Reinforced concrete is internally fortified with what?

• A. Reinforcement bars (rebar) or wire mesh
• B. Steel studs and nails
• C. Wood fibers and plaster
• D. Glass fiber and foam

Answer: (A)

Concrete handles compression well but resists tension poorly. To carry tensile forces and control cracking, steel reinforcement is embedded inside the concrete. This reinforcement—typically steel bars (rebar) or welded wire mesh—is placed during pouring so it picks up the tensile stresses that develop in the member, while the concrete handles the compression. This combination gives reinforced concrete greater strength and ductility, especially in bending and shear. The reinforcement is placed in the parts of the member that will experience tension, such as the bottom of a beam under load. Other materials listed don’t provide the internal tensile reinforcement that concrete needs, so they don’t fulfill the same role.