Sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of cold-rolled steel sheets

doi:10.1016/j.tws.2020.106842

Thin-Walled Structures

Volume 154, September 2020, 106842

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2020.106842 Get rights and content

Highlights

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Investigated sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of cold-rolled steel sheets.
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The properties included all the important strength and strain parameters and ductility.
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Addressed the lack of any sub-zero temperature data for cold-rolled steel sheets
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Compared sub-zero temperature mechanical property increment factors with those of other steel types.
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Proposed predictive equations for sub-zero temperature mechanical property increment factors.

Abstract

Cold-formed steels are replacing conventional building materials in many building applications due to the many benefits including lightweight and low cost of construction. Recent research has focused on the fire resistance of cold-formed steel (CFS) construction at material and member levels and advanced the knowledge of their fire performance significantly. However, the performance of CFS members at sub-zero temperatures has not been investigated. Although several studies have been conducted on the mechanical properties of other types of steel at sub-zero temperatures, no studies have been conducted on sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of thin cold-formed steels. In this research, low and high strength cold-rolled steel sheets were tested in the temperature range of 20 to −70 °C to determine their sub-zero temperature mechanical properties. Predictive equations are proposed for yield strength, Young's modulus, upper yield strength, ultimate strength and stress at 2% total strain using the experimental results. Finally, suitable stress-strain models are recommended for the prediction of sub-zero temperature stress-strain curves and their use in numerical studies.

Introduction

The polar regions and high altitude mountains experience harsh cold climatic conditions. Latip et al. [1] reported that −87.2 °C (Vostok Station in East Antarctica) was the lowest recorded temperature on the earth. It was recorded in the South Pole while −68 °C was the lowest temperature recorded in the Arctic region (the North Pole). People have been living in the Arctic Circle, which includes part of Russia, United-states, Canada, Norway and Greenland, for thousands of years despite the sub-zero temperature environment. Although Antarctica does not contain permanent habitats, many researchers and tourists visit the South Pole. On the other hand, North and South poles are rich in natural resources. Increased oil and gas explorations in North Pole have attracted more people to move closer to the region. However, people living in the polar regions or high altitude mountains do not have similar infrastructure facilities enjoyed by others due to the difficulties in using conventional building materials such as hot-rolled steel and concrete. Shorter day time, transportation difficulties, freezing temperatures, and knowledge gaps on the performance and design of building materials at sub-zero temperatures are some of the construction difficulties in the polar regions.

Although timber is one of the popular materials in the polar regions, it is heavier, less durable and vulnerable in fire compared to cold-formed steel (CFS). Pre-assembled Light Gauge Steel Frame (LSF) wall and floor systems made of cold-formed steel members are suitable for cold-region construction as they reduce the construction and transportation costs. Also, the knowledge enhancement in cold-formed steel design and construction at ambient and elevated temperatures in recent decades is an added advantage. However, limited effort has been taken in investigating the behaviour of cold-formed steel members at sub-zero temperatures so far. This means that although cold-formed steel construction is now widely used in residential, commercial and industrial buildings all over the world, it may not be used in the buildings constructed in cold-regions. Polyzois et al. [2] investigated the compression capacity of cold-formed steel angles used in lattice towers in the temperature range of −45 to 25 °C. Abdel-Rahim and Polyzois [3] investigated the mechanical properties of cold-formed steel sections, which are also used in lattice towers, in the range of ambient temperature to −50 °C. They concluded that low temperatures significantly affect the yield strength, ultimate strength and maximum percentage of elongation of steels. However, the thickness of their sections is higher compared to those used in LSF walls and floors. To date, there are no studies on the sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of cold-rolled steel sheets or cold-formed steel members.

On the other hand, many researchers have investigated the sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of other metals. Rosenberg [4] investigated the low-temperature mechanical properties of aircraft metals. Levings and Sritharan [5], Yan et al. [6], Yan and Xie [7] and Azhari et al. [8] investigated the sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of ASTM A706 Grade 420 steel reinforcement, normal and high strength hot-rolled steel, various grades of reinforcement steel and ultrahigh strength steel, respectively. Levings and Sritharan [5] showed that ASTM A706 Grade 420 steel reinforcement experienced 5.1% and 6.3% increment in yield and ultimate strengths, respectively at −40 °C. Similarly, Yan et al. [6] reported that yield strength, Young's modulus, ultimate strength and fracture strain increased as the temperature reduced. They observed yield strength increments of 13%, 21% and 7% at −80 °C for 4 mm mild steel, 12 mm mild steel and high strength steel, respectively. However, Yan and Xie [7] found that ductility of reinforcement steel reduced as temperature decreased while yield and ultimate strengths increased. Azhari et al. [8] also found that yield and ultimate strengths of ultra-high strength steel increased with reducing temperatures below zero while ductility reduced. Hence, it is important that sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of cold-rolled steels are also investigated to understand the variations of mechanical properties as a function of reducing temperature to sub-zero levels.

An experimental study was therefore undertaken to investigate the sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of cold-rolled steel sheets, such as yield strength, upper yield strength, ultimate strength, stress at 2% total strain, Young's modulus, ultimate strain and fracture strain. Using the experimental results, new equations were proposed to predict the sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of cold-rolled steel sheets. Suitable stress-strain models were also developed for cold-rolled steel sheets exposed to sub-zero temperatures. This paper presents the details of this experimental study and its results.

Section snippets

Test coupon and test method

A series of uniaxial tensile tests was conducted to determine the sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of low (G300) and high (G550) strength cold-rolled steel sheets. The base metal thicknesses of chosen steels are 0.55 mm, 0.80 mm and 1.0 mm for G300 steels and 0.55 mm, 0.75 mm and 0.95 mm for G550 steels. Kankanamge and Mahendran [9] and Rokilan and Mahendran [10] showed that high strength steel (HSS) grades such as G450, G500 and G550 exhibit similar yield strength reduction at

Sub-zero and ambient temperature mechanical properties

This section presents the measured sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of six different cold-rolled steel sheets (LSS G300 and HSS G550 steels with three thicknesses each) including their full engineering stress-strain curves based on the original tensile coupon dimensions (Fig. 5, Fig. 6). The ambient and sub-zero temperature mechanical properties such as yield strength (0.2% proof stress if the stress-strain curve exhibits gradual yielding), upper yield strength, stress at 2% total

Comparison of mechanical properties with past research studies

In this section, sub-zero temperature mechanical property predictive equations given for other types of steels are discussed. There are no predictive equations given in Abdel-Rahim and Polyzois [3], who give only the mechanical properties at ambient temperature and −50 °C. Similarly, no predictive equations are given in Azhari et al. [8]. Hence the yield strength predictive equations given in Levings and Sritharan [5], Yan et al. [6] and Yan and Xie [7] are shown in Fig. 17 and compared with

Mechanical properties

Sub-zero temperature tensile tests are difficult to conduct due to their cost and safety issues. Hence, it is essential to develop sub-zero temperature mechanical property predictive equations of cold-rolled steel sheets using their ambient temperature mechanical properties for use by engineers and researchers. This paper proposes suitable predictive equations for the sub-zero temperature mechanical property increment factors of yield strength, Young's modulus, ultimate strength and stress at

Conclusion

In this research, a detailed experimental study was conducted to determine the sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of low and high strength cold-rolled steel sheets. Following are the main findings and recommendations of this research.

1.
Yield strength, upper yield strength, ultimate strength and stress at 2% total strain of cold-rolled steel sheets increase with reducing temperature while low strength steels (LSS) show higher increment than high strength steels (HSS). Also, the ultimate

Author statement

Mahenthirarasa Rokilan: Investigation, Methodology, Formal analysis, Validation, Data Curation, Visualization, Writing - Original Draft. Mahen Mahendran: Conceptualisation, Methodology, Writing - Review & Editing, Supervision, Resources, Project administration, Funding acquisition.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Queensland University of Technology and Australian Research Council (Grant Number LP170100952) for providing financial support including a PhD scholarship and experimental facilities to conduct this research, and Greg Paterson for his invaluable assistance with sub-zero temperature tests.

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View full text

Sub-zero temperature mechanical properties of cold-rolled steel sheets

Highlights

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Test coupon and test method

Sub-zero and ambient temperature mechanical properties

Comparison of mechanical properties with past research studies

Mechanical properties

Conclusion

Author statement

Acknowledgements

Materials and Design

Construction and Building Materials

Construction and Building Materials

Thin-Walled Structure

J. Constr. Steel Res.

Journal of Constructional Steel Research

Construction and Building Materials

Microbial hydrolytic enzymes: in silico studies between polar and tropical regions

Polar Science

Effect of temperature and galvanization on the compressive strength of cold-formed angles

Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering

Effect of temperature and galvanization on cold-formed steel

Journal of materials in civil engineering

Effect of low temperatures on the properties of aircraft metals

Journal of Research

Effects of cold temperature and strain rate on the stress-strain behaviour of ASTM A706 grade 420 (60) steel reinforcement

Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering

Metallic Materials — Tensile Testing at Ambient Temperature