LECTURE NO.

19(Handout)
STEEL AND ALUMINUM

Objectives:
• To explain the engineering properties and usages of
steel and aluminum
 STEEL:
Introduction
• Steel is combination of iron, carbon (0.01-1%), manganese
( 1.6%), phosphorus, sulfur, and silicon (each  0.6%),
together with about 20 other alloys.

• The alloys are added to molten steel to produce steel of

different characteristics, such as hardness, tensile strength,
and toughness

• In civil engineering construction, steel is mainly used as

reinforcing bars in reinforced concrete structures and as
beams, column, and truss & frame members in steel
structures
 STEEL PRODUCTION
• Steel production includes following three phases:
– Production of pig iron
– Refining pig iron into steel
– Forming the steel into products
 STEEL PRODUCTION:
Production of pig iron
Raw materials include:
• The iron with impurities (i.e., iron ore):
– Mostly iron oxides (Hematite, Fe2O3, and magnetite)
– Iron carbonates, silicates, and sulfides
• Coal
• Limestone to remove impurities, such as silica and alumina
 STEEL PRODUCTION:
Production of pig iron-----contd.
Pig iron is produced using a blast furnace in the
following steps:
• The ore is crushed, soaked and the iron is
magnetically extruded from the waste. The
processed ore contains about 65% iron.
• It is heated in the presence of carbon in a blast
furnace. Oxygen in the ore reacts with carbon to
form gases.
• A flux (limestone) is used to help remove alumina
and silica impurities from the ore.
• The molten iron, with an excess of carbon in the
solution, collects at the bottom of the furnace (pig
iron). The excess carbon and slag must be
removed to produce high-quality steel.
• The impurities (slag) float on the top of the molten
pig iron
 STEEL PRODUCTION:
Refining pig iron into steel
• Following three types of furnaces are used for
refining pig iron into steel:
– Open Hearth Furnace has been used since the early 1900's
– Basic Oxygen Furnace is more efficient than open hearth,
can refine 300 tons of steel in 25 minutes
– Electric Arc Furnace uses an electric arc between carbon
electrodes to melt and refine steel. It requires high amount
of energy
• Primarily used to recycle scrap steel
• Alloying elements and agents are added
 STEEL PRODUCTION:
Forming the steel into products

 The molten steel from the furnace with

additives is either:
o Cast into ingots (i.e., large blocks of
steel) or
o Cast continuously into semi-finished
products of varying widths, lengths,
and thicknesses
 The semi-finished products come in three
types:
o Blooms (square or rectangular in
cross-section with area  36 in2 or 232
cm2)
o Plates and slabs (flat and wide)
o Billets (generally, square lengths of
steel 4-6 in or 10-15 cm in cross-
section)
 EFFECT OF CARBON CONTENT ON MECHANICAL
PROPERTIES OF STEEL
The effects of carbon on mechanical properties of steel are shown in the
following figure:

From the above figure,

following may be noted:
•Tensile strength and yield point
both increase with increase in
carbon content up to about 1%.
•Percent elongation decreases
with increase in carbon content
indicating that steel with high
carbon content is found to have
low ductility and vice-versa.
 HEAT TREATMENTS OF STEEL
The properties of steel may be improved by applying the following heat
treatments:
Annealing
 Annealing consists of heating steel to a defined temperature and then
cooling slowly
 It removes internal stresses, gases from steel
 It increases ductility of steel
 It changes electrical and magnetic properties of steel
Normalizing
 Normalizing consists of heating steel to a defined temperature
(higher than annealing temperature) then cooling by ambient
temperature
 It produces a uniform fine-grained microstructure to steel
 It is adopted to make plates with high toughness
 HEAT TREATMENTS OF STEEL----contd.
Hardening
 Hardening consists of heating the steel in a similar manner as in
case of normalizing and then cooled very rapidly, called
"quenching"
 It hardens the steel
 It locks the steel in permanent state of strain called residual strain
 However, cooling/contracting faster can cause immediate cracking
 MECHANICAL TESTING OF STEEL
• Steel should be tested as fabricated because fabrication affects mechanical properties significantly

• Following are the various tests conducted on the samples of steel:

– Tensile test
– Torsion test
– Charpy V-Notch impact test
– Bending test
– Hardness test
 MECHANICAL TESTING OF STEEL:
Tensile test
• Tensile test on steel samples is conducted basically to study the
normal stress-strain behavior of steel
• A typical stress-stress diagram is shown below:

Using the stress-strain curve, the

following important mechanical
properties of steel are determined:

 Yield point and yield strength

 Ultimate and fracture strengths
 Elongation and area reduction of
steel
 E and ν
MECHANICAL TESTING OF STEEL:
Tensile test---contd.
 MECHANICAL TESTING OF STEEL:
Torsion, Charpy, Bending, and Hardness Tests
• Torsion test to determine the shear modulus (G) of
structural materials used in design of members
subjected to torsion, e.g. rotating shafts, helical
compression springs

• Charpy V-Notch impact test to determine toughness

• Bending test to evaluate the ability of steel to resist

cracking during bending (ductility)

• Hardness test to evaluate the ability of steel to resist

localized plastic deformation (i.e. small dent or
scratch)
 USES OF STEEL

• There are two major applications of steel in civil

engineering construction:
– Reinforcing steel (steel bars of different diameters)
– Structural steel (steel sections of different shapes and
sizes used as columns, beams, bracings, frames, etc)
 USES OF STEEL
Reinforcing Steel
Forms:
Reinforcing steel is manufactured in three forms:
• Plain bars
• Deformed bars (mostly used in almost all types of reinforced
concrete construction)
• Plain and deformed wire fabric (used as nominal reinforcement
in slabs and pipes)
 USES OF STEEL
Reinforcing Steel----contd.
Grades:
Deformed or plain steel bars are produced in following four principal
grades:
 Grade 40 (300): σy = 40,000 psi (300 MPa)
 Grade 50 (350): σy = 50,000 psi (350 MPa)
 Grade 60 (400): σy = 60,000 psi (400 MPa)
 Grade 75 (500): σy = 75,000 psi (500 MPa)
 USES OF STEEL
Reinforcing Steel----contd.
 USES OF STEEL
Structural Steel
Sectional shapes:
Shapes of structural steel are designated by letters: W, HP, M, S,
C, MC, and L
• W is a doubly symmetric wide flange with parallel flanges
(most common as beams)
• HP is like the w shape but the flanges and webs have the
same thickness and the depth and width are the same (used
as bearing piles)
• S is a doubly symmetrical wide-flange with an inside flange
slope of 16.67% (used as beams or girders)
• M shape is doubly symmetrical shapes which do not fit in W,
HP, or S shapes
• C shape is channel with inside flange slope of 16.67%
• MC shape is a channel that cannot be classified as a C shape
• L are angle shapes with equal or unequal legs
 USES OF STEEL
Structural Steel-----contd.

Some common sections

of structural steel are
shown in the following
figure:
 USES OF STEEL
Structural Steel-----contd.

Thickness of flanges (tf)

and webs (tw) of some
commonly used sections
of structural steel with
their shape categories are
indicated in the following
figure :
 USES OF STEEL
Structural Steel-----contd.

Grades of structural steel:

• They are six grades produced in the US: A36, A529, A572, A242,
A588, and A514
• Carbon content ranges from 0.15% to 0.27%. All have a small
amount of copper and manganese alloys except A36, which only
has copper
• A36 has the lowest tensile strength (250 MPa). It is most
commonly used in steel buildings, bridges, and transmission
towers because it does not experience brittle fracture at low
temperatures
• Grades A242 and A588 are corrosion-resistant, high-strength,
low-alloy structural steels. No protection is needed.
• A242 and A588 can be used un-coated in most atmospheres and
when coated produce longer lives than any other grade. They
have initial cost but low maintenance
• High-strength steels result in lighter sections
 USES OF STEEL
Structural Steel-----contd.
 USES OF STEEL
Structural Steel-----contd.
 USES OF STEEL
Structural Steel-----contd.
 USES OF STEEL
Structural Steel-----contd.
 ALUMINUM
Introduction
• Most plentiful metal on Earth (8% of the Earth's crust),
although primarily found as oxides
• 2-3% of electricity consumed in the U.S. is used in
aluminum production.
• Recycled aluminum is used widely (25%)
• Pure aluminum is not suitable for structural
applications; alloying elements are almost always
added for producing structural aluminum
 ALUMINUM
Uses
• 25% used for containers
• 20% used for building applications (doors, windows,
siding)
• 10% used for electrical conductors
• Balance is used for industrial goods, consumer
products, aircraft and vehicles
 ALUMINUM
Advantages
• Light weight, has 1/3 density of steel

• Has a high strength to weight ratio

• Surface can be hardened by anodizing/hard coating

• Has good thermal and electrical conductivity

• Has alloys that are weldable

• Will not rust

• Has good formability: die cast, easily machined

• Is nonmagnetic, and nontoxic

 ALUMINUM
Production
• Uses what is called "Bayer" process, developed in 1880's
• Sodium-aluminate leaching process to produce alumina (Al2O3). The
electrolytic process (Hall and Heroult) is used to reduce alumina to pure
aluminum
• Production starts with the mining of aluminum ore, bauxite. Bauxite is
45-60% alumina
• Bauxite is crushed, and washed to remove minerals and then dried to
remove water
• Bauxite is mixed with soda ash and lime, passed through a digester,
pressure reducer, and settling tank to produce a concentrated solution
of sodium aluminate (few impurities)
• Solution is seeded with hydrated alumina crystals.
• These attract other alumina crystals and settle out of solution
• Crystals are washed to remove remaining impurities and then reduced
using the Hall-Heroult process. Molten aluminum (99% pure) is the
result
• Aluminum is placed in furnace to further remove impurities and to add
any alloy elements
• Aluminum is either shipped to a foundry for casting or casts into ingot
• Powder metallurgy can be used to produce high strength aluminum. A
powdered aluminum is packed in a mold and heated until it is fused.
 ALUMINUM
Metallurgy
• Aluminum has a FCC lattice structure that is very malleable.
Typical elongation is over 40%

• Pure aluminum (more than 99% aluminum) is typically used for

non-structural applications such as electrical conductors and
sheet metal

• Aluminum is typically very weak, although by adding alloys, it

can become up to 15 times stronger

• Alloys used for Aluminum - Copper, Manganese, Silicon,

Magnesium, and Zinc

• Cold working increases aluminum's strength

• Typical heat treatment for aluminum alloys include annealing,

hardening, aging, and stabilizing
 ALUMINUM
Alloy designation (grading) system
• Wrought aluminum alloys are used for products fabricated
by deforming to it's final shape. They are given a 4-digit
code
– The first digit is the alloy series
– The second digit indicates a modification to the basic alloy if
different from 0
– The third and fourth digits identify the specific alloy used

• Cast aluminum alloys are formulated to flow directly into

the mold. They are given a 3 digit code and 1 digit after a
decimal point
– The first digit is the alloy series
– The second and third digits identify special alloys
– The digit after the decimal point indicates if the alloy
composition is for the final casting
 ALUMINUM
Temper treatments
• Specification of an aluminum includes how it was
tempered

• Aluminum alloys for structural applications are classified

as either heat treatable or not

• Heat treatment does not influence the mechanical

properties

• The properties of these alloys are dependent on the

amount of cold working
 ALUMINUM
Testing and properties
• Tensile test is similar to that of steel
– Stress strain curve is linear up to the proportional limit and smooth
curve up to the ultimate strength
– No upper and lower yield point
– Elastic modulus (69 GPa or 10,000 ksi). Not affected by alloying or
temper treatments
– Yield strength (based on 0.2% offset)
• 28 - 255 MPa (Non-heat treatable)
• 55 - 538 MPa (Heat treatable)
• 69 - 276 MPa (Cast)
– Ultimate strength: 69 - 1799 MPa
– Percent elongation: 5% - 43% (1/16 inch)
– Fatigue endurance limit: 21-165 MPa

• Coefficient of thermal expansion is 0.0000023 / C (0.000013 / F),

twice as large as steel and concrete

• Strength values are considerably affected by temperature:

temperature above 150 C (300 F), tensile strengths are reduced
considerably. Depends on alloy.
 ALUMINUM
Fastening with bolts or rivets
 Bolts and rivets can join aluminum members
1. Bolts
To prevent galvanic corrosion, they must be
aluminum, aluminized steel, galvanized steel,
cadmium plated steel, or stainless steel
2. Rivets
Usually aluminum and cold-driven
 Both bolted and riveted joints are designed
based on the shear strength of the fasteners and
the strength of the members around the
fasteners