Properties of Structural Materials
Course instructor Dr. Ahmed Almutairi
Metals
Pure Metals and Alloys
• Pure Metals: Metal that are not mixed with any other
materials
• Alloys: Alloys are mixtures of two or more metals formed
together with other elements/materials to create new
metals with improved Mechanical Properties and other
properties of the base metal.
Classification of metal
Metals can be broken down into two main categories:
ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals.
➢ Ferrous metals all have certain
properties:
They contain iron
They will corrode unless protected
They are attracted by magnets.
➢ Non-ferrous metals also have
certain unique properties:
They do not contain iron
They are not magnetic
They are mostly pure metals.
Classification of metal
Precisely:
• Ferrous metals are those containing a substantial proportion
of iron, such as stainless steel and galvanized iron.
• Non-ferrous metals are all the others, such as aluminum,
copper, and zinc. They share desirable characteristic (resist
corrosion and generally have excellent workability).
Classification
Ferrous and Non-ferrous metals
Ferrous Metals Non- Ferrous Metals
Iron Aluminum
Low Carbon Steel Copper
Medium Carbon Steel Brass
High Carbon Steel Bronze
Cast Iron Zinc
Stainless Steel Lead
Tool Steels Tin
Others Others
Steel: Introduction
Steel
Introduction
• Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is
iron, with less than 2% carbon content.
• Steel with increased carbon content can be made
harder and stronger than iron but is also more brittle.
Alloys with higher carbon content higher than 2%
are known as cast iron.
Effect of carbon content on mechanical
properties of steel
From the figure, it is noticed that:
•Tensile strength and yield point
both increase with increase in
carbon content up to about 1%.
•Percent elongation decreases
with increase in carbon content
indicating that steel with high
carbon content is found to have
low ductility and vice-versa.
Types of Steel
Low Carbon Steel
Also known as MILD STEEL
Contain 0.05% -0.35% carbon
• Tough, ductile
• Easily joined and welded
• Poor resistance to corrosion
It is a general-purpose material
• Nails, screws, car bodies,
• Structural Steel used in the construction industry
bostonindustrial_1880_11644148
Medium Carbon Steel
Contains 0.35% - 0.5% of carbon
• Offer more strength and hardness, but
• Less ductile
Structural steel, rails and garden tools
structsteel-2 shovels
High Carbon Steel
Also known as ‘tool steel’
Contain 0.55%-1.5% carbon
• Very hard
• Higher Strength
• Less ductile
Hand tools (chisels, punches)
vaughn_straightclaw-sm
Saw blades
High Speed Steel
Medium Carbon steel alloyed with
Tungsten, chromium, vanadium
• Very hard
• Resistant to frictional heat even at high temperature
Machine cutting tools (lathe and milling)
Drills
Cast iron
Usually refers to a group of iron-based alloys containing more
than 2% carbon.
• Very hard and brittle
• Strong under compression
Crystal Palace
London 1851
cast iron and glass
Mechanical testing of steel
• Steel should be tested as fabricated because
fabrication affects the mechanical properties
significantly
• The following tests are conducted on the samples of
steel (refer to Lectures on Testing the properties of
materials):
➢Tensile test
➢Compression test
➢Torsion test
➢Impact test
➢Bending test
➢Hardness test
Uses of steel
Uses of steel
In civil engineering construction, steel is mainly used as
reinforcing bars in reinforced concrete structures and as
beams, column, and truss & frame members in steel
structures
Specifically, two major applications of steel in civil engineering
construction:
• Reinforcing steel (steel bars of different diameters)
• Structural steel (steel sections of different shapes and
sizes used as columns, beams, bracings, frames, etc)
Uses of steel
Reinforcing Steel
Grades:
Uses of steel Deformed or plain steel bars are produced
Reinforcing Steel in following four principal grades:
➢ Grade 40 (300): σy =40,000 psi (300MPa)
➢ Grade 50 (350): σy =50,000 psi (350MPa)
➢ Grade 60 (400): σy =60,000 psi (400MPa)
➢ Grade 75 (500): σy =75,000psi (500MPa)
Uses of steel
Structural Steel
Uses of steel
Structural Steel
Sectional shapes:
Shapes of structural steel are designated by letters:
W, HP, M, S, C, MC, L
Some common sections of structural steel
Steel columns
Base Connection
Steel Wide Flange
Column
Base plate
Non-shrinking grout
Steel Beams
Steel Connections
Welding, bolting, riveting
Advantages of Steel as a Structural Material
The many advantages of steel can be summarized as follows
– High Strength
This means that the weight of structure that made of steel will be
small.
– Uniformity
Properties of steel do not change as oppose to concrete.
– Elasticity
Steel follows Hooke’s Law very accurately.
- Ductility
A very desirable of property of steel in which steel can withstand
extensive deformation without failure under high tensile stresses, i.e., it
gives warning before failure takes place.
– Toughness
Steel has both strength and ductility.
Aluminum
Aluminum
While aluminum is widely used in airframe structures and
increasingly being used in automotive frames to decrease weight
and improve fuel efficiency.
It is not widely used as a civil structural
material
Aluminium Roofing
Comparative properties of
structural steel and aluminum
From the comparison provided in the previous table, we
observe that:
1. Aluminum is only about one third as heavy as steel.
2. A very significant range of yield and tensile strengths
3. Aluminum is a much lower temperature metal than steel. (This
could be an issue in high-rise buildings, since during fires it is critical that the
structural material retain its integrity long
enough for people to evacuate the building.)
Comparative properties of
structural steel and aluminum
To better understand aluminum, it is helpful to compare its
properties to those of steel
ALUMINUM
Advantages
• Light weight, has 1/3 density of steel
• Has a high strength to weight ratio
• Has good thermal and electrical conductivity
• Has alloys that are weldable
• Will not rust
• Has good formability: die cast, easily machined
• Non-magnetic
