Steel Structures

Don’t do it at home!
Load Path
Structural Members
A very short history

wrought iron (approx. 4000 B.C.): produced by

heating ore in a charcoal fire
cast iron (late 18th century): used in bridges
steel, an alloy of iron and carbon (less carbon
than cast iron) (19th century)
Structural Steel

Definition
Steel is an alloy (composed of two or more metals).

main component is iron

smaller component is carbon (contributes to
strength but reduces ductility)
other components include copper, manganese,
nickel, chromium, molybdenum, silicon
Structural Steel
according to composition

Plain carbon steels: mostly iron and < 1%

carbon
Low-alloy steels: iron and carbon + < 5%
other components
High-alloy or specialty steels: same composition
with low-alloy steels but with higher %-age of
the components added to iron and carbon, with
specialty quality, e.g. resistance to corrosion
Tensile Properties
different grades using ASTM designation

ASTM A36 or A36 (mild steel) - one of the most

commonly used structural steels
yield stress, Fy = 250 MPa (36 ksi)
tensile strength, Fu = 400 to 552 MPa (58 to
80 ksi)
f −  Diagram

P ∆L
f = and =
A L
where
f = axial tensile stress
A = cross-sectional area
 = axial strain
L = length of specimen
∆L = change in length
f −  Diagram
typical diagram for ductile, or mild steel
engineering stress: original x-area is used
engineering strain: original length is used
Ductility

ability to undergo large deformations before

fracturing and measured by the elongation

Lf − L0
e= × 100 (1)
L0
where
e = elongation (expressed as a percent)
Lf = length of the specimen at fracture
L0 = original length
Idealized f −  Diagram
proportional limit, elastic limit, upper and lower
yield points is yield point, Fy
maximum stress is ultimate tensile strength, Fu
Hooke’s Law

stress = E × strain (2)

σ = E (3)

Definition
Young’s Modulus, E is the ratio of stress to strain
within the elastic range
E = 200,000 MPa (29,000 ksi)
0.2% offset method
High-strength steels

less ductile (than mild steel) and no well-defined

yield point or yield plateau
Yield stress

Yield point - mild steel

Yield strength - high-strength steel
Fu and Fy are the two properties usually
needed in structural steel design
a generic term yield stress is used to mean
either yield point or yield strength
Hot-rolled Shapes
Other Shapes
Built-up Sections
Cold Formed Sections
Most Common Steel
Assignment

What are the advantages and disadvantages of

Reinforced Concrete and Structural Steel?
Compare concrete structure and steel structure
in terms of durability, earthquake resistance,
load carrying capacity, scrap value, self-weight,
foundation, construction time, labor, cost,
joints, etc.
Solve Problems 1.5-1 to 1.5-7 of the book
“Steel Design” by William Segui (2013)
Universal Beams and Columns
Universal Beams and Columns
Universal Beams and Columns
Universal Beams and Columns