Optimum Cutting Schedule Of Reinforcing Steel Bars

Abstract

Reinforcing steel bars are generally procured in standard lengths. The cutting of standard steel bars to the specified lengths usually yields an appreciable amount of steel waste. Minimization of steel waste problem is of interest because reinforced concrete structures are currently in extensive use. The generated steel waste depends directly upon the selected cutting schedule. A dynamic programming method is presented for the selection of cutting schedules of minimum steel waste. Two examples are presented to illustrate the computational process of the method and to compare its results with those obtained by El-Bahrawy (1995).