Improved Atmospheric Corrosion Resistant H-beams for Infrastructure Bridge Applications

by Douglas G. Stalhiem

Publisher - DGS Metallurgical Solutions, Inc., Vancouver, WA USA

Category - Engineering & IT

While atmospheric corrosion resistant structural H-beams and plates have been used in infrastructure bridge and guard rail construction in North America (ASTM A588) and Europe (EN10025-5) in the past, the use in Asia in general is very limited. Construction steels used to support the development of roads and rails in SE Asia, primarily in bridges and guard rails are lower strength basic C/Mn structural steels of either H-beam and/or plate such as ASTM A36, A572 Gr 50, S235, S355, etc. Lower strength steels result in thicker/heavier sections to be used in bridge and guard rail components resulting in unnecessary additional weight and cutting/welding/fabrication costs. Additionally C/Mn steel components are exposed to atmospheric corrosion and must also be shot blasted/primed/painted or galvanized to prolong operational life expectancy. This adds post fabrication costs for painting or galvanizing along with environmental concerns related to the painting/galvanizing operations. To prolong operational life of the bridge or guard rail there is ongoing operational maintenance costs related to annual painting, etc. Recent developments with optimized alloy/processing design along with utilization of niobium microalloying technology can produce structural shapes, including H-beams, with higher strength, improved ductility and atmospheric corrosion resistance. This paper will describe the basic metallurgical strategy to produce higher strength/toughness H-beams with atmospheric corrosion resistance for bridge and guard rail infrastructure applications that can offer overall cost reductions in fabrication and maintenance for bridge and guard rail applications.

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