Material Behavior of

Structural Steel
ENGR. HEBER JOHN DE VERA
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES:

1. Define structural steel and what its contents

are;
2. Describe the processes involved in modern
steel production;
3. Classify structural steel according to its
material content and cross-sectional shapes;
4. Describe the behavior of structural steel;
and
5. Enumerate and differentiate design
philosophies used in structural steel design.
Structural Steel
Steel is an alloy made of iron, carbon (content between 0.04% and 2.0%), and other metals
and/or nonmetals in trace amounts.
• Carbon content of up to 0.90% increase hardness, tensile strength, and responsiveness to
heat treatment of steel. Beyond that, carbon causes brittleness and loss of malleability of
steel.
Before structural steel, cast iron and wrought iron were first used in structures.
• Cast iron – ferrous metal with carbon content between 2% and 4%; primarily composed of
iron, carbon, and silicon, cast in a mold because of brittleness due to large amount of
carbon.
• Wrought Iron – highly refined iron with slag deliberately incorporated but not in chemical
union with iron.
Manufacturing of Structural Steel
• Pig Iron Production – solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of
low ash, low sulfur, bituminous coal.
• The basic materials for modern steel-making are iron ore, coke, and limestone.
• The general process of steel-making is as follows:
• Coke is burned as a fuel to heat the furnace, giving off carbon monoxide, which
combines the iron oxides in the ore, reducing them to metallic iron.
• The limestone in the furnace is used as an additional source of carbon monoxide and
as a “flux” to combine with the infusible silica present in the ore to form fusible calcium
silicate.
• Calcium silicate and other impurities form a slag that floats on top of the molten metal
at the bottom of the furnace.
Manufacturing of Structural Steel
• Finishing Processes
• Rolling – compressing and shaping an ingot into a useful shape by squeezing it
through a succession of rollers, each succeeding set squeezing the material smaller in
cross section and closer to final shape.
• Extrusion – Forcing a billet of hot, plastic steel through a die of the desired shape to
produce a continuous length of material.
• Drawing – pulling a steel through a small die to form a wire or a small rod of round,
square, oval, or other cross-section.
• Forging – deforming steel by pressure or blows into a desired shape.
Manufacturing of Structural Steel
• Heat Treatment
• Normalizing – heating the steel to a temperature of about 1500°F or higher and
cooling several hundred degrees slowly in air to increase uniformity of structure.
• Annealing – heating the metal slightly lower than for normalizing, holding it at that
temperature for the proper period of time, and then slowly cooling, usually in a
furnace; annealing is done to:
• refine the grain;
• soften the steel to meet definite specifications;
• Remove internal stresses caused by quenching, forging, and cold-working; and
• Change ductility, toughness, electrical, and magnetic properties.
• Quenching – rapidly cooling steel in oil, water, or brine, from a temperature of about
1500°F to increase hardness and strength but reduces ductility and toughness; residual
stresses are also introduced.
• Tempering – process of reheating a hardened steel to a temperature of about 300-
1200°F, holding it at that point for a time, and cooling it to reduce residual stresses and
also to increase ductility.
Classification of Structural Steel
Carbon Steel
• It has increased carbon content, which raises yield strength but reduces ductility.
• It is classified into four subtypes:
• Low carbon – has < 0.15% carbon content
• Mild carbon – has 0.15 – 0.29% carbon content
• Medium carbon – has 0.30 – 0.59% carbon content
• High carbon – has 0.60 – 1.70% carbon content.
• Example: ASTM A36
High Strength Low-Alloy Steel
• It has yield strength of around 40 – 70 ksi (275 – 480 MPa).
• It has increased strength obtained from fine microstructure during cooling.
• Example: ASTM A572 and A992
Classification of Structural Steel
Alloy Steel
• It has yield strength of 80 – 110 ksi (550 – 760 MPa).
• It has maximum carbon content of 0.20%.
• It is weldable, and it is a quenched & tempered low-alloy steel.
STRUCTURAL STEEL SHAPES
Structural steel sections used in construction
are classified as follows:
• Hot-Rolled Sections
• Manufacturing of hot-rolled sections
involves casting molten steel and then
rolling into desired shapes while
preventing it from cooling completely.
• Geometric properties of these sections
may be looked up at 2004 ASEP Steel
Handbook Volume 1 or AISC Steel
Construction Manual.
STRUCTURAL STEEL SHAPES
Structural steel sections used in construction are
classified as follows:
• Cold-Formed Sections
• Manufacturing of cold-formed structural
steel sections involves bending thin sheets
of steel into desired shape without heating.
• Advantages of cold-formed sections
include its versatility and increased yield
strength.
• Disadvantages of cold-formed sections
include its limited applications and
reduced ductility. In the Philippines, cold-
formed sections are only used for light
structures and for walls & roof purlins.
MATERIAL BEHAVIOR OF STRUCTURAL STEEL
Typical stress-strain relationships of most structural
steel types are generally observed to show the
following:
• Elastic Range – It is the region where stress-
strain relationship is shown to be linear.
• Plastic Range – It is the region where there
is additional deformation under constant
stress.
• Strain Hardening – It is the region where the
material regains its strength, shown by
much lower increase in stress.
MATERIAL BEHAVIOR OF STRUCTURAL STEEL
Most stress-strain curves are shown as engineering stress-strain curves, where it is assumed
that the cross-sectional are of the material under tension test is constant. However, tests
showed that the cross-section shrinks during the course of testing, thus having actual higher
stresses. This narrowing of cross section at failure is called necking. Stress-strain curves that
take account the decrease of cross-sectional area are called true stress-strain curves.
Mechanical Properties of Steel
• Modulus of Elasticity (E)
• It is slope of stress-strain diagram in the region wherein the stress is directly proportional
to strain.
• The typical assumed value of modulus of elasticity of steel is 200000 MPa (29000 ksi).
• Yield Point
• It is the point in the stress-strain curve wherein the steel ceases to behave as an elastic
material and undergoes an increase in strain without an increase in the loading.
MATERIAL BEHAVIOR OF STRUCTURAL STEEL
Mechanical Properties of Steel
• Offset Yield Strength (Fy)
• It is the value of the stress obtained by the intersection of the stress-strain diagram with
a straight line drawn from an arbitrary offset strain (0.1% or 0.2% strain) with slope equal
to the constant of proportionality.
• Proportional Limit
• It is the stress at the limit of linear proportionality. It is generally determined by the stress
corresponding to a permanent strain of 0.1%.
• Elastic Limit
• It is the stress beyond which the material will not return to its original shape.
• Yield point, proportional limit, and elastic limit are not actually the same. However,
since tests show that these three points are very close to each other, they are most
usually assumed to be the same.
MATERIAL BEHAVIOR OF STRUCTURAL STEEL
Mechanical Properties of Steel
• Ultimate Strength (Fu)
• It is the highest stress observed on a material during tension test.
• Rupture Strength
• It is the stress of the material at failure.
• Ductility
• It is the amount of permanent strain (strain exceeding proportional limit) up to the
point of fracture.
• It is obtained from the tension test by determining the percent elongation of the
specimen.
• Fatigue
• It is the process of gradual or progressive fracture of material under repeated stress.
• Impact
• It is the resistance of a material to failure due to brittleness under service conditions in
a structure.
MATERIAL BEHAVIOR OF STRUCTURAL STEEL
Mechanical Properties of Steel
• Toughness
• It is the measure of the ability of steel to resist fracture; measured by the area under
the stress-strain curve of the material.
• Creep
• It is the very slow flow of material at elevated temperatures under sustained stresses.
• Corrosion
• It is rusting or oxidation of steel by contact or chemical union with oxygen in a damp
atmosphere.
DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES IN STRUCTURAL DESIGN
The main concept behind structural design is that the capacity of a structural member to
resist the given loads should be enough to address demand due to these loads (i.e.
capacity ≥ demand). Structural design involves consideration of limit states of the
structure. Limit states are the conditions of a structure at which it ceases to fulfill its intended
function. Generally, there are three types of limit states. These are as follows:
• Strength Limit States
• These are limit states that depend on the capacity of the members.
• Examples: buckling, fatigue, fracture
• Serviceability Limit States
• These are limit states that affect the use or function of the structure.
• Examples: excessive deflections, vibrations
• Special Limit States
• These are other limit states that may be deemed necessary to consider. These are
usually added for consideration during the planning stage of the design process.
 DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES IN STRUCTURAL DESIGN
There are two design philosophies that can be used for the design of steel structures, as
proposed by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), adopted by 2015 NSCP Vol. 1.
Allowable Stress Design

• ASD is also called elastic design or working stress design.

• Rn – nominal capacity of a structural member, assuming ideal conditions.
• Ra – total demand on the structural member due to applied loads.
• Ω – safety factor used to consider the material understrength, workmanship and overloads.
• Rn/Ω – design capacity of the structural member.
 DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES IN STRUCTURAL DESIGN
There are two design philosophies that can be used for the design of steel structures, as
proposed by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), adopted by 2015 NSCP Vol. 1.
Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)

• LRFD is also called ultimate strength design or limit states design.

• Rn – nominal capacity of a structural member, assuming ideal conditions.
• Φ – strength reduction factor used to consider material understrength and workmanship.
• Ru – total demand on structural member due to each type of applied load.
• - load factors used to consider overloads and uncertainties on material weights; vary
depending on type of load considered.
• ΦRn – ultimate capacity design of the structural member.
• Φ x Ω = 1.50 (esp. for gravity load combinations with live load equal to 3 times the dead
load).
 DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES IN STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Depending on the design philosophy used, appropriate load combinations must be used in
determining the critical magnitude of the load to be used for the design. These load
combinations can be seen on Section 203.3 of 2015 NSCP Vol. 1. For ASD, service load
combinations are used. These are listed in Section 203.3.4 of 2015 NSCP Vol. 1. For
LRFD, factored load combinations are used. These are listed in Section 203.3.2 of 2015 NSCP
Vol. 1.
Engr. Heber John de Vera
[email protected]

Contact hours: 1:00PM –

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