Steel Plate

BlueScope Distribution offers a complete Steel Plate range of products.

 

Plate is available in thicknesses from 5mm to 150mm and greater, up to 3200mm wide and 18.3 metres long.

 

Our steel plate products are supplied in accordance with AS/NZS 3678 (Structural steel - hot-rolled plates and floor plates), AS/NZS 1594 (Hot-rolled steel flat products), AS1548 (Steel plates for pressure equipment) and AS/NZS1365 (Tolerances for flat-rolled steel products).

 

These specifications cover such matters as testing, inspection, certification procedures and dimensional tolerances.

Our Steel Plate product range comprise the following key categories:

MILD STEEL PLATE Range:

1. AS/NZS 3678 - 250 Plate

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES

A medium strength structural steel plate product with nominal yield strength of 250 Mpa.

• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Excellent weld ability
• Excellent formability Produced to AS/NZS 3678

Common Uses of this product:

General fabrication, structural members, high-rise buildings, bridges, storage tanks.

2. AS/NZS 3678 - 250 Floor Plate

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES

Hot-rolled structural floor plate with a raised pattern on one surface. This product has a nominal yield strength of 250 MPa.

• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Excellent weld ability
• Excellent formability

3. AS/NZS 3678 - 250 Heavy Plate

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES

A structural steel product in heavy sections with nominal yield strength of 250 MPa.

• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Good weld ability
• Produced to AS/NZS 3678

Common Uses of this product

Machine bases, column bases, press frames, sheaves

4. AS/NZS 3678 - 250 Plate - Impact Tested

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES

A structural steel plate product suitable for low temperature applications with nominal yield strength of 250 MPa and guaranteed impact properties at -15°C.

• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Low temperature properties
• Excellent weld ability
• Excellent formability
• Produced to AS/NZS 3678

5. AS/NZS 3678 - 300 Plate

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES  

A medium strength structural steel plate product with nominal yield strength of 300 MPa.

• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Excellent weld ability
• Excellent formability
• Produced to AS/NZS 3678

Common Uses of this product

General fabrication, structural members, high-rise buildings, bridges, storage tanks

6. AS/NZS 3678 - 300 Plate - Impact Tested

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES 

A structural steel plate product suitable for low temperature applications with nominal yield strength of 300 MPa and guaranteed impact properties at -15°C.

• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Low temperature properties
• Excellent weld ability
• Excellent formability
• Produced to AS/NZS 3678

Common Uses of this product

General fabrication, structural members, bridges, storage tanks

HIGH TENSILE STEEL PLATE

1. AS/NZS 3678 - 350 Plate

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES

A high strength structural steel product with nominal yield strength of 350 MPa.

• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Excellent weld ability
• Excellent formability
• Produced to AS/NZS 3678

Common Uses of this product

General fabrication, structural members, high-rise buildings, bridges, storage tanks

2. AS/NZS 3678 - 350 Plate - Impact Tested

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES 

A structural steel plate product suitable for low temperature applications with nominal yield strength of 350 MPa and guaranteed impact properties at -15°C.

• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Guaranteed low temperature properties
• Excellent weld ability
• Excellent formability
• Produced to AS/NZS 3678

Common Uses of this product

General fabrication, structural members, bridges, storage tanks

3. AS/NZS 3678 - 400 Plate

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES 

A high strength structural steel product with nominal yield strength of 400 MPa.

• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Excellent weld ability
• Excellent formability
• Produced to AS/NZS 3678

Common Uses of this product

General fabrication, structural members, high-rise buildings, bridges, storage tanks

4. AS/NZS 3678 - 400 Plate - Impact Tested

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES 

A structural steel plate product suitable for low temperature applications with nominal yield strength of 400 MPa and guaranteed impact properties at -15°C.

• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Guaranteed low temperature properties
• Excellent weld ability
• Excellent formability
• Produced to AS/NZS 3678

Common Uses of this product

General fabrication, structural members, bridges, storage tanks

5. AS/NZS 3678 - 450 Plate

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES 

A high strength structural steel product with nominal yield strength of 450 MPa.

• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Excellent weld ability
• Excellent formability
• Produced to AS/NZS 3678

Common Uses of this product

General fabrication, structural members, high-rise buildings, bridges, storage tanks

WEAR RESISTANT STEEL PLATE

1. AS/NZS 3678 - WR350 Weather Resistant Steel Plate / Improved Corrosion Resistance Steel Plate

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES

A structural weather resistant steel with nominal yield strength of 350 MPa.

• Enhanced weather resistance
• Guaranteed minimum strength levels
• Good formability
• Produced to AS/NZS 3678

Common Uses of this product

Railway rolling stock, storage hoppers / bins, architectural features

SERVICE

BlueScope Distribution supports its comprehensive range of steel plate products with quality plasma and oxy cutting facilities. Offering the highest quality range steel plate products, our quality assurance leaves our customers with the finest materials on offer.

Flame Cutting
Flame cutting, using a combination of a fuel-gas and oxygen, is a commonly used method for both cutting and edge preparation of a range of steel plate qualities. Conventional flame cutting utilises a cutting torch equipped with a tip that enables the dual functions of preheating the steel to ignition temperature and directing a stream of high-pressure oxygen through a centrally located orifice to perform the cutting. Acetylene and LP gas are the most commonly used fuel gases for the reheating flame, although natural gas and town gas are also used. Oxygen is fundamental to the process as it chemically combines with the preheated steel (at around 700°C). This chemical oxidation reaction liberates considerable amounts of additional heat, which melts the oxide formed. The high-pressure oxygen jet has the combined functions of reacting with the steel, generating heat, and sweeping away molten products of the reaction from the cut section (kerf). This thermal cycle will also produce a hardened heat-affected zone adjacent to the cut edge, the width and hardness of which will vary with cutting speed, steel thickness and steel chemistry.

For many applications, removal of the hardened heat affected zone may not be required, however if the cut face is to be welded, light dressing of the cut surface with a grinder is recommended to remove the thin carbide layer formed during flame cutting. The process of flame cutting therefore involves both chemical oxidation and the physical removal of molten oxide. It is the interrelation of these two factors that dictates the gas flow rates, nozzle design, cutting speed, etc appropriate for satisfactory flame cutting. Equipment manufacturers can provide information on cutting procedures for a wide range of applications. The Welding Technology Institute of Australia (WTIA)- Technical Note 5 “Flame Cutting of Steels” provides a comprehensive coverage of the subject.

MILD AND MEDIUM STRENGTH GRADES
Steels in this category are typified by the structural grade AS/NZS 3678-250, and the AS 1548-7-460 grade used in pressure vessel manufacture. These grades exhibit relatively low harden ability by virtue of the deliberate low carbon equivalents used on these grades. Flame cutting of “mild” steels presents little difficulty regardless of fuel gas used. The hardened heat-affected zone adjacent to the cut edge is usually only of significance where subsequent, severe cold forming of the edge is envisaged, or in particularly critical applications where a risk of brittle fracture or fatigue exists.

HIGH STRENGTH GRADES
Structural grades such as AS/NZS 3678-350 and 490MPa tensile pressure vessel grades are also readily flame cut without the need for special precautions in most applications. The increased harden ability of these grades means they are more susceptible to hardening of the cut edge, and this may be unacceptable for certain critical applications.

Reduced edge hardening may be facilitated by either:

1. Reduction in cutting speed, and/or
2. Initial preheating of the plate. Both of these procedures serve merely to slow down the cooling rate at the cut edge.

Technical information 55

Medium to high carbon grades
Where carbon content exceeds about 0.3%, plates may require both preheating and reduced cutting speeds in order to obtain acceptably low hardness levels in the heat affected zone. Preheating is particularly important for heavy sections where uniform preheating will assist considerably in reducing the chilling effect of the surrounding steel as well as ensuring a consistent cut. Machining of the cut is also facilitated by the softer edge produced by adherence to the above procedures. Post heating immediately after cutting may be desirable to ensure even slower cooling of the flame cut edges of heavy thickness, hardenable steels. Furnace cooling or insulation after cutting may be appropriate in such cases.

PLASMA CUTTING
Plasma cutting offers the prime advantage of speed over conventional flame cutting processes. Cutting speeds in thinner sections are typically two to three times higher for plasma cutting processes for steel thicknesses up to 25mm, especially at the lower end of the thickness range.

Thicker sections can be cut with plasma processes but speed advantages diminish rapidly beyond 25mm. Conversely, plasma cutting typically produces a wider kerf than flame cutting processes, with cut quality considered inferior due to rounding of the top edge and the difficulty in obtaining a square cut face on both edges. The hardened heat-affected zone of plasma cut steels is typically narrower than flame cut steels being less than a millimetre wide in 25mm thick steels compared with in excess of 2.5mm when the same steels are flame cut. Whilst the peak hardness of the heat-affected zone is less than that generated by flame cutting processes, it is still considered hard and potentially troublesome for subsequent machining or forming, especially where severe cold forming of the edge is envisaged, or in critical applications where a risk of brittle fracture or fatigue exists.

BlueScope Steel recommends that the surface layers of the plasma cut face be at least lightly ground to remove the hardest layers prior to subsequent processing.

LASER CUTTING
Laser cutting offers the advantages of speed, precision and quality of cut over the more conventional forms of cutting. As the laser concentrates its energy into a narrow focused beam that results in low levels of excess heat, a small kerf and narrow heat affected zone is produced, making the process particularly suitable for applications requiring high part accuracy or minimal distortion. There are restrictions on the thickness of steel that can be laser cut with additional demands on the selection of the appropriate steel grade compared to other technologies. Surface quality and flatness have a large impact on the ability to laser cut steel, and the quality of the cut. Steels suitable for laser cutting need to have a thin, tightly adherent surface scale and be free from contaminants. BlueScope Steel grades developed for laser cutting are Lasercut™ 250 and Lasercut™ 350 which meet the plate Standard AS/NZS 3678.

 

• Please refer to the Resources & Tools for a list of all materials available.
  
• Please feel free to consult your local BlueScope Distribution sales office for any queries you may have (refer our Locations).