Structural Steel

Structural Steel

Structural steel is a category of steel used for making construction materials in a variety of shapes. Many structural steel shapes take the form of an elongated beam having a profile of a specific cross section. Structural steel shapes, sizes, chemical composition, mechanical properties such as strengths, storage practices, etc., are regulated by standards in most industrialized countries.

Most structural steel shapes, such as I-beams, have high second moments of area, which means they are very stiff in respect to their cross-sectional area and thus can support a high load without excessive sagging.



Standard structural steels

Steels used for building construction use standard alloys identified and specified by ASTM International. These steels have an alloy identification beginning with A and then two, three, or four numbers. The four-number AISI steel grades commonly used for mechanical engineering, machines, and vehicles are a completely different specification series.

The standard commonly used structural steels are:



Carbon steels

  • A36 - structural shapes and plate.
  • A53 - structural pipe and tubing.
  • A500 - structural pipe and tubing.
  • A501 - structural pipe and tubing.
  • A529 - structural shapes and plate.
  • A1085 - structural pipe and tubing.
  • A441 - structural shapes and plates - (Superseded by A572)

High strength low alloy steels

  • A572 - structural shapes and plates.
  • A618 - structural pipe and tubing.
  • A992 - Possible applications are W or S I-Beams.
  • A913 - Quenched and Self Tempered (QST) W shapes. A270 - structural shapes and plates.
  • A270 - structural shapes and plates.

Corrosion resistant high strength low alloy steels

  • A243 - structural shapes and plates.
  • A588 - structural shapes and plates.

Quenched and tempered alloy steels

  • A514 - structural shapes and plates.
  • A517 - boilers and pressure vessels.

Forged Steel

  • A668 - Steel Forgings

Do you have a question?
Feel free to contact

+1 (868) 655-8378