1: PROPERTIES OF STEEL

Steel is widely used as a building material. This is because of a number of factors including its mechanical
properties, availability in a variety of useful and practical shapes, economy, design simplicity, and ease and speed
of construction.

Steel can be produced with a variety of properties to suit different requirements. The principal requirements are
strength, ductility, weldability, and corrosion resistance. Until recently, mild steel was the most common material
for hot-rolled shapes but has now been superseded by higher strength steels for a number of shapes. ASTM A242
and A588 are corrosion resistant low-alloy steels. These are known as weathering steels, and they form a tightly
adhering patina on exposure to the weather. The patina consists of an oxide film that forms a protective barrier
on the surface, thus preventing further corrosion. Hence, painting the steelwork is not required, resulting in a
reduction in maintenance costs.

The characteristics of steel that are of the most interest to structural engineers can be examined by plotting the
results of a tensile test. If a test specimen is subjected to an axial load P, as shown in Figure 1a, the stress and
strain can be computed as follows:

𝑷 𝜟𝑳
𝒇= 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝜺 =
𝑨 𝑳

where:

𝑓 = 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠

𝐴 = 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝜀 = 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛
𝐿 = 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛
Δ𝐿 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
 FIGURE 1

If the load is increased in increments from zero to the point of fracture, and stress and strain are computed at
each step, a stress–strain curve such as the one shown in Figure 1.3b can be plotted. This curve is typical of a
class of steel known as ductile, or mild, steel. The relationship between stress and strain is linear up to the
proportional limit; the material is said to follow Hooke’s law. A peak value, the upper yield point, is quickly
reached after that, followed by a leveling off at the lower yield point. The stress then remains constant, even
though the strain continues to increase. At this stage of loading, the test specimen continues to elongate as long
as the load is not removed, even though the load cannot be increased. This constant stress region is called the
yield plateau, or plastic range. At a strain of approximately 12 times the strain at yield, strain hardening begins,
and additional load (and stress) is required to cause additional elongation (and strain). A maximum value of stress
is reached, after which the specimen begins to “neck down” as the stress decreases with increasing strain, and
fracture occurs. Although the cross section is reduced during loading (the Poisson effect), the original cross-
sectional area is used to compute all stresses. Stress computed in this way is known as engineering stress. If the
original length is used to compute the strain, it is called engineering strain.

Steel exhibiting the behavior shown in the figure is called ductile because of its ability to undergo large
deformations before fracturing. Ductility can be measured by the elongation, defined as

𝐿𝑓 − 𝐿𝑜
𝑒= × 100
𝐿𝑜
where:
𝑒 = 𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡)
𝐿𝑓 = 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒
𝐿0 = 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ

The elastic limit of the material is a stress that lies between the proportional limit and the upper yield point. Up
to this stress, the specimen can be unloaded without permanent deformation; the unloading will be along the
linear portion of the diagram, the same path followed during loading. This part of the stress–strain diagram is
called the elastic range. Beyond the elastic limit, unloading will be along a straight line parallel to the initial linear
part of the loading path, and there will be a permanent strain. For example, if the load is removed at point A in
Figure 1b, the unloading will be along line 𝐴𝐵, resulting in the permanent strain 𝑂𝐵.
Figure 2 shows an idealized version of this stress–strain curve. The proportional limit, elastic limit, and the upper
and lower yield points are all very close to one another and are treated as a single point called the yield point,
defined by the stress 𝐹𝑦 . The other point of interest to the structural engineer is the maximum value of stress
that can be attained, called the ultimate tensile strength, Fu. The shape of this curve is typical of mild structural
steels, which are different from one another primarily in the values of 𝐹𝑦 and 𝐹𝑢 . The ratio of stress to strain
within the elastic range, denoted E and called Young’s modulus, or modulus of elasticity, is the same for all
structural steels and has a value of 29,000,000 psi (pounds per square inch) or 29,000 ksi (kips per square inch).

FIGURE 2

FIGURE 3
 FIGURE 4

Figure 3 shows a typical stress–strain curve for high-strength steels, which are less ductile than the mild steels
discussed thus far. Although there is a linear elastic portion and a distinct tensile strength, there is no well-
defined yield point or yield plateau. To use these higher-strength steels in a manner consistent with the use of
ductile steels, some value of stress must be chosen as a value for 𝐹𝑦 so that the same procedures and formulas
can be used with all structural steels. Although there is no yield point, one needs to be defined. As previously
shown, when a steel is stressed beyond its elastic limit and then unloaded, the path followed to zero stress will
not be the original path from zero stress; it will be along a line having the slope of the linear portion of the path
followed during loading—that is, a slope equal to E, the modulus of elasticity. Thus there will be a residual strain,
or permanent set, after unloading. The yield stress for steel with a stress–strain curve of the type shown in Figure
2 is called the yield strength and is defined as the stress at the point of unloading that corresponds to a
permanent strain of some arbitrarily defined amount. A strain of 0.002 is usually selected, and this method of
determining the yield strength is called the 0.2% offset method. As previously mentioned, the two properties
usually needed in structural steel design are 𝐹𝑢 and 𝐹𝑦 , regardless of the shape of the stress–strain curve and
regardless of how 𝐹𝑦 was obtained. For this reason, the generic term yield stress is used, and it can mean either
yield point or yield strength.

The term structural steel refers to a number of steels that, because of their economy and desirable mechanical
properties, are suitable for load-carrying members in structures. The customary way to specify a structural steel
is to use an ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) designation. For ferrous materials, the
designation has the letter “A” followed by two of three numerical digits (ex. ASTM A36, ASTM A514)

There are three groups of hot-rolled structural steels for use in buildings:

1. Carbon steels use carbon as the chief strengthening element with minimum yield stresses ranging from
220 MPa to 290 MPa. An increase in carbon content raises the yield stress but reduces ductility, making
welding more difficult.
2. High Strength Low-alloy steels (HSLA) have yield stresses ranging from 480 MPa to 840 MPa. In addition
to carbon and manganese, these steels contain one or more alloying elements such as columbium,
vanadium, chromium, silicon, copper and nickel.
3. Quenched and tempered alloy steels have yield stresses of 480 MPa to 690 MPa. These steels of higher
strength are obtained by heat-treating low-alloy steels. The heat treatment consists of quenching (rapid
cooling) and tempering (reheating).
TABLE 1

Different grades of structural steel are identified by the designation assigned to them by the American Society for
Testing and Materials (ASTM). This organization develops standards for defining materials in terms of their
composition, properties, and performance, and it prescribes specific tests for measuring these attributes (ASTM,
2016a). One of the most commonly used structural steels is a mild steel designated as ASTM A36, or A36 for
short. It has a stress–strain curve of the type shown in Figures 1b and 2 and has the following tensile properties:

A36 steel is classified as a plain carbon steel, and it has the following components (other than iron).

Steel producers who provide A36 steel must certify that it meets the ASTM standard. The values for yield stress
and tensile strength shown are minimum requirements; they may be exceeded and usually are to a certain
extent. The tensile strength is given as a range of values because for A36 steel, this property cannot be achieved
to the same degree of precision as the yield stress.

Other commonly used structural steels are ASTM A572 Grade 50 and ASTM A992. These two steels are very
similar in both tensile properties and chemical composition, with a maximum carbon content of 0.23%. A
comparison of the tensile properties of A36, A572 Grade 50, and A992 is given in Table 1.

PROPERTIES OF STEEL

Yield stress, 𝐹𝑦 , is that unit tensile stress at which the stress-strain curve exhibits a well-defined increase in strain
(deformation) without an increase in stress.

Tensile strength, 𝐹𝑢 , is the largest unit stress that the material achieves in a tension test.

Modulus of elasticity, E, is the slope of the initial straight-line portion of the stress-strain diagram. It is usually
taken as 200,000 MPa for design calculation for all structural steel.

Ductility is the ability of the material to undergo large inelastic deformations without fracture.

Toughness is the ability of the material to absorb energy and is characterized by the area under a stress-strain
curve.

Weldability is the ability of steel to be welded without changing its basic mechanical properties.
Poisson’s ratio is the ratio of the transverse strain to longitudinal strain. Poisson’s ratio is essentially the same for
all structural steels and has a value of 0 in the elastic range.

Shear modulus is the ratio of the shearing stress to shearing strain during the initial elastic behavior.

TABLE 2. AVAILABLE STEEL GRADES

TYPES OF STEEL STRUCTURES:

Bearing Wall Construction – primarily used for one or two-story buildings. This system normally uses brick or
concrete block masonry walls, on which are placed at the ends of the flexural members supporting the floor or
roof. The flexural members are usually hot-rolled structural steel shapes, alone or in combination with open web
steel joists or cold-formed steel shapes.

Bearing Wall Building

Beam-and-Column (Frame) Construction – is the most commonly used system for steel structures. It is suitable
for large-area buildings which often have no more than two stories but may have a large number of spans. It is
also suitable for buildings with many stories. Columns are placed according to a regular, repetitious grid that
supports the beams, girders, and joists, which are used for the floor and roof systems. For multi-story buildings,
the use of composite steel and concrete flexural members affords additional savings.

Frame Building (left) and Braced Frame Building (right)

Long-span Construction – this type of construction encompasses steel-framed structures with long spans
between vertical load-carrying elements. The long distances may be spanned by one-way trusses, two-way space
trusses, or plate and box girders. Arches or cables could also be used

Long-span structure (left) and Steel truss bridge (right)

High-rise Construction – refers to multi-story buildings of significant height. The large heights and unique
problems encountered in the design of such structures warrant treating them independently from typical beam-
and-column construction. Framing systems for high-rise buildings reflect the increased importance of lateral load
resistance.

High-rise Building Gable-Frame Metal Building

Gable-Frame Construction – The gable frames are typically built-up, web tapered members that can be optimized
for the forces present. Members are connected in the field using bolted end plate connections.
BASIC STRUCTURAL STEEL ELEMENTS: