Steel

Muhammad Salman
Department of Civil Engineering
IIT Bombay
Why Steel is suitable for use in
Construction?
• High strength to weight ratio
• Higher stiffness
• Ductility
• Resilient
• Durable
• Provides consistent material quality
• Any desired shape
• Recyclable
Ores
• Magnetite (Fe3O4) — 70 to75%,
• Hematite (Fe2O3) — 70%,
• Limonite (2Fe3O3.3H2O) — 60%
• Iron pyrite (FeS3) — 47%
• Siderite (FeCO3) — 40%

Basic Principle:
Iron Ore + Limestone + Coke = Fe + CO2 (or CO)
Iron based products - Making
Iron Ore

Blast furnace

Pig Iron
Bessemer Converter
Open-hearth Furnace
Cupola Puddling furnace Basic Oxygen Furnace
Electric Arc Furnace

Cast Iron Wrought Iron Steel

Other components used in steel making
• Carbon
• Phosphorus
• Sulphur
• Silicon
• Manganese
• Copper
• Vanadium
Heat Treatment
According to cooling rate, we can
distinguish two main heat
treatment operations:

• Annealing – upon slow cooling

rate (in air or with a furnace).
Produces equilibrium structures
according to the Fe-Fe3C diagram

• Quenching – upon fast cooling

(in oil or in water). Gives non-
equilibrium structures.
Why heat treatment?
Heat treatment uses phase transformation during heating and cooling
to change a microstructure in a solid state.
• Soften the material for improved workability.
• Increase the strength or hardness of the material.
• Increase the toughness or resistance to fracture of the material.
• Stabilize mechanical or physical properties against changes that might
occur during exposure to service environments.
• Insure dimensional stability.
• Relieve undesirable residual stresses induced during part fabrication.
Annealing
The process consists of heating the steel
723 ᵒC
to a temperature below the critical range,
but high enough to obtain strain
recrystallization and then cooled.
• Introduces softness and ductility.
• Alters electrical, magnetic and other
physical properties.
• Produces a definite microstructure and
grain refinement.
• Removes gases.
Normalizing
• It consists in heating steel above
critical range and cooling rapidly
in air, but at rate slower than the
critical cooling rate. The purpose
of this heat treatment is to refine
the grain structure resulting from
rolling, forging or other
manufacturing processes.
Hardening
• This heat treatment consists of heating
the steel above the upper critical
temperature, holding at that temperature
until phase equilibrium has been
established, and then quenching rapidly to
produce a martensite structure.
• Martensite is the chief constituent of
hardened steel and is fibrous or needle
like structure.
• Hardened steel is very brittle and cannot
be used for practical purposes.
Tempering
• The heat energy allows carbon atoms
to diffuse out of the distorted lattice
structure associated with martensite,
and thus relieve some of the internal
stresses. As a result the hardness is
reduced and the ductility is increased
slightly.
• The higher the temperature of
tempering, the softer is the product.
The properties like toughness and
ductility are automatically introduced
with release of strain.
Effect of Heat Treatment
Material properties required for design
• Strength
• Toughness
• Ductility
• Weldability
• Durability
Steel Products
• Reinforcing Steel

• Structural Steel

• Prestressing Steel

• Steel Fibers
Reinforcing Steel
• Mild Steel (MS) Bars (IS 432- Part 1)

• High Yield Strength Deformed (HYSD) Bars (IS 1139, IS 1786)

• Thermo-Mechanically Treated (TMT) Bars

• Stainless steel (SS) Bars (IS 16651)

Billets to rebar Rolling to required diameter
in different milling steps

Billets Heating in reheating furnace

Hot Rolled rebar

 R.C. Pipes
R.C. Beams and Columns R.C. Water Tanks

R.C. Stairs Retaining Walls Dams

Basic concept of compressing and tension
Function of steel bars (Rebars)
• To resist longitudinal stress in beams.
• To support concrete in resisting shear stress.
• To provide torsional support.
• To resist stresses due to shrinkage and temperature effects.
• To take up compression in columns.
Types of rebars

Mild Steel HYSD Bars TMT Bars

Early 1900s 1965 1980

(Now mostly used as (widely used now)
distribution r/f)
 Processing

Mild Steel HYSD TMT

• Rolled directly from billets
obtained from furnace.
• YS = 250 MPa
• Can be cold twisted or hot
twisted.
• For building, CTD bars are used.
(TOR Steel)
• Stretching and twisting of mild
steel, beyond the yield plateau
and subsequently releasing the
load
• YS = 415 MPa (Fe 415 grade)
• = 500 MPa (Fe 500 grade)
• Hot bars coming out of last
rolling mill stand are rapidly
quenched through a series
of water jets.
• Then allowed to cool in
ambient conditions.
• Fe 500 vs Fe 500D
Processing of TMT rebars
 Attributes of Reinforcement
Attribute Mild Steel HYSD (CTD) TMT
Bond with concrete Low bond strength Bars have lugs, ribs, or Ribs on surface
deformations
Strength Low yield strength High Yield Strength, Yield point is High Yield Strength, Yield
not definite point is definite

Ductility Ductile Ductility reduced due to cold More ductile than CTD
working
Corrosion resistance Corrosion resistant Susceptible to corrosion Better than HYSD, not
MS
List of IS Codes – Reinforcement Steel
IS Code Description
IS:432 (I and II) Mild steel & medium tensile steel bars and hard drawn steel wires for concrete
reinforcement : Part-II -Hard drawn steel wire.
IS:1786 Specification for High strength deformed steel bars and wires for concrete
reinforcement.
IS:2502 Code of practice for bending & fixing of bars for concrete reinforcement.
IS:5525 Recommendation for detailing of reinforcement in reinforced concrete works
IS:907 Code of practice for corrosion protection of steel reinforcement in RB & RC
construction.
Fusion bonded epoxy coated rebars
Epoxy Coating
• The process is known as Fusion bonded epoxy coating or fusion-bond epoxy
powder coating.

• FBE coating, is an epoxy-based powder coating that is widely used to protect

steel.

• FBE coatings are thermoset polymer coatings.

• The name fusion-bond epoxy is due to resin cross-linking and the application
method, which is different from a conventional paint.

• They mainly help against corrosion!?.

Chemistry…..
• The resin and hardener components in the dry powder FBE stock remain
unreacted at normal storage conditions.
• At typical coating application temperatures, usually in the range of 180 to
250 °C, the contents of the powder melt and transform to a liquid form.
• The liquid FBE film wets and flows onto the steel surface on which it is
applied, and soon becomes a solid coating by chemical cross-linking,
assisted by heat. This process is known as “fusion bonding”. The chemical
cross-linking reaction taking place in this case is irreversible. Once the
curing takes place, the coating cannot be returned to its original form by
any means.
• Application of further heating will not “melt” the coating and thus it is
known as a “thermoset” coating.
Advantages
• Protection - Epoxy coated rebar is designed to protect the rebar
against corrosion. Applying an epoxy coating to steel rebar prevents
oxygen and chlorides from reaching the steel surface reducing
corrosion.

• Environmentally friendly materials - Unlike many paints, the fusion-

bonded epoxy coatings used for steel reinforcement do not contain
environmentally hazardous substances.
Concerns
• Special Handling
• UV damage
• Touch up
• Coating inconsistencies
• Abrasion resistance
• Poor bond to concrete
• Under film corrosion
• Installation conditions
• Increased corrosion
process
IS Codes – FB Epoxy coated Rebars

IS Code Description
IS 13620 Fusion bonded epoxy coated reinforcing bars-
specification
Tensile Test of Steel (IS 1786)

Universal Testing Machine

Rolling of steel
• Rolling is a metal forming process that
employs the use of a series of rollers to
alter the shape, improve the uniformity,
and/or enhance the mechanical properties
of materials.
• Rolled steel can be categorized into two
types
• hot rolled steel and
• cold rolled steel
Structural Steel
Hot rolled steel sections
• Hot rolled steel is steel that has undergone the rolling process at a
temperature above its recrystallization temperature.
• Compared to unprocessed steel, the processed material exhibits
greater formability and workability, making it easier to work with in
subsequent processing operations.
• Hot Rolling is usually used to produce the standard section.
• Usually sections with larger modulus of section compared to cross
sectional area are preferred.
 Structural steel

Steel plates, shapes, sheet piling, and bars for structural uses—such as the load-carrying members in buildings,
bridges, ships, and other structures are referred to as structural-quality steels.
Cold formed steel sections
• Cold-formed steel (CFS) section is made by rolling or
pressing thin gauges of steel sheets into goods.
• CFS goods are created by the working of thin steel
sheets using stamping, rolling or presses to deform the
steel sheets into a proper product which are usable.
• In the construction industry of steel, both the structural
as well as the nonstructural parts are formed using the
thin gauges of steel sheets.
• The building materials can be of columns, studs, beams,
floor decking, built up sections and other any parts of
the structure.
 Structural steel

Press Braking

Roll Forming
Cold Formed Steel- Applications

Floor Deck Corrugated Steel Roof

Z and C sections for Purlins Wall Panels 40

 Attributes Hot rolled Cold rolled
The material is not deformed; there is no
Yielding strength initial strain in the material, hence yielding The yield value is increased by 15%–30%
starts at actual yield value as the original due to prework (initial deformation).
material.
Modulus of elasticity 200 GPa 200 GPa
Unit weight Unit weight is comparatively huge. It is much smaller.
Ductility More ductile in nature. Less ductile.
Application in many variety of loading
Load bearing structures, usually heavy load
cases. This includes building frames,
bearing structures and where ductility is
Main uses automobile, aircraft, home appliances, etc.
more important ( Example Seismic prone
Use limited in cases where high ductility
areas)
requirements.
Standard shapes are followed. High value of Any desired shape can be moulded out of
Flexibility of shapes unit weight limits the flexibility of the sheets.The light weight enhances its
manufacturing wide variety of shapes. variety of usage.

High Unit weight increases the overall cost Low unit weight reduces the cost
Economy
– material, lifting, transporting, etc comparatively.
Advantages of Structural Steel
• High strength/weight ratio.
• Ductility
• Predictable material properties
• Speed of erection
• Quality of construction
• Ease of repair
• Adaptation of prefabrication
• Repetitive use
• Expanding existing structures
• Good fatigue strength
Structural Steel – needs attention
• Poor fire resistance
• Susceptibility to buckling
• Maintenance (Corrosion)
• Relatively expensive
List of IS Codes – Structural Steel
IS Code Description
IS: 800 Code of Practice for general construction in Steel
IS: 801 Code of practice for use of cold-formed light gauge steel structural members in general
building construction
IS: 806 Code of Practice for use of steel tubes in general building construction
IS: 808 Dimensions for Hot Rolled Steel Beam, Column, Channel and Angle Sections
IS:1161 Specification For Steel Tubes for Structural Purposes.
IS:1852 Rolling and Cutting Tolerances for Hot Rolled Steel Products
IS:2062 Steel For General Structural Purposes- Specification
IS:3502 Specification For Steel Chequered Plates
Prestressing Steel
Basic Concept
Forms of Prestressing Steel

Wires C/S of a Tendon

Strands

Cables Bars
Types of Prestressing Steel (IS 1343)
1. Plain cold drawn stress relieved wire conforming to IS:1785, Part 1-
Specification for Plain Hard Drawn Steel Wire for Prestressed Concrete, Part I Cold
Drawn Stress Relieved Wire.
2. Plain as-drawn wire conforming to IS:1785, Part 2, Specification for Plain
Hard Drawn Steel Wire for Prestressed Concrete, Part II As Drawn Wire.
3. Indented cold drawn wire conforming to IS:6003, Specification for Indented
Wire for Prestressed Concrete.
4. High tensile steel bar conforming to IS:2090, Specification for High Tensile Steel
Bars used in Prestressed Concrete.
5. Uncoated stress relieved strand conforming to IS:6006. Specification for
Uncoated Stress Relieved Strand for Prestressed Concrete.
Properties of Prestressing Steel
• High strength
• Adequate ductility
• Bendability
• High bond
• Low relaxation to reduce losses
• Minimum corrosion.
Steel Fibres
Where is it used?
Basic Function
Unlike rebar, which is specifically located in a single plane, steel fibers
are distributed uniformly throughout the concrete matrix. The primary
function of steel fibers is to modify micro and macro cracking. They
intercept the cracks at their origin and inhibit crack growth.
Advantages

• Improves Toughness, Resistance to impact.

• Allied benefits (tensile strength, ductility…)

• SFRC distributes localized stresses

Relevant Code

ASTM A820 - Standard Specification for Steel Fibers for Fiber-Reinforced Concrete
 References
• S. Duggal, Building Materials, New Delhi: New Age International (P) Ltd., Publishers, 2008.
• M. Mehta, W. Scarborough and D. Armpriest, Building Construction- Principles, Materials and Systems,
Pearson Education, Inc., 2013.
• ASM International, Practical Heat Treating, 2006.
• N. V. Chanh, "Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete," in The JSCE (Japan Society of Civil Engineers) -VIFCEA
(Viet Nam Federation of Civil Engineering Associations) Joint Seminar on Concrete Engineering, Ho Chi
Minh City , 2005.
• P. C. Basu, S. P. and R. A. D., "Characterisation of steel reinforcement for RC structures: An overview and
related issues," The Indian Concrete Journal, pp. 19-30, 2004.
• A. S. Kumar and S. Satishkumar, "NPTEL," [Online]. Available: http://nptel.ac.in/courses/IIT-
MADRAS/Design_Steel_Structures_I.
• Firth Steel Crete, Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete, [Online]. Available:
http://www.firth.co.nz/media/33168/steelcrete.pdf
• IS 800
• IS 1608
• IS 1499