Pitch in a spiral reinforcing is a measure of:

• A. Bar diameter
• B. Total length of reinforcing
• C. Spacing between turns
• D. Depth of embedment

Answer: (C)

Pitch in a spiral reinforcement is the axial spacing between successive turns of the spiral. It tells you how far apart each wrap is along the length of the member, not the thickness of the bar, the total amount of reinforcing, or how deeply the bar is embedded. A tighter spiral (smaller pitch) increases confinement and improves shear resistance, while a looser spiral (larger pitch) does the opposite. So the pitch is specifically the distance from one turn to the next along the length.