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Foreign Steel

Foreign Steel

Foreign Steel

(OP)
I have a client who has located some "mystery" steel from Costa Rica. He wants to use it here in the States.
Other than the obvious size, condition and steel grade, what else would be a red flag from a specifiers point of view?

The fabrication Shop certification?
The first concern I have is quality control of fabrication.....is it fabricated in someones garage? Did it come from a legit steel shop?

Any input would be appreciated.

RE: Foreign Steel

Usually I specify on my drawings that the fab shop should be AISC certified and (of course) the steel shall conform to the various AISC/ASTM specs we are all familiar with. Beyond that......you cannot follow a contractor around and test every last material he brings on the job site.

One way to be avoiding all this is (of course) working with a reputable contractor to start with. (If at all possible.)

RE: Foreign Steel

Potentially weldability can be an issue.

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The name is a long story -- just call me Lo.

RE: Foreign Steel

Recent relevant Structure Magazine article: Issues Every Structural Engineer Should Consider When Using Foreign Steel

When I've been concerned about it, we required everything to be done in an AISC-certified shop. We also bumped up inspection requirements to actually look at some things (e.g. shop welds) that we normally would not do for steel from an AISC-certified shop.

We also did our own material testing. We told the steel provider up front that we were doing it so they knew it was coming. But we didn't ask them for test coupons because any coupon we get will almost certainly pass, there's no mystery what it's for. We took our own coupons from the pieces they shipped instead and didn't tell them where the coupons were coming from. For some of the larger pieces we'd take a coupon from somewhere that wasn't critical for strength or aesthetics and then field-welded on a repair. For repetitive pieces where we'd need say 50 of the same piece, we'd have the GC order 51 instead. Then we'd have someone not involved in the construction or technical side of the project (accountant, receptionist, food delivery person) go out to the yard and pick their favorite of the 51 to go get tested.

RE: Foreign Steel

Get a copy of certs. If none is provided for review then you have an easy decision to make.

RE: Foreign Steel

In some of the tank standards, they have provisions for use of unidentified steel (basically, test it and see if it confirms to the intended steel)- check through the structural code in questions, see if there are any provisions like that.
The title mentions foreign steel.
The "foreign" isn't an issue- that's done all the time. The "mystery metal", ie, lack of certs or stamping, is.
In years past, I've had suppliers offer "commercial quality" steel, and they weren't able to tell me a spec that it was made to, which is kind of a red flag if it's application that matters. I suppose they use that stuff for trailers or something.

RE: Foreign Steel

as said above, I'd ask for - at least - the mill certs, however a mill that has a quality management system with QA/QC department is actually an obligation according to EU construction codes/laws.

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http://be.linkedin.com/in/fusionpoint

RE: Foreign Steel

I have a client who installs helical piers. He usually bids jobs with chinese steel but can use american if requested. He admits to breaking some chinese ones during install but has never broken an american one.

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