ASTM Steel Standards
Used mostly across the United States, the ASTM standards for steel provide critical information on the chemical composition, mechanical properties, and structural integrity required for different grades of steel across a variety of applications. Understanding the distinctions within the standards informs engineers and designers when selecting the appropriate material based on specific project requirements involving weight considerations, tensile strength needs, and fabrication methods.
Steel Warehouse provides a variety of steel within each of the areas below as designated by the ASTM standards. You can find out which specific standards and grades are available within each of these by visiting these pages.
Common ASTM Specifications
ASTM uses test results as validation; if representative samples meet the specification's requirements, the material can be certified to that specification.
Specifications
A6 Standard Specification for General Requirements for Rolled Structural Steel Bars, Plates, Shapes, and Sheet Piling. 63 pages of required testing, permitted variations, manufacturing, delivery, etc.
A36 Standard Specification for Structural Steel. Very high volume grade. Wide chemistry range, but requires a 36 ksi minimum yield strength.
A514 Standard Specification for High-Yield-Strength, Quenched and Tempered Alloy Steel Plate, Suitable for Welding. Lists allowable chemical analyses for a family of plate products of 100 ksi yield strength. Available at greater thicknesses than A656 grade 100. Does not allow plate from coil.
A568 General Requirements for Steel, Sheet, Carbon and High-Strength Low Alloy, Hot-Rolled and Cold-Rolled. Covers terminology, materials, and product tolerances.
A572 Standard Specification for High-Strength Low Alloy Columbium-Vanadium Structural Steel. Lists five chemical recipes and five different mechanical property ranges for plate products (grades 42, 50, 55, 60, and 65). Relatively wide chemical and property ranges. Grade 50 high volume.
A635 General Requirements for Steel, Sheet and Strip, Heavy-Thickness Coils, Hot-Rolled, Carbon, Structural, High-Strength Low Alloy, Columbium or Vanadium, and High-Strength Low Alloy with Improved Formability. Covers terminology, materials, and product tolerances.
A656 Standard Specification for Hot-Rolled Structural Steel, High-Strength Low Alloy Plate with Improved Formability. Lists two possible chemical variations for steels (grades 50, 60, 70, 80, and 100). Grades 80 and 100 are the highest volumes. More demanding property and chemistry requirements than A572.
A709 Standard Specification for Structural Steel Bridges. Covers carbon, HSLA, Q&T, and stainless steel plates, bars, and shapes for structural use in bridges. Includes grades 36, 50, 70, and 100, with designations for enhanced atmospheric corrosion resistance (W). Both fracture critical tension components and non-critical fracture tension components must meet impact requirements. These requirements are based on American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) requirements for tension components in bridges.
A1011 Standard Specification for Steel, Sheet and Strip, Hot-Rolled, Carbon, Structural, High-Strength Low-Allow, High-Strength Low-Alloy with Improved Formability, and Ultra-High Strength. Covers CS, DS, and grade 30 up to grade 90.
A1018 Standard Specification for Steel, Sheet and Strip, Heavy-Thickness Coils, Hot-Rolled, Carbon, Commercial, Drawing, Structural, High-Strength Low-Alloy, High-Strength Low-Alloy with Improved Formability, and Ultra-High Strength. Covers CS, DS, and grade 30 up to grade 80 for COILS ONLY!
