Page 3 - Structural Steel Designers Handbook AISC, AASHTO, AISI, ASTM, and ASCE-07 Design Standards

Brockenbrough_Ch01.qxd 9/29/05 4:59 PM Page 1.1

Source: STRUCTURAL STEEL DESIGNER'S HANDBOOK

CHAPTER 1

PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL
STEELS AND EFFECTS OF

STEELMAKING AND FABRICATION

Roger L. Brockenbrough, P.E.
President
R. L. Brockenbrough & Associates, Inc.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

This chapter presents and discusses the properties of structural steels that are of importance in design
and construction. Designers should be familiar with these properties so that they can select the most eco-
nomical combination of suitable steels for each application and use the materials efficiently and safely.
In accordance with contemporary practice, the steels described in this chapter are given the names of
the corresponding specifications of ASTM, 100 Barr Harbor Dr., West Conshohocken, PA 19428. For
example, all steels covered by ASTM A588, “Specification for High-Strength Low-Alloy Structural
Steel,” are called A588 steel. Most of them can also be furnished to a metric designation such as A588M.

1.1 STRUCTURAL STEEL SHAPES AND PLATES

Steels for structural uses may be classified by chemical composition, tensile properties, and method of
manufacture as carbon steels, high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels, heat-treated carbon steels, and heat-
treated constructional alloy steels. A typical stress-strain curve for a steel in each classification is shown
in Fig. 1.1 to illustrate the increasing strength levels provided by the four classifications of steel. The avail-
ability of this wide range of specified minimum strengths, as well as other material properties, enables the
designer to select an economical material that will perform the required function for each application.
Some of the most widely used steels in each classification are listed in Table 1.1 with their spec-
ified strengths in shapes and plates. These steels are weldable, but the welding materials and proce-
dures for each steel must be in accordance with approved methods. Welding information for each of
the steels is available in publications of the American Welding Society.

1.1.1 Carbon Steels
A steel may be classified as a carbon steel if (1) the maximum content specified for alloying ele-
ments does not exceed the following: manganese—1.65%, silicon—0.60%, copper—0.60%; (2) the
specified minimum for copper does not exceed 0.40%; and (3) no minimum content is specified for
other elements added to obtain a desired alloying effect.

1.1
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