Session T02 1/22

PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL MATERIALS

• STRUCTURAL STEEL
• CONCRETE
• REINFORCING STEEL
• PRESTRESSING STEEL
• STONE AND MASONRY
• TIMBER
• COMPOSITES ‐ GFRP, CFRP
• GLASS
• ALUMINUM ...
José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

Session T02 2/22

PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL
Ultimate tensile
Yield strength [MPa]
Steel grade strength [MPa]
𝑡 16 𝑡 40 𝑡 63 𝑡 80 𝑡 100 𝑡 3
𝑡 16 𝑡 3
40 63 80 100 150 100
S235 𝟐𝟑𝟓 225 215 215 215 195 360 360
S275 𝟐𝟕𝟓 265 255 245 235 225 430 410
S355 𝟑𝟓𝟓 345 335 325 315 295 510 470
S420 𝟒𝟐𝟎 400 390 370 360 340 520 520
S460 𝟒𝟔𝟎 440 430 410 400 380 540 540

Nota : Values depending on thickness (t ) in [mm], according to the NP EN 10025‐2

(for grades S235, S275 and S355) and NP EN 10025‐3 (for grades S420 and S460).

Nota : Tubular profiles can be:

Hot rolled – Norma NP EN 10210
Cold‐formed – Norma NP EN 10219

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

 Session T02 3/22
PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL
Ultimate tensile
Yield strength [MPa]
Steel grade strength [MPa]
𝑡 16 𝑡 40 𝑡 63 𝑡 80 𝑡 100 𝑡 3
𝑡 16 𝑡 3
40 63 80 100 150 100
S235 𝟐𝟑𝟓 225 215 215 215 195 360 360
S275 𝟐𝟕𝟓 265 255 245 235 225 430 410
S355 𝟑𝟓𝟓 345 335 325 315 295 510 470
S420 𝟒𝟐𝟎 400 390 370 360 340 520 520
S460 𝟒𝟔𝟎 440 430 410 400 380 540 540
Nota : Values depending on thickness (t ) in [mm], according to the NP EN 10025‐2
(for grades S235, S275 and S355) and NP EN 10025‐3 (for grades S420 and S460).
γM,s =1,00

Density ρ 7700 a 7850 kg/m3

Modulus of elasticity 𝐸 210 GPa
Poisson coefficient 𝜈 0,3
Distortional modulus 𝐺 81 GPa
Linear thermal coefficient 𝛼 12 10 °C

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

Session T02 4/22

PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL

Properties of hot‐rolled and

cold‐formed profiles, plates and
tubes – prEN 1993‐1‐1:2019

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

 Session T02 5/22
PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL
MATERIAL TOUGHNESS – Carbon steels exhibit a
relatively ductile behaviour in tensile tests performed at
"normal" temperature, being also noted that ductility is
higher the lower the steel grade.

However, the same steel material may show a fragile

behaviour in conditions of low ambient temperature and
higher deformation speed (e.g. due to intense impact actions)
or in situations with a significant stress concentration (e.g.
welded connections, due to the effect of residual stresses
installed after welding).

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

Session T02 6/22

PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL

Charpy impact test

MATERIAL
according to NP EN 10045‐1
TOUGHNESS –
The tenacity of a steel
corresponds to its
ability to resist to
crack propagation.
Tenacity is generally
assessed through the
"Charpy impact test",
in which a standard
test prototype, with a
V notch in the mid‐
span section, is subject
to the impact of a
pendulum hammer.

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

 Session T02 7/22
PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL

MATERIAL TOUGHNESS –
The recorded value of the deformation
energy of the specimen, 𝐾𝑉, at a certain
temperature at which the test is carried
out, shall be taken as a measure of the Aço “J2”
tenacity of the steel.

= –20°C

In steels covered by NP EN 10025‐2, the tenacity quality is expressed by the designations "JR", "J0", "J2" and "K2", in
which the letters "J" and "K" indicate 𝐾𝑉 ≥ 27 J and 𝐾𝑉 ≥ 40 J, respectively, and "R", "0" and "2" refer to a
temperature of +20 °C (Room temperature), 0°C and – 20°C, respectively.

Ex: "J2" steel, must have a deformation energy of at least 27 J in the Charpy impact test carried out with a room
temperature of 𝑇 = –20 °C.
For fine‐grained steels (“N”, “NL”, standard NP EN 10025‐3), and the steels with thermomechanical rolling (“M”,
“ML”, standard NP EN 10025 4), due to its microscopy and manufacturing process, show greater ductility, tenacity and
weldability.

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

Session T02 8/22

PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL

Complete designation of
structural steels
according to the standard ‐
EN 10027‐1:2005

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

 Session T02 9/22
PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL
FATIGUE – Deterioration process characterized by the formation and propagation of cracks as a result of installed stress
ranges. In most cases, the problems in the performance of older steel structures are due to insufficient fatigue
resistance, as is the case with several bridge decks. There are also numerous reported cases of fatigue problems in
cranes, lift suspension cables, …

The experience of fatigue problems usually results from the combination of several factors, especially if the following
aspects occur:
• construction details or joints that promote the concentration of stresses,
• cycle loads of high magnitude during a long period of time that result in a high number of stress ranges with
significant amplitudes, i.e. ∆𝜎 = 𝜎max – 𝜎min.
∆𝜎

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

Session T02 10/22

PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL

“FATIGUE CURVES “ – The performance of the steel detail in terms of fatigue is usually characterized by resistance curves
called Wöhler curves (S‐N curves), which provide, for calculation purposes, the maximum amplitude of the stress ranges
(in the case of normal stresses, indicated by ∆𝜎R) which can be applied, depending on the number of cycles (𝑁), without
the event of fatigue damage in the steel detail.

These curves, usually represented in the form (log ∆𝜎R)‒(log 𝑁), result from test specimen tests in which the number of
cycles is recorded until the failure (𝑁) for constant‐amplitude stress ranges.

R R
Constant amplitude Variable amplitude

  C 1   C 1
m=3 m=3

  D   D 1
m=5 Cut of limit
  L

𝑁Ri 2x106 5x106 N 2x106 5x106 100x106 N

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

 Session T02 11/22
PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL

Fatigue Category details and fatigue resistance curves

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

Session T02 12/22

PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL

“FATIGUE CURVES“ – Although simplified fatigue safety verification can be done by assuming cyclic stresses of constant
amplitude. In fact, in a steel structure details will generally be subject to stress ranges with variable amplitude.

In this situation, the verification becomes more complex, and it is necessary to evaluate the number of times 𝑁Ei over
the design life of the structure that a certain stress range occurs ∆𝜎i , and using to the fatigue curve to know the
maximum number of times that this stress range would cause the structure collapse 𝑁Ri by fatigue. Using the Palmgren‐
Miner rule as the Damage Law, there will be an accumulated damage 𝐷 given by:

𝑁
R R 𝐷 1,0
Constant amplitude Variable amplitude 𝑁
  C 1   C 1 Damage Law ‐ Palmgren‐Miner rule
m=3 m=3
∆𝜎i
  D   D 1
m=5 Cut of limit
  L

𝑁Ri 2x106 5x106 N 2x106 5x106 100x106 N

𝑁Ei 𝑁Ri

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

 Session T02 13/22
CONCRETE PROPERTIES

Pier and Wall

Beams and slabs

ρ 2400 kg/m3 simple concrete

Density ‐ normal concrete ρ 2500 kg/m3 reinforced concrete (1 a 2% reinforcement)
Modulus of elasticity 𝐸 variable ("function of the concrete strength class")

Poisson coefficient 𝜈 0,2 (uncracked concrete) 𝜈 0 (cracked concrete)

Distortional modulus 𝐺 Variable [ 𝐺 = 𝐸 /2 (1+𝜈) ]

Linear thermal coefficient 𝛼 10 10 °C

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

Session T02 14/22

CONCRETE PROPERTIES

Pier and Wall

Beams and slabs

γM,c =1,50 Concrete class C20/25 C25/30 C30/37 C35/45 C40/50 C45/55 C50/60

𝑓 [MPa] 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
𝑓ck
𝑓cd 𝑓 [MPa] 28 33 38 43 48 53 58
𝛾M,c
Compressive strength 𝑓 [MPa] 2,2 2,6 2,9 3,2 3,5 3,8 4,1
𝐸 [GPa] 30 31 33 34 35 36 37
at 28 days
𝜀 (‰) 2,0 2,1 2,2 2,25 2,3 2,4 2,45
𝜀 (‰) 3,5 3,5 3,5 3,5 3,5 3,5 3,5

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

 Session T02 15/22
CONCRETE PROPERTIES

Pier and Wall

Beams and slabs

Concrete class C20/25 C25/30 C30/37 C35/45 C40/50 C45/55 C50/60

fcm
𝑓 [MPa] 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

0,4 fcm
Tensile strength 𝑓 [MPa] 28 33 38 43 48 53 58
Ec = tan( ) at 28 day 𝑓 [MPa] 2,2 2,6 2,9 3,2 3,5 3,8 4,1
𝐸 [GPa] 30 31 33 34 35 36 37
𝑓 ,
c1
max 1,6
cu1
ℎ ; 1,0 · 𝑓 𝜀 (‰) 2,0 2,1 2,2 2,25 2,3 2,4 2,45
fctm
(ℎ in [m]) 𝜀 (‰) 3,5 3,5 3,5 3,5 3,5 3,5 3,5

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

Session T02 16/22

CONCRETE PROPERTIES

Pier and Wall

Beams and slabs

Regarding the conditions of exposure to environmental actions, NP EN 206‐1 defines the following types of exposure classes:
• X0 class relating to the absence of risk of corrosion or attack,
• XC (1 a 4) classes for the risk of carbonation‐induced corrosion,
• XD (1 a 3) classes for the risk of chloride‐induced corrosion not from seawater,
• XS (1 a 3) classes for the risk of chloride‐induced corrosion of seawater,
• XF (1 a 4) classes related to ice/defrost attack,
• XA (1 a 3) classes related to chemical attack.

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

 Session T02 17/22
CONCRETE PROPERTIES
𝛽 𝑡  Hardening coefficient
𝑓 𝑡 𝛽 𝑡 ·𝑓
Age [days] 3 7 14 28 365 18250
if t 28 days 𝑓 𝑡 𝛽 𝑡 ·𝑓
42,5R , 52,5R ou 52,5N 0,66 0,82 0,92 1,00 1,16 1,21

Cement
/

Type of
if t 28 days 𝑓 𝑡 𝛽 𝑡 ·𝑓
32,5R ou 42,5N 0,60 0,78 0,90 1,00 1,20 1,27
,
𝐸 𝑡 𝛽 𝑡 ·𝐸 32,5N 0,46 0,68 0,85 1,00 1,32 1,44

Evolution of concrete properties during time

Shrinkage of concrete corresponds to the decrease in the
𝜎
dimensions of concrete parts, in the absence of 𝜀 𝑡, 𝑡 𝜑 𝑡, 𝑡 ·
𝐸
temperature variations and applied stresses, as a result 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

essentially of the migration of the water through the

𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
hardened concrete.

𝑆𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 ≫ 𝜀 𝑡 = -20 to -40 x 10-5 𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑡 ≫ 𝜑 𝑡, 𝑡 = 1.5 to 3.0

Creep and Shrinkage of the concrete during time

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

Session T02 18/22

PROPERTIES OF STEEL BARS FOR REINFORCED CONCRETE ELEMENTS

𝑓
𝑓
γM,sc
Es 200 GPa

γM,sc =1,15
a) bilinear model with hardening
aço laminado a quente s

Parameter Ductility class

𝑓 [MPa] fyd
A B C
1,15
𝑓 /𝑓 1,05 1,08 B400 ⇒ 400 MPa
1,35
𝜀 % 2,5 5,0 7,5 B500 ⇒ 500 MPa Es 200 GPa
Types of A400 NR A400 NR SD s Es s
A500 ER <= Portuguese designation
reinforcements A500 NR A500 NR SD
yd s
b) elastic‐perfectly plastic model
Mechanical properties of reinforcing steels

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

 Session T02 19/22
PROPERTIES OF PRESTRESSING STEELS

Strand with 7 wires

Anchorage ‐ cable with 12 strands Prestress strand bobine

𝜀 ,
Type Steel 𝑓 [MPa] 𝑓 , [MPa] 𝑓 [MPa] 𝐸 [GPa]
[%]
Y1860C 1860 1600 1391
Wires Y1770C 1770 1520 1322 205 3,5
Y1670C 1670 1440 1252
Mechanical properties of Y1860S 1860 1600 1391
Stands 195 3,5
prestressing steels Y1770S 1770 1520 1322
Y1100H 1100 900 783
Bars 205 4,0
Y1030H 1030 830 722

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

Session T02 20/22

PROPERTIES OF PRESTRESSING STEELS

Prestress bar

Prestress bar Coupler Anchoring ‐ prestress bar

𝜀 ,
Type Steel 𝑓 [MPa] 𝑓 , [MPa] 𝑓 [MPa] 𝐸 [GPa]
[%]
Y1860C 1860 1600 1391
Wires
Y1770C 1770 1520 1322 205 3,5
Y1670C 1670 1440 1252

Mechanical properties of Stands

Y1860S 1860 1600 1391
195 3,5
prestressing steels Y1770S 1770 1520 1322
Y1100H 1100 900 783
Bars 205 4,0
Y1030H 1030 830 722

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

 Session T02 21/22
PROPERTIES OF PRESTRESSING STEELS

Type 𝜙 [mm] 𝐴 [mm2] Steel 𝐹 [kN] 𝐹 , [kN]

8,0 38 70,7 60,8

12,5 93 173 149
Starnds 12,9 100 Y1860S7 186 160
(with 15,2 139 259 223
7 wires) 15,7 150 279 240
15,2 139 246 212
Y1770S7
15,7 150 266 229
26,5 552 678 596
32,0 804 Y1230H 989 869
36,0 1018 1252 1099
Mechanical properties of Bars 26,5 552 568 461
prestressing steels 32,0 804 828 672
Y1030H
36,0 1018 1048 850
40,0 1257 1294 1049

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021

Session T02 22/22

STEEL PROPERTIES ‐ EXAMPLE OF SPECIFICATION IN A REAL DESIGN

STEEL
Reinforcement Steel
Structural steel
(for secondary structures)
Prestressing steel
(0,6”N stands)
Prestressing steel bars

Structural steel
(profiles and plates)

José Oliveira Pedro Design of Structures 2020/2021