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Is your steel
tough enough?
BS EN 10025-2 S 355 JR
Brittle fracture
BS 5950-1 Table 3
BS 5950-1Table 3: Factor K for type of detail, stress level and strain conditions
Type of detail or location
Components in tension
due to factored loads
Stress 0.3Ynom
Plain steel
Drilled holes or reamed holes
Flame cut edges
Punched holes (un-reamed)
Welded, generally
Welded across ends of
cover plates
Welded connections to
unstiffened flanges, see 6.7.5
2
1.5
1
1
1
3
2
1.5
1.5
1. 5
4
3
2
2
2
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
NOTE 1 Where parts are required to withstand significant plastic deformation at the minimum service
temperature (such as crash barriers or crane stops) K should be halved.
NOTE 2 Baseplates attached to columns by nominal welds only, for the purpose of location in use and security in
transit should be classified as plain steel.
NOTE 3 Welded attachments not exceeding 150mm in length should not be classified as cover plates
0
3.5%
4%
Steel grade
% extra
S355 JR
S355 J0
S355 J2
S 355 K2
3%
4%
10%
14%
An easy solution to the issue of subgrade selection for the designer would
simply be to specify J2 quality steel
throughout. This approach, however,
has implications both in terms of availability and cost. In very general terms,
the most common material available
directly from stock is S275 JR, and
although not as widely stocked, there
are a growing number of stockists
holding grade S355 JR. More often
than not, higher quality materials, J0,
Example 1
Assess the K factor to be used for all components at the connection position,
and also at mid-span, for a simply supported floor beam uniformly loaded
from a floor slab, and connected to a column using a welded fin plate
connection in a braced multi-storey frame. Assume the beam has no other
welded or bolted attachments along its length.
The column is part of a braced multi-storey frame. The primary stress will
be that due to axial compression and although subject to nominal
eccentricity moments these will not usually cause stress reversal (i.e. P/A
M
/Z is negative, i.e. compression), so the K factor is chosen from the fourth
column of table 3, components not subject to applied tension, and as the
fin plate will be welded to the column, the detail type is welded generally.
By inspection the finplate will be stressed to greater than 0.3Ynom. Preferred
practice would see the fittings cut from plate, using a flame cutting process
with holes punched rather than drilled. The K factor for both flame cut edges and punched holes (un-reamed) is
1.
If the centre line of the column is taken as the theoretical support for the beam, then at the connection position
the beam is subject to a small moment. If an elastic stress distribution is assumed then a small tensile stress will
exist in the web but clearly less than 0.3Ynom. It is common practice in the UK for beams to be processed on a cut
and drill line, therefore the ends of the beam will be saw cut. The K factor is selected from the drilled holes or
reamed holes category.
Now consider the floor beam at midspan, the point of maximum moment, where the stress level will be greater than
0.3Ynom. As at this point there is no fabrication to the beam, it is classified as plain steel.
Column
No applied tension
Welded generally (flange)1:
Plain steel (web)1 :
Finplate
K
2
4
> 0.3Ynom
Punched holes:
Flame cut:
Welded generally:
Beam end
K
1
1
1
Beam at midspan
> 0.3Ynom
Plain steel (web & flange):
K
2
Example 2
Consider the beam/column in Example 1 but with an endplate connection. Mainstream fabrication would see
columns and beams being processed on a cut and drill line. Endplates will be
either flame cut from plate or cropped from flat, but in both cases holes would
be punched for plate thickness up to 20mm.
Column
No applied tension
Drilled holes (flange)1:
Plain steel (web)1 :
Endplate
K
3
4
> 0.3Ynom
Punched holes:
Flame cut:
Welded generally:
Beam end
K
1
1
1
< 0.3Ynom
Welded generally
(web & flange):
1.5
Note 1: This example does not consider the column detail at a splice position or
at the baseplate location, both of which may give lower K values for web and
flange. The designer should also be mindful of load conditions/locations where
stress reversal can occur thus changing the classification. Columns at a braced
bay position are a classic case.
Example 3
In assessing the material quality for a portal frame, the critical location will
most likely be at the eaves, where there is the highest bending moment,
and also the highest degree of fabrication. Unlike the multi-storey column,
the portal column is primarily subject to bending, and so columns 2 and 3
of Table 3 will apply.
Stanchion
> 0.3Ynom
Welded generally
(web and flange):
K
1
Endplate
> 0.3Ynom
Rafter
Punched holes:
Flame cut:
Welded generally:
K
1
1
1
> 0.3Ynom
Welded generally:
(web & flange)
Example 4
Assess the K factor for the bottom tension chord, and bracings, forming a welded tubular joint in a simply supported
truss. Assume that both boom and bracings are stressed to a level greater than 0.3Ynom.
Although not immediately obvious from the code, or Table 3, the top flange of the boom falls into the welded
connections to unstiffened flanges category, giving a K factor of 0.5. This will result in a drastic reduction in the
permitted material thickness allowed (and of course designers
should be mindful of that), but it is generally not an issue as SHS
from Corus is supplied in one quality only, J2.
Bottom Chord (SHS)
> 0.3Ynom
Bracings (SHS)
> 0.3Ynom
Welded generally:
(web & flange)
Welded connections to
unstiffened flanges (flange): 0.5
Plain steel (webs):
2
K
1
Example 5
As Example 4 but with the SHS bottom boom substituted for a UC. As for the flange of the SHS above, the flange of
the UC in this case falls into the welded connections to unstiffened
flanges category with a K factor of 0.5. This condition will certainly
dictate the material quality required for the UC bottom chord.
Bottom Chord
> 0.3Ynom
Welded connections to
unstiffened flanges (flange):
Plain steel (web):
K
0.5
Bracings (SHS)
> 0.3Ynom
Welded generally:
(web & flange)
K
1
Examples
The examples given in the panels illustrate how Table 3 is applied, by considering some typical industry standard
connections, and making some broad
assumptions about the level of stress
in the members. The examples are
concerned only with determining the K
factor, and are thus independent of
environment (i.e. internal or external).
Although not included in the examples,
to complete the process and select an
Is it a real problem?
Using the simple criteria below, and
some rationalisation, and then applying this to the Corus range of UBs and
UCs, it is possible to identify when
greater attention in selecting a subgrade other than the minimum, JR, is
required. JR material is readily available from stock and from the mills, it is
also the lowest priced sub-grade and so
for maximum economy and availability
JR quality material should be specified
wherever possible.
Use Tables 4 and 5 from BS 5950-1:
Table X: Internal steelwork range of sections where the flange thickness of the
member is equal to or less than Kt1 (T Kt1 )
Internal steelwork (T = 5C)
BS EN 10025-2 S275 JR
BS EN 10025-2 S355 JR
(Maximum element thickness
at K = 1 is 36mm)
UBs
K=1
UCs
K=2
Hollow sections
In terms of material quality, SHS are a
special case. Corus only roll one grade
and one quality with the brand name
Celsius which can be specified as
follows:
BS EN 10210 S355 J2H
Table 5 of BS 5950-1 allows a
maximum thickness of 55mm at K = 1
for external steelwork. The normal
range rolled by Corus has a maximum
wall thickness of 20mm, so even in the
case of welded tubular joints where a
K factor of 0.5 applies, the standard
Table Y: External steelwork range of sections where the flange thickness of the
member is equal to or less than Kt1 (T Kt1 )
External steelwork (T = 15C)
BS EN 10025-2 S275 JR
BS EN 10025-2 S355 JR
UBs
K=1
UCs
K=2
BS EN 10025-2 S275 J0
BS EN 10025-2 S355 J0
BIBLIOGRAPHY
UBs
K=1
UCs
K=2
All UCs
Conclusion
It is important both technically and
economically to correctly specify the
appropriate steel sub-grade for a
project. A degree of rationalisation may
be required, but economy should be
borne in mind if a 10m long 1016
305 UB 487 needs to be J2 quality,
dont specify J2 for the other 2000Te of
457 191 UB 67 that only need be JR!
Specifying JR quality material will
cover most if not all situations on the
BS 5950-1: 2000 Structural use of steelwork in building Part 1: Code of practice for design Rolled and welded
sections
BS EN 10025-2: 2004 Hot rolled products of structural steels Part 2:
Technical delivery conditions for nonalloy structural steels
BS EN 10210-1: 1994 Hot finished
structural hollow sections of non-alloy
and fine grained structural steels Part
1: Technical delivery requirements
BS EN 440: 1995 Welding consumables
Wire electrodes and deposits for gas
shielded metal arc welding of non alloy
and fine grain steels Classification
BCSA, The National Structural
Steelwork Specification for Building
Construction (4th Edition), 2002
Davison, B. and Owens, G. W. (ed),
The Steel Designers Manual (6th
Edition), Blackwell Publishing, 2003
Honeycombe, R. W. K. and Bhadeshia,
H. K. D. H., Steels Microstructure and
Properties (2nd Edition), Butterworth
Heinman, 1995