Structural Steel - S235, S275, S355 Chemical Composition, Mechanical Properties and Common App...

Structural Steel - S235, S275, S355 Chemical Composition, Mechanical Properties and Common Applications
By N i ck G i l bert

Topics Covered
Int roducti on Chem i calC om posi t i on of St ruct uralSteel s - S235, S275 and S355 M echani calPropert i es of St ructuralSt eel- S235, S275 and S355 Typi calSt ruct uralSt eel Sect i ons/ C ross-sect i onalShapes Appl i cat i ons of St ructuralSt eel

Introduction
St ruct uralst eeli s a st andard const ruct i on m at eri al , m ade f rom speci f i c grades of st eeland f orm ed i n a range of i ndust ry st andard cross-secti onal shapes (or Sect i ons ). St ruct uralst eel grades are desi gned w i t h speci f i c chem i calcom posi ti ons and m echani calproperti es f orm ul at ed f or part i cul ar appl i cat i ons. In Europe, Struct uralSt eelm ust com pl y wi t ht he European St andard EN 10025 a G overned by t he EC ISS (European C om m i t tee f or Iron and St eelSt andardi zat i on) a subset of C EN (European Com m i t t ee f or St andardi zati on. There are m any exam pl es of European grades of st ruct uralst eelsuch as; S195, S235, S275, S355, S420, S460 et c. H ow ever, f or t he purposes of t hi s art i cl e we wi l lf ocus on t he C hem i cal Com posi t i on, M echani calProperti es and Appl i cati ons of S235, S275, S355. Three com m on structuralst eelgrades used i n al lm anner of C onst ruct i on proj ects across t he EU . Inl i ne w i t ht he European St andard cl assi f i cati ons, St ruct uralst eel s m ust be ref erenced usi ng standard sym bol si ncl udi ng but not l i mi t ed t o: "S"235"J2 K 2 C Z W JR JO W here: S denotes t he f act t hat i ti s St ruct uralSteel 235 rel at ed to the m i ni m um yi el d st rength of t he steel(t est ed at a t hi ckness of 16m m ) J2 / K2 / JR / JO m at eri altoughness i n rel at i on t o the C harpy i m pact or V not ch t est m et hodol ogy W W eat heri ng St eel(At m ospheri c Corrosi on R esi st ant ) Z St ruct uralst eelw i t hi m proved strengt h perpendi cul ar t ot he surf ace C C ol d-f orm ed D ependi ng on t he m anuf act uri ng process, chem i calcom posi t i on and rel evant appl i cati on, f urt her l et t ers and cl assi f i cat i ons m i ght be used t o ref erence part i cul ar grades/product s of st ruct ural steel . The EU Standard cl assi f i cat i ons are i nherent l y not a gl obal standard and t heref ore a num ber of correspondi ng grades w i t h the sam e C hem i caland M echani calpropert i es m ay be used i n other part s of t he w orl d. For exam pl e, Struct ural St eel sf abri cat ed f or t he U S m arket m ust be speci f i ed i n accordance w i th t he ASTM (Am eri can Soci et yf or Test i ng and M at eri al s) Int ernat i onal gui del i nes and w i l lbe ref erenced w i t h an Aand t hen the rel evant G rade such as A36, A53 et c.

US Equivalent Grades
EU US

S235

A283C

S275

A570G r40

S355

A572G r50

In m ost count ri es Struct ural St eeli s regul at ed and m ust m eet a m i ni m um speci f i c cri teri on f or Shape, Si ze, C hem i calC om posi ti on, strengt h et c.

Chemical Composition of Structural Steels - S235, S275 and S355

The C hem i calcom posi t i on of Struct ural St eeli s extrem el yi m portant and hi ghl y regul at ed. It i sa f undam ent alf act or w hi ch def i nes the M echani calpropert i es of t he steel m at eri al . In t he f ol l ow i ng

Structural Steel - S235, S275, S355 Chemical Composition, Mechanical Properties and Common App...

t abl e you can see the M ax % l evel s of cert ai n regul ated el em ent s present i n European Struct ural steel grades S235, S275 and S355. Grade S235 S275 S355 C% Mn% P% S% Si%

0. 22 m ax

1. 60 m ax

0. 05 m ax

0. 05 m ax

0. 05 m ax

0. 25 m ax

1. 60 m ax

0. 04 m ax

0. 05 m ax

0. 05 m ax

0. 23 m ax

1. 60 m ax

0. 05 m ax

0. 05 m ax

0. 05 m ax

The chem i calcom posi t i on of Struct ural St eeli si ncredi bl yi m port ant to the engi neer and w i l l change w i t h speci f i c G rades dependi ng on t hei ri nt ended use. For Exam pl e; S355K2W i sa St ruct uralSteelthat has been hardened (K 2) and has been desi gned w i t h a chem i cal com posi t i on to w i t hst and i ncreased w eat heri ng (W ). Theref ore, t hi s grade of Struct uralSt eelw i l l have a sl i ghtl y di f f erent chem i calcom posi ti on t ot he standard S355 grade.

Mechanical Properties of Structural Steel - S235, S275, S355

The M echani calPropert i es of St ruct uralSt eel are f undam ent alt oi t s cl assi f i cati on and hence, appl i cat i on. Even t hough C hem i calC om posi ti on i s a dom i nant Factor of t he M echani calProperti es of st eel ,i ti s al so very i m port ant t o underst and t he m i ni m um st andards f or t he M echani cal Propert i es (Perf orm ance characteri st i cs) such as; Yi el d St rength and Tensi l e Strengt h.

Yield Strength
The yi el d st rength of struct uralst eel m easures t he m i ni m um f orce requi red t o creat ea perm anent def orm at i on i n the st eel . The nam i ng convent i on used i n European St andard EN 10025 ref ers t ot he M i ni m um Yi el d st rengt h of t he st eelgrade t ested at 16m m t hi ck. Structural Steel Grade at 16mm Minimum Yield Strength at nominal thickness 16mm ksi S235 S275 S355 N/mm (MPa)
2 2

33 000 ksi

235 N /m m

36 000 ksi

275 N /m m

50 000 ksi

355 N /m m

Tensile Strength
The Tensi l e St rengt h of St ructuralst eelrel ates t ot he poi nt at w hi ch perm anent def orm at i on occurs w hen t he m at eri ali s pul l ed or stret ched l ateral l y al ong i ts l engt h. Structural Steel Grade Tensile Strength MPa at Nom thickness between 3mm and 16mm

S235 S275 S355

360 510 M Pa

370 530 M Pa

470 630 M Pa

Typical Structural Steel Sections / Cross-Sectional Shapes

St ruct uralSteelcom es i n m any G rades but i s norm al l y sol d pre-f orm ed w i t h a def i ned crosssect i onalshape, desi gned f or speci f i c appl i cat i ons. For exam pl e, i ti s com m on t of i nd Structural St eelsol di n: I-Beam s, Z-beam s, Box Li nt el s, H SS (H ol l ow St ruct uralSect i on), L shaped, St eel Pl at e et c. D ependi ng on t he desi red appl i cat i on, an engi neer w i l lspeci f y a grade of steel (O f ten t o m eet mi ni m um st rengt h, m ax w ei ght and or w eat heri ng requi rem ent s) and t he secti onalshape, rel at i ve t ot he desi red l ocati on and expected l oad to be carri ed or j ob to be perf orm ed.

Structural Steel - S235, S275, S355 Chemical Composition, Mechanical Properties and Common App...

Applications of Structural Steel

St ruct uralst eel s are used i n m any w ays and thei r appl i cat i on can be di verse. They are part i cul arl y usef ul because t hey of f er t he uni que com bi nat i on of good w el di ng propert i es w i t h guarant eed st rengt hs. St ructuralSt eeli s an ext rem el y adapt abl e product and i s of t en f avoured by t he engi neer tryi ng t o m axi mi se st rengt h or s st ructure w hi l emi ni mi si ng i t s w ei ght. It w i l lcom e as no surpri se t hat the const ructi on i ndust ry i st he bi ggest consum er of St ruct ural St eel , w here i ti s used f or al l m anner of purposes and em pl oyed at di verse scal es. W hether a sm al lbox l i nt eli s used t o carry t he l oad of a struct uralw al li n a resi dent i alproperty or a vast Ibeam i s bol t ed i n pl ace t o hol dt he road surf ace on a bri dge, st ruct uralst eelcan be speci f i ed, desi gned and f abri cat ed f or t he j ob. Hi gh R i se Bui l di ngs / Skyscrapers H ouses Fact ori es Of f i ces Shoppi ng M al l s Trai n Tracks R oad barri ers Bri dges

References
S275 - Leeco Steel S235 - M ast eel Struct ural St eel s - St eel St ri p Tat a St eelEurope D at e Added: M ay 11, 2012 | U pdated: Jun 11, 2013