Structural steel is a standard construction material that is made from specific grades of steel and formed in a range of industry standard cross-sectional shapes. Structural steel grades are formed with specific chemical compositions and mechanical properties specifically for particular applications.
Structural steel’s shape, composition, size, strength, and storage are regulated in many industrialized countries. Steels used in Europe have to comply with the European standard EN 10025. Steels used for building construction in the US use standard alloys specified by ASTM International.
S420 Structural Steel
S420 structural steel plate is a high-strength low-alloy and falls within the European EN 10025: 2004 standard. EN 10025: 2004 is the new European structural steel standard established by the European Committee for Iron and Steel Standardization.
S420 structural steel plate is only produced as normalized or thermomechanically rolled material. Some variations of S420 structural steel plate include S420G1+Q, S420G1+M, S420G2+Q, and S420G1+M. Each structural steel grade has the prefix “S” and is followed by suffixes that denote difference in the specific requirement for that structural application.
US Equivalent Grades
Chemical Composition of Structural Steel 420
The chemical composition of structural steel is very important and highly regulated. It is an essential factor which defines the mechanical properties of the steel material. In the following table, the chemical composition of S420MC is displayed.
| Element |
Content (%) |
| Manganese, Mn |
1.60max |
| Silicon, Si |
0.50max |
| Carbon, C |
.12max |
| Phosphorus, P |
0.025max |
| Sulfur, S |
0.015max |
Mechanical Properties of Structural Steel 420
The mechanical properties of structural steel are also very important to its classification, and subsequently its application. Structural steel 420 has good tensile and yield strength and they are tabulated below
| Property |
Definition |
Value |
| Tensile strength |
The point at which permanent deformation occurs when the material is pulled or stretched laterally along its length. |
480-620 MPa (at nominal thickness between 3 and 16mm) |
| Yield strength |
The yield strength of structural steel measures the minimum force required to create a permanent deformation in the steel. |
60.915 ksi (420 N/mm2) [at nominal thickness 16mm] |
Typical Structural Steel ‘Sections’ / Cross-Sectional Shapes
Structural steel is available in different grades but is usually sold by manufacturers in a pre-formed state with a defined cross-sectional shape specifically for certain applications. Its is most likely to find structural steels sold in Z-beams, L-shaped, box lintels, I-beams, hollow structural section, and steel plate.
Applications of Structural Steel
Structural steels can be used in a number of ways and their application is very diverse. Most structural steels are very useful as they provide a unique combination of good welding properties with high strengths. A wide range of structural steels such as offshore steels, wear resistant grades, high strength steels, boiler and pressure vessel steels, and shipbuilding grades are available in the market today. These steels are very adaptable and are preferred by engineers who want to maximize strength or structure while minimizing its weight.
Typical applications of S420 include:
- Mining and earth-moving equipment
- Load-handling equipment
- Power plants
- Offshore structures
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