Steel Grade Used in 1987 Metal Building
Steel Grade Used in 1987 Metal Building
(OP)
I am checking a building frame used in a metal building constructed in 1987. Can anyone provide any guidance as to the type of steel commonly used in metal buildings at this time? (A36, A572 Gr. 50, A992?) This is in regards to the main building frames that are using tapered sections.






RE: Steel Grade Used in 1987 Metal Building
RE: Steel Grade Used in 1987 Metal Building
Grade 50 material became more prevalent for wide flange shapes with A992, because they quit making A36.
http://www.FerrellEngineering.com
RE: Steel Grade Used in 1987 Metal Building
I'm not sure at what point dual cert became more economical. Can anyone shed some light on this?
All I know is that when the Northridge earthquake hit (1997) that's one of the things everyone started realizing.... All the structures that they thought were built with A36 were actually built with a higher strength (but less ductile) steel.
RE: Steel Grade Used in 1987 Metal Building
RE: Steel Grade Used in 1987 Metal Building
If the responses indicated that it was clearly grade 50 steel then I would adjust my report accordingly, but I'm really just verifying the original design capacity.
Based on previous metal building experience there usually isn't a lot of extra capacity in the building, so I'll proceed using the A36 and state the assumption in the report.
RE: Steel Grade Used in 1987 Metal Building
I'd guess that it was made from A36 with a yield around 42-45 ksi in reality. If you need additional strength, take a coupon and test. I'm certain that you have about 20% extra or more.
RE: Steel Grade Used in 1987 Metal Building
For steel plates in that time period, as I recall, it was not uncommon to find unidentified material which was routinely taken to be A36.
BA
RE: Steel Grade Used in 1987 Metal Building
RE: Steel Grade Used in 1987 Metal Building
A1011 was not a standard in 1987, so it would have been A570 or A572 for the tapered main frames.