A36 steel is a common structural

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

alloy used in the United States.''Steel Construction Manual'', 8th Edition, second revised edition, American Institute of Steel Construction, 1986, Ch. 1 pp. 1–5. The A36 (UNS K02600) standard was established by the

ASTM International ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is a standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical international standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems and s ...

. The standard was published in 1960 and has been updated several times since. Prior to 1960, the dominant standards for structural steel in North America were A7 (until 1967) and A9 (for buildings, until 1940). Note that SAE/AISI A7 and A9 tool steels are not the same as the obsolete ASTM A7 and A9 structural steels.

Chemical composition

Note: For shapes with a flange thickness more than 3 in (76 mm), 0.85-1.35% manganese content and 0.15-0.40% silicon content are required.

Properties

As with most steels, A36 has a density of .

Young's modulus Young's modulus (or the Young modulus) is a mechanical property of solid materials that measures the tensile or compressive stiffness when the force is applied lengthwise. It is the modulus of elasticity for tension or axial compression. Youn ...

for A36 steel is . A36 steel has a Poisson's ratio of 0.26 and a

shear modulus In materials science, shear modulus or modulus of rigidity, denoted by ''G'', or sometimes ''S'' or ''μ'', is a measure of the Elasticity (physics), elastic shear stiffness of a material and is defined as the ratio of shear stress to the shear s ...

of .https://www.bushwickmetals.com/a36-steel-properties/ A36 steel in plates, bars, and shapes with a thickness of less than has a minimum

yield strength In materials science and engineering, the yield point is the point on a stress–strain curve that indicates the limit of elastic behavior and the beginning of plastic behavior. Below the yield point, a material will deform elastically and w ...

of and

ultimate tensile strength Ultimate tensile strength (also called UTS, tensile strength, TS, ultimate strength or F_\text in notation) is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials, the ultimate t ...

of . Plates thicker than 8 inches have a yield strength and the same ultimate tensile strength of . The electrical resistance of A36 is 0.142 μΩm at . A36 bars and shapes maintain their ultimate strength up to . Above that temperature, the minimum strength drops off from : at ; at ; at .

Fabricated forms

A36 is produced in a wide variety of forms, including: * Plates * Structural Shapes * Bars * Girders * Angle iron * T iron

Methods of joining

A36 is readily welded by all welding processes. As a result, the most common welding methods for A36 are the cheapest and easiest: shielded metal arc welding (''SMAW'', or ''stick welding''), gas metal arc welding (''GMAW'', or ''MIG welding''), and oxyacetylene welding. A36 steel is also commonly bolted and

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylinder (geometry), cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the deformed e ...

ed in structural applications. High-strength bolts have largely replaced structural steel rivets. Indeed, the latest steel construction specifications published by

AISC The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) is a not-for-profit technical institute and trade association for the use of structural steel in the construction industry of the United States. AISC publishes the Steel Construction Manual, a ...

(the 15th Edition) no longer covers their installation.

References

{{Reflist Steels Structural steel

Chemical composition

Properties

Fabricated forms

Methods of joining

See also

References