White paper 10 · Annex B
Glossary of terms and abbreviations
The glossary defines the technical terms and abbreviations used in the paper in plain language. Where a term has a precise definition in a standard, the definition given here is a simplified explanation, and the standard governs.
Table B.1 Terms and abbreviations
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Agt | Total elongation at maximum force: the strain, in per cent, that a bar reaches in a tensile test at the moment it carries its highest load. The main European measure of usable ductility |
| Anchorage length | Length of bar embedded beyond the point where it is needed, over which bond transfers its force to the concrete |
| ANOR | Agence des Normes et de la Qualité, Cameroon’s standards and quality agency, organised by Decree No. 2009/296. Drafts and homologates national standards, certifies products and runs PECAE |
| ARSO | African Organisation for Standardisation |
| ASTM A615, A706 | American specifications for deformed carbon-steel bars (A615) and low-alloy weldable bars with controlled properties (A706) |
| B500A, B500B, B500C | European reinforcing steel grades with a characteristic yield of 500 MPa and ductility classes A, B and C |
| BAEL 91 | Former French rules for the design of reinforced concrete, widely used in francophone Africa before the Eurocodes |
| Bend test, rebend test | Tests in which a bar is bent round a mandrel (bend) or bent, aged and bent back (rebend) and inspected for cracks; they reveal brittleness |
| Billet | Square semi-finished steel cast in a continuous caster, reheated and rolled into bars or rod |
| Bond | The transfer of force between a bar and the surrounding concrete, provided mainly by the bar’s ribs |
| Carbon equivalent (Ceq, CEV) | Index combining carbon and alloying elements to predict hardenability and weldability; for European reinforcing steels Ceq = C + Mn/6 + (Cr+Mo+V)/5 + (Ni+Cu)/15, limited to 0.50% |
| Carbonation | Reaction of carbon dioxide from the air with concrete, which lowers its alkalinity and can lead to corrosion of reinforcement |
| Characteristic value | A value that a stated proportion of production (usually 95%) is expected to exceed; the basis of design strengths |
| Charpy impact test | Test in which a notched specimen is broken by a pendulum to measure toughness, used to grade structural steels (JR, J0, J2) |
| Chloride threshold | Chloride content at the steel surface above which the passive film breaks down and corrosion can start |
| Class A, B, C (ductility) | Eurocode 2 classes of reinforcement defined by minimum strength ratio and strain at maximum force; class C is the most ductile |
| Cold working | Strengthening steel by deforming it at room temperature (stretching, twisting, cold-rolling), which reduces ductility |
| Control chart | Chart of process results against control limits, used in statistical process control |
| Cover | The thickness of concrete between the surface of a bar and the nearest concrete surface |
| Curing | Keeping fresh concrete moist and protected so that cement hydrates fully, especially in the cover zone |
| Direct reduced iron (DRI), hot briquetted iron (HBI) | Iron produced by reducing iron ore in the solid state, used with scrap in electric arc furnaces to dilute residual elements |
| Ductility | The ability of steel to deform plastically before breaking |
| EAF | Electric arc furnace: a furnace that melts scrap and direct reduced iron using electric arcs |
| EN 10080 | European standard giving general technical delivery conditions for weldable reinforcing steel |
| EN 10204 | European standard defining types of inspection documents (2.2 test report, 3.1 and 3.2 inspection certificates) |
| EN 1992-1-1 (Eurocode 2) | European code for the design of concrete structures |
| EN 206 | European standard for the specification and production of concrete, including exposure classes and limiting values |
| Exposure class | Classification of the environment of a concrete element (for example XC carbonation, XS sea water) used to set cover and concrete quality |
| Fe215, Fe235, Fe400, Fe500 | Grades of NC 236: smooth bars (Fe215, Fe235) and ribbed high-bond bars (Fe400, Fe500); the number indicates the yield strength in MPa |
| FOB | Free on board: the value of goods loaded on the ship at the port of export |
| fR | Relative rib area: projected area of ribs per unit length divided by the bar’s circumference; Eurocode 2’s measure of bond geometry |
| Heat (cast) | One batch of steel melted and refined together, identified by a heat number |
| Homologation (of prices) | Official approval of producer prices by the Ministry of Commerce |
| ISO/IEC 17025, 17065 | International standards for the competence of testing laboratories (17025) and of product certification bodies (17065) |
| Ladle furnace (LF) | Secondary metallurgy unit in which a heat is refined, alloyed and brought to casting temperature |
| Lap | Overlap of two bars that transfers force from one to the other through the concrete |
| Link (stirrup) | Closed bar enclosing the main bars of a beam or column, resisting shear and confining the concrete |
| Mandrel (former) | Round tool round which a bar is bent; its diameter limits the strain in the bar |
| Mass per metre | Mass of one metre of bar; the reference measure of a bar’s cross-section |
| Microalloying | Adding very small amounts of vanadium, niobium or titanium to strengthen steel without extra carbon |
| Mill test report, inspection certificate | Document from the producer reporting chemical and mechanical results for the steel supplied |
| MINCOMMERCE, MINHDU, MINMIDT | Cameroonian ministries of Commerce; Housing and Urban Development; Mines, Industry and Technological Development |
| NC | Norme camerounaise: a Cameroonian national standard |
| NC 236 | The Cameroonian standard for steel for reinforced concrete (rebar), mandatory since 2022 |
| Overstrength | Actual yield strength well above the specified value; limited by some standards because it changes how structures fail |
| Partial factor | Safety factor applied to a material or a load in limit-state design; 1.15 for reinforcing steel in Eurocode 2 |
| Passivity | Protection of steel in alkaline concrete by a thin, stable oxide film |
| PECAE | Programme d’Évaluation de la Conformité Avant Embarquement: conformity assessment of imports before shipment |
| Proficiency testing | Comparison of a laboratory’s results with those of other laboratories on the same specimens |
| QST, Tempcore | Quenching and self-tempering: in-line water quenching of a hot bar that produces a hard tempered-martensite rim and a ductile core |
| Re (fy), Rm (ft) | Yield strength and tensile strength |
| Re-rolling | Reheating and rolling down scrap steel (rails, plates, old bars) without remelting it |
| Rm/Re (k) | Ratio of tensile to yield strength, a measure of strain hardening and of ductility in structures |
| Rolled-in mark | Pattern of ribs or symbols rolled into a bar to identify the producing mill, grade or country |
| Spacer | Block or chair that holds reinforcement at the specified cover during concreting |
| SPC | Statistical process control: monitoring of process results with control charts to detect drift |
| Spectrometer (OES) | Optical emission spectrometer: instrument that analyses steel chemistry from a spark on a sample |
| Strain ageing | Loss of ductility of steel after deformation, caused mainly by free nitrogen |
| Time of wetness | Time during which a metal surface is likely to be wet, counted in ISO 9223 as time with relative humidity above 80% and temperature above 0 °C |
| Welded mesh (fabric) | Grid of wires or bars welded at their intersections, used as reinforcement |
| Wire rod | Hot-rolled steel in coils, typically 5.5 to 12 mm in diameter, used for drawing into wire |
| Yield strength | Stress at which steel begins to deform permanently |
Source: Cameroon Steel, after the standards and sources cited in the paper.
Cite this chapter
Cameroon Steel (2026). Safer buildings need rebar that meets its declared grade. White paper 10, annex B: Glossary of terms and abbreviations. CS-WP-10. https://www.cameroon-steel.com/en/library/quality-steel/annex-glossary/
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