire is used in the made only when rupture has occurred at a
manufacture of cages for certain applica- 6.1 The wires shall be assembled by sufficient distance from the center of a
tions of concrete pipe reinforcing. automatic machines or by other suitable weld to permit an accurate measurement
mechanical means which will assure of the fractured section. The wire shall
3.1.2 Welded Wire Fabric-as used
accurate spacing and alignment of all meet the minimum reduction of area
within the scope and intent of this speci-
members of the finished fabric. requirements of AASHTO M 32M.
fication, designates a material composed
of cold-drawn steel wire, as drawn or 6.2 Longitudinal and transverse members 7.3 Bend Test-The wire shall withstand
galvanized, fabricated into sheets or rolls shall be securely connected at every the bend test as described in AASHTO M
by the process of electric resistance intersection by a process of electrical- 32M and shall be performed on a speci-
welding. The finished material shall resistance welding which employs the men taken from between the welds.
consist essentially of a series of longitu- principle of fusion combined with pres- 7.4 Weld Shear Strength-The weld shear
dinal and transverse wires arranged sub- sure. strength between longitudinal and trans-
stantially at right angles to each other, 6.3 Wire of proper grade and quality verse wires shall be tested as described in
and welded together at points of intersec- when fabricated in the manner herein Section 8. The minimum average shear
tion. required shall result in a strong, service- value in Newtons, shall not be less than

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 SPECIFICATIONS FOR MATERIALS

241, multiplied by the nominal area in

square millimeters (in poundsforce shall
not be less than 35000, multiplied by the
nominal area of the larger wire in square
inches), where the smaller wire is not less
than size W1.2 and has an area of 40
percent or more of the area of the larger
wire. Typical examples of the 40 percent
or more wire size differential area as
follows:

Larger Smaller
Size Nº W20 Size Nº W8
Size Nº W15 Size Nº W6
Size Nº W10 Size Nº W4

7.4.1 Fabric having a relationship of

longitudinal and transverse wires other
than those covered in Section 7.4 shall
not be subject to the weld shear require-
ment.
7.4.2 Weld shear tests for determina-
tion of conformance to the requirements
of Section 7.4 shall be conducted using a
fixture as described in Section 8.
7.4.3 Four welds selected at random
from the specimen described in Section
11.2 shall be tested for weld shear
strength. The transverse wire of each test
specimen shall extend approximately 25
mm (1 in.) on each side of the longitudi-
nal wire. The longitudinal wire of each
test specimen shall be of such length
below the transverse wire so as to be
adequately engaged by the grips of the
testing machine. It shall be of such length
above the transverse wire that its end
shall be above the center line of the upper horizontal wire. When the fabric is de- not to exceed 689 MPa/min (100000
bearing of the testing device. signed with different wire sizes, the psi/min).
7.4.4 The material shall be deemed to larger diameter wire is the "vertical wire"
conform to the requirements for weld when tested (see Figure 11).
9. DIMENSIONS, MASS, AND
shear strength if the average of the four 8.2 Figure 1 shows the details of a typical PERMISSIBLE VARIATIONS
samples complies with the value stipu- testing jig together with two anvils which
lated in Section 7.4. If the average fails to make it possible to test welds for wire up
meet the prescribed value, all the welds to 15.88 mm (5/g in.) in diameter. This 9.1 Width-The width of fabric shall be
across the specimen shall then be tested. testing jig can be used in most tension considered to be the center-to-center
The fabric will be acceptable if the aver- testing machines and should be hung in a distance between outside longitudinal
age of all weld shear test values across ball and socket arrangement at the center wires. The permissible variation shall not
the specimen meets the prescribed mini- of the machine. This, or a similarly effec- exceed 13 mm (½ in.) greater or less than
mum value. tive fixture designed on the same princi- the specified width. In case the width of
ple, is acceptable. flat sheets or rolls is specified as the
8.3 Test specimens should be inserted overall width (tip-to-tip length of cross
8. WELD SHEAR TEST APPARA- wires), the width shall not vary more than
TUS AND METHODS through the notch in the anvil using the
smallest notch available in which the ± 25 mm (± 1 in.) from the specified
vertical wire will fit loosely. The vertical width.
8.1 As the welds in welded wire fabric wire shall be in contact with the surface 9.2 Length-The overall length of flat
contribute to the bonding and anchorage of the free rotating rollers while the sheets, measured on any wire, may vary ±
value of the wires in concrete, it is im- horizontal wire shall be supported by the 25 mm (± 1 in.) or 1 percent, whichever
perative that the weld acceptance tests be anvil on each side of the slot. The bottom is greater.
made in a jig that will stress the weld in a jaws of the testing machine shall grip the 9.3 Overhang of the transverse wires
manner similar to which it is stressed in lower end of the vertical wire and the shall not project beyond the center line of
concrete. In order to accomplish this the load shall be applied at a rate of stressing each longitudinal edge wire more than a
vertical wire in the jig must be stressed in distance of 25 mm (1 in.) unless other-
an axis close to its center line. Also the wise specified. When transverse wires are
horizontal wire must be held closely to 1 A detailed drawing showing complete dimensions
specified to project a specific length
the vertical wire, and in the same relative of the testing jig may be obtained from ASTM
Headquarters. Request Adjunct #12-1-1850-00. beyond the center line of a longitudinal
position, so as to prevent rotation of the
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 SPECIFICATIONS FOR MATERIALS

edge wire, the permissible variation shall 11.3 Measurements for conformance 14. REJECTION AND REHEARING
not exceed 13 mm (½ in.) greater or less to dimensional characteristics shall be
than the specified length. made on full sheets or rolls.
14.1 Material that does not meet the
9.4 The permissible variation in diameter 11.4 If any test specimen exhibits requirements of this specification may be
of any wire in the finished fabric shall obvious imperfections, it may be dis- rejected. Unless otherwise specified, any
conform to the tolerances prescribed for carded and another specimen substituted. rejection shall be reported to the manu-
the wire before fabrication, in AASHTO facturer within 5 days from the time of
M 32M with the following exceptions: selection of test specimens.
12. NUMBER OF TESTS
9.4.1 Because of the mechanical char- 14.2 In case a specimen fails to meet
acteristics of fabricating welded wire the tension or bend test, the material shall
fabric, the out-of-round requirements 12.1 One test for conformance to not be rejected until two additional
shall not apply. tensile strength and bend requirements specimens taken from other wires in the
9.4.2 Unless otherwise precluded by shall be made for each 6968 m2 (75000 same sheet or roll have been tested. The
the purchaser, the manufacturer will be ft2) of fabric or remaining fraction material shall be considered as meeting
permitted to apply over-sized wire (not thereof. the specification in respect to any pre-
under-sized). The size differential shall 12.2 One test for conformance to weld scribed tensile property, provided the
not exceed one "W" size increment on shear strength requirement shall be made tested average for the three specimens,
sizes W8 and smaller, and two "W' size for each 27870 m2 (300000 ft2) or re- including the specimen originally tested,
increments on sizes larger than W8. A maining fraction thereof. is equal to or exceeds the required mini-
"W' size increment is a whole number mum for the particular property in ques-
increment, for example, W5 to W6, or tion, and provided further that none of the
13. INSPECTION AND TESTS
W5.4 to W6.4, etc. In all cases where three specimens develops less than 80
such over-steeling is practiced, the pro- percent of the required minimum for the
ducer shall identify the fabric with the 13.1 The inspector representing the tensile property in question. The material
style originally ordered. purchaser shall have free entry at all shall be considered as meeting this speci-
9.5 The average spacing of wires shall be times while work on the contract of the fication in respect to bend test require-
such that the total number of wires con- purchaser is being performed to all parts ments, provided both additional speci-
tained in a sheet or roll is equal to or of the manufacturer's works that concern mens satisfactorily pass the prescribed
greater than that determined by the spe- the manufacture of the material ordered. bend test.
cific spacing, but the center-to-center The manufacturer shall afford the inspec- 14.3 Any material that shows injurious
distance between individual members tor all reasonable facilities to assure that imperfections subsequent to its accep-
may vary not more than 6.35 nun (V4 in.) the material is being furnished in accor- tance at the manufacturer's works may be
from the specified spacing. It is under- dance with this specification. rejected and the manufacturer shall be
stood that sheets of fabric of the specified 13.2 Except for yield strength, all tests promptly notified.
length may not always contain an identi- and inspections shall be made at the place 14.4 Welded joints shall withstand
cal number of transverse wires and, of manufacture prior to shipment, unless normal shipping and handling without
therefore, may have various lengths of otherwise specified. Such tests shall be so becoming broken, but the presence of
longitudinal overhang. conducted as not to interfere unnecessar- broken welds, regardless of cause, shall
ily with the operation of the works. not constitute cause for rejection unless
10. WORKMANSHIP, FINISH, AND 13.3 If the purchaser considers it the number of broken welds per sheet
APPEARANCE desirable to determine compliance with exceeds 1 percent of the total number of
the yield strength requirements of joints in a sheet, or if the material is
AASHTO M 32M, yield strength tests furnished in rolls, 1 percent of the total
10.1 Wire of proper grade and quality, may be made in a recognized laboratory, number of joints in 14 m2 (150 ft2) of
when fabricated in the manner herein or their representatives may make the test fabric, and furthermore, provided not
required, shall result in a strong, service- at the mill, if such tests do not interfere more than one-half the permissible
able mesh-type product having substan- unnecessarily with the mill operations. maximum number of broken welds are
tially square or rectangular openings. It located on any one wire.
13.4 For U.S. Government Procure-
shall be fabricated and finished in a 14.5 In the event of rejection because
ment Only-Except as otherwise specified
workmanlike manner, as determined by of failure to meet the weld shear re-
in the contract, the contractor is responsi-
visual inspection, and shall conform to quirements, four additional specimens
ble for the performance of all inspection
this specification. shall be taken from four different sheets
and test requirements specified herein.
Except as otherwise specified in the or rolls and tested in accordance with
11. SAMPLING contract, the contractor may use his own Section 8. If the average of all the weld
or any other suitable facilities for the shear tests performed does not meet the
performance of the inspection and test requirement, the material shall be re-
11.1 Test specimens for testing me- requirements specified herein, unless jected.
chanical properties shall be obtained by disapproved by the purchaser at the time 14.6 In the event of rejection because
cutting from the finished fabric a full of purchase. The purchaser shall have the of failure to meet the requirements for
width section, of sufficient length to right to perform any of the inspections dimensions, the amount of material re-
perform testing described in Sections 7.1 and tests at the same frequency as set jected shall be limited to those individual
and 7.2. forth in this specification where such sheets or rolls which fail to meet this
11.2 Test specimens for determining inspections are deemed necessary to specification.
weld shear properties shall be obtained assure that material conforms to pre-
14.7 Rust, surface seams, or surface
by cutting from the finished fabric, a full scribed requirements.
irregularities will not be cause for rejec-
width section of sufficient length to
tion provided the minimum dimensions,
perform testing described in Section 7.4.
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 SPECIFICATIONS FOR MATERIALS

cross-sectional area, and tensile proper- to fabrication, coupled with random shear 16.4 Each bundle of flat sheets and
ties of a hand wire-brushed test specimen testing during production. Because of each roll shall have attached thereto a
are not less than the requirements of this warehousing and stocking problems, no suitable tag bearing the name of the
specification. efforts are normally taken to supply manufacturer, description of the material,
14.8 Rehearing-Rejected materials actual test data on material shipped. If AASHTO M 55M, and such other infor-
shall be preserved for a period of at least this is deemed essential, outside inspec- mation as may be specified by the pur-
two weeks from the date of inspection, tion should be utilized. chaser.
during which time the manufacturer may 16.5 When specified in the contract or
make claim for a rehearing and retesting. 16. PACKAGING AND MARKING order, and for direct procurement by or
direct to the U.S. Government, when
Level A is specified, preservation, pack-
15. CERTIFICATION 16.1 Unless otherwise specified, pack- aging, and packing shall be in accordance
aging, marking, and loading for shipment with the Level A requirement of
15.1 If outside inspection is waived, a shall be in accordance with ASTM Prac- MILSTD-163.
manufacturer's certification that the tices A700. 16.6 When specified in the contract or
material has been tested in accordance 16.2 When fabric is furnished in flat order, and for the direct procurement by
with and meets the requirements of this sheets, it shall be assembled in bundles of or direct shipment to the U.S. Govern-
specification shall be the basis of accep- convenient size containing not more than ment, marking for shipment, in addition
tance of the material. The certification 150 sheets and securely fastened to- to requirements specified in the contract
shall include the specification number, gether. or order, shall be in accordance with
year-date of issue and revision letter, if 16.3 When fabric is furnished in rolls, MIL-STD-129 for U.S. military agencies
any. each roll shall be secured so as to prevent and in accordance with Fed. Std. Nº 123
15.2 This conformance is predicated unwinding during shipping and handling. for U.S. Government civil agencies.
upon testing and acceptance of wire prior

49