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A36 steel in sub-zero temperatures
2

A36 steel in sub-zero temperatures

A36 steel in sub-zero temperatures

(OP)
My company produces patented track monorail systems, the track being a proprietary steel bottom flange 3.33" wide welded to A36 web and top flange plates. We have a customer inquiry for a monorail to be used in -33 F. Is there info on the suitability of steel for this temperature?

RE: A36 steel in sub-zero temperatures

2
From discussions I've had with some materials guys, they indicated that for building structures, even those located in cold arctic type environments, A36 and A992 steels behave adequately under the typical AISC specification provided that close attention is given to their Charpy notch-toughness tests which is typically called a Charpy V-Notch or CVN for short.

The 14th edition manual discusses cold temperature effects on p2-40/p2-41. See item 7 of the lists and the following discussion. This discussion indicates that ASTM A709 "may be useful" for determining proper levels of notch toughness. As discussed in the manual, this ASTM standard is generally used for steel intended for bridges, but can be applied to buildings to determine the appropriate level of Charpy notch toughness to specify for cold conditions given that ASTM A709 is not dissimilar from standard A36 and A992 steels.

If you look in ASTM A 709 the temperature classes are divided into three zones based on the minimum expected service temperature. Zone 1 is 0deg F. Zone 2 is 0 to -30 deg F. Zone 3 is -30 to -60 degrees F.

For grade 36 and 50 material a minimum CVN of 15 ft-lbf is required for all three zones but the testing must be performed at 70 deg. F (Zone 1), 40 deg. F (Zone 2), or 10 deg. F (Zone 3).

Note that this value of a CVN is probably easily obtainable; however, if it is deemed important to double check, you will need to specify that CVN test results be provided as it is NOT typical for CVNs to be reported unless requested.

RE: A36 steel in sub-zero temperatures

(OP)
Thanks for your input.

I've also been looking into welding for this application. Searching thru AWS D14 I found CVN values for electrodes, but no specific requirements for the low temp application. Is there a similar requirement for welds?

RE: A36 steel in sub-zero temperatures

Sad to say, -33F is fairly common in parts of Canada and many years ago A36 was common place for mills here.

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