STRUCTURAL STEEL DESIGN

•Steel History
•Steel Sections
•Steel production
•Steel Nut bolts
•Steel properties

Tayyab Naqash

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It is a mixture of art and science to produce a
safe and economical structure that serves its intended purpose.

• Min. Weight.
• Min. Cost.
Design is an
optimization process • Min Construction Time.
• Min. Labor Force.
• Min. Operational Cost.

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1: Planning, Function Design.
2: Preliminary Structural Configuration.
3: Establish Load Cases & Load Combinations.
4: Preliminary Member Selection.
5: Structural Analysis.
6: Evaluation of all members to meet strength and
serviceability Criteria.

No

7: Redesign by going to step “3” above.

Yes

8: Final Design thus optimum design is achieved. 3

1780 - 1840 Cast Iron.
arch-shaped bridges upto 30m span.

1840 - 1890 Wrought Iron.

Spans upto 100m.

1870 - 1920 Bessemer Converter

Introduction to Carbon Steel.

1920 - To date Third most popular construction material

after Concrete and Timber.

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1780 - 1840 Cast Iron.
arch-shaped bridges upto 30m span.
Cast iron is purest form of
iron while pig iron is impure.
 In the process of extraction of
pure iron, from ores, cast iron
is obtained from pig iron. 

Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate

product of the iron industry in the production
of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast
furnace. 4
1840 - 1890 Wrought Iron.
Spans upto 100m.

Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content in

contrast to that of cast iron.

Wrought iron is made by repeatedly heating and reworking

cast iron.

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1870 - 1920 Bessemer Converter
Introduction to Carbon Steel

1856
Henry Bessemer, in full Sir Henry Bessemer, (born January 19,
1813, Charlton, Hertfordshire, England—died March 15, 1898,
London), inventor and engineer who developed the first process for
manufacturing steel inexpensively (1856), leading to the
development of the Bessemer converter.

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1870 - 1920 Bessemer Converter
Introduction to Carbon Steel

The crucible steelmaking process was much too expensive

to produce items as large as cannons, so Bessemer set out
to find a way to produce steel in larger quantities. One day
in 1856, he decided to pour pig iron into a container rather
than let it ooze into a trench. Once inside the container,
Bessemer blasted air through perforations on the bottom.
According to Steel: From Mine to Mill, everything
remained calm for about 10 minutes, and then suddenly
sparks, flames, and molten pig iron came bursting from the
container. When the chaos ended, the material left in the
container was carbon-free, pure iron. 4
1920 - To date Third most popular construction material
after Concrete and Timber.
Global steel production grew enormously in the 20th
century from a mere 28 million tonnes at the beginning
of the century to 781 million tons at the end

Production of crude steel has risen at an astounding

rate, reaching 1,691 m tonnes by 2017

In 1900, the United States was producing 37% of the world's

steel, but with post war industrial development in Asia and
centralised investment by China, by 2017 China alone accounted
for 50%, with Europe (including the former Soviet Union) down 4to
24% and North America down to 6%.
Steel
• Hot-Rolled Sections.
Structural • Cold Formed Sections.
Sections
• Built-Up Sections.

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 Hot rolled steel is
ideal for products
where tight
tolerances are not
required.

Cold rolled steel is ideal for

products demanding exact
dimensions and improved
surface characteristics.
What Does Galvanised Mean?
Galvanisation is when a protective zinc coating is applied to stee
or iron, to prevent rusting. 
The most common method is hot-dip galvanising. This is when
metal parts are fully submerged in a bath of molten zinc. 
Zinc plating (also known as electro-galvanising) is a process
where zinc is applied by using a current of electricity. While is
does provide some rust protection, its thinner coating is not as
rust resistant as hot dip galvanising. Its main advantage is it is
cheaper and easier to weld.

Galvanized nails
What Can Be Galvanised?

• Hot dip galvanising or zinc plating can be used on

anything from small nuts and bolts to large beams for
buildings.

• The steel is put in a big bath, where the coating is

applied.

• If it’s galvanised, it will be dull grey and a little rough.

• A zinc plated product will be shiny and smooth.

• A hot dip galvanised product has the best protection

against rust, even though it’s a bit ugly. 
What Are The Different Galvanisation Processes?

Steel, when being hot dip galvanised is dipped into a 450°C

bath of molten liquid zinc. The steel and the liquid zinc bond
together because of the high temperature.

Zinc plating, on the other hand, is immersed in a cold chemical

solution of zinc and uses an electrical current to apply a layer
of zinc.
The thickness of the coating is measured in microns or
micrometre’s (μm). Zinc plating requires a minimum thickness
of 5μm (.005mm) and a maximum of 25μm (.025mm).

Hot dip galvanising requires a minimum thickness of 45μm

(.045mm) and goes beyond 100μm (.1mm)
Hot Dip Galv on Left vs Zinc Plated on the right
 • Hot-Rolled Sections.

W S C L WT or ST
(a) Wide-flange (b) American (c) American (d) Angle (e) Structural (f) Pipe (g) Structural
Shape Standard Standard Tee Section Tubing
Beam Channel

a – Wide-flange : W 18  97
b – Standard (I) : S 12  35
c – Channel : C 9  20
(h) Bars (i) Plates
d – Angles : L 64½
e – Structural Tee : WT, MT or ST e.g. ST 8  76
f & g – Hollow Structural Sections HSS : 9 or 8  8

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• Cold Formed Sections

(a) Channels (b) Zees (c) I-shaped double channels

(d) Angles (e) Hat sections

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• Built-Up Sections.

Built-up (W) shapes.

Built-up (C) Channels.

Built-up (L) Angles.

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• Tension Members.

(a) Round and rectangular (b) Cables composed (c) Single and double
bars, including eye bars of many small wires. angles.
and upset bars.

Perforated
plates

(d) Rolled W – and S – (e) Structural (f) Build-up box

sections. tee. sections.
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• Compression Members.

(a) Rolled W-and S- (b) Double (c) Structural (d) Structural (e) Pipe
sections. angles. tee. tubing section

(f) Built-up section

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• Bending Members.

(a) Rolled W-and (b) Build-up (c) open web joist.

other I-shaped Sections.
sections.

(d) Angle (e) Channel (f) Built-up members (g) Composite steel-Concrete

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Steel: Strength, Stiffness, Stability, ductility
Steel: Strength, Stiffness, Stability, ductility
A) Working Stress Design (Allowable Stress Design),
widely known as (ASD) – used for over 100 years.

B) Limited States Design (Load & Resistance Factor Design),

also known as (LRFD) – first introduced in 1986.

- A limit state means “A set of conditions at which a

structure ceases to fulfill its intended function”.

- Two types of limit states exist, these are:

- Safety (Strength).
- Serviceability (Deformation).
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ASTM (A33) Steel with Fy = 33 ksi up to 1960.
Today steel offer wide choice of yield from 25 ksi upto 100 ksi,
among other different characteristics. The majority of construction
steels are grouped under the following main groups:
A) Carbon Steels:
Steels
low carbon [C < (0.15%)]
mild carbon [0.15% < C< 0.3%] such as A-36, A-53.
medium carbon [0.3% C < 0.6%] A-500, A-529.
high carbon [0.6% < C < 1.7%] A-570

B) High-Strength Low-Alloy Steels:

Steels
Having Fy 40 ksi to 70 ksi, may include chromium,
copper, manganese, nickel in addition to carbon.
e.g. A-242, A-441 and A-572. 18
C) Alloy Steels:
Steels
These alloy steels which are quenched and tampered
to obtain Fy > 80 ksi. They do not have a well defined
yield point, and are specified a yield point by the “offset
method”, examples are A-709, A-852and A-913.

Typical stress-strain
Relations
for various steels:

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A) Carbon Steel Bolts (A-307):
These are common non-structural fasteners with
minimum tensile strength (Fu) of 60 ksi.

B) High Strength Bolts (A-325):

These are structural fasteners (bolts) with low carbon,
their ultimate tensile strength could reach 105 ksi.

C) Quenched and Tempered Bolts (A-449):

These are similar to A-307 in strength but can be
produced to large diameters exceeding 1.5 inch,
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D) Heat Treated Structural Steel Bolts (A-490):
These are in carbon content (upto 0.5%)
and has other alloys. They are quenched and
re-heated (tempered) to 900oF.
The minimum yield strength (Fy) for these bolts
ranges from 115 ksi upto 130 ksi.

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