Reasonable expected yield strength of A513 steel

Question

I'm looking to build a fish-tank stand for a decently large fish tank (300 gal). I'm looking at building it out of A513 steel because that is easily available locally. However, I am having trouble finding a good yield stress to build my design on. A513 does not have a maximum yield stress requirement, so the measured results I find on the internet are all over the place!

Is there a reasonable estimate for maximum yield strength for A513, short of going to the company providing them the steel and asking them which specific supplier they are using, and then getting data from that supplier?

Answer 1

ASTM A513 standard for carbon and alloy Electric Resistance Welded (ERW) mechanical tubing. It covers carbon steel grades starting at 1008 and higher (1010, 1015, 1020, 1026) in addition to specified alloy steels and can be classified Type 1 (Hot Rolled Electric Resistance Welded), Type 2 (cold rolled) and Type 5(Drawn Over Mandrel).

Depending on the type and grade, the mechanical properties vary widely (yield strength varies from 35 ksi to 70 ksi), so you should get the information from the seller, or from the manufacturer.

You may also consider use A500 structural steel tubing instead. The yield strength of each grade is (in ksi): (Round Pipe) [Square & Rectangular Tubing]

Grade A (33) [39]

Grade B (42) [46]

Grade C (46) [50]

Answer 2

It is steel , if it is magnetic it is stronger than you need. I see your frustration , internet numbers from 30,000 psi up , or $ 65 for an ASTM Spec. ( I discarded all my ASTM books because every spec is reviewed every 5 years and none of mine were newer than 1995 . Specs may not be changed but you do not know ). Look at it another way ; your 300 gallon tank will weigh about 3000 lb with water ,gravel, etc. So if you have the lowest strength A -513 , you need 0.1 square inch of 30,000 psi steel to hold it up. Having built and modified several stands , I think having diagonal bracing or some other way to stabilize the tank from a side force is the major concern.