Hot and Cold: Flat Rolled Steel Properties and Uses

Steel processing is as complex as it is useful. The variety of uses of this metal material depends on how it was processed. Key applications range from house frames to machinery parts, or even railways and appliances when combined with other metals.

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One of the processed steel types is flat steel. Flat steel products are made of steel sheets and plates rolled from slabs. Flat-rolled steel products consist of two kinds, namely, hot rolled sheets and cold rolled sheets. They are manufactured differently, each having its particular application.

Hot Rolled Steel

Hot rolled steel is turned into a coil of steel while the temperature is above degrees Fahrenheit. This process makes the material more malleable, making it easier for the material to be rolled. Because of its malleability, hot rolled steel is used as a material for structural components. Some uses for hot-rolled steel include:

• Structural Sections
• Tanks
• Racking
• Guardrails
• Railroad tracks

Though hot rolled steel is extremely malleable, it cannot be used to create intricate products. It is used most of the time for simple-shaped items like beams and poles.

Also, since exact dimensions aren&#;t required, and the steel&#;s appearance isn&#;t that important, some companies prefer using the scaly products in machining or metalworking.

Cold Rolled Steel

Cold rolled steel is as its name suggests. Instead of coiling it while extremely malleable, the steel is rolled while the temperature is below degrees F, usually at room temperature.

Because the steel is made and rolled at such low temperatures, its structure does not change. Due to its smoother and more accurate composition, it is typically used in:

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• Automobiles
• Appliances
• Building/construction

Cold rolled steel costs a little more than hot rolled steel because of the time and effort needed to roll it into a coil. Cold rolled steel has a shiny and smooth finish, while hot-rolled steel tends to be gray and scaly.

The cold rolled steel&#;s tensile strength is higher than that of hot rolled steel. Cold rolled has a tensile strength of 85,000 psi while hot-rolled steel has 67,000 psi. Cold rolled steel&#;s yield strength is also higher than that of hot-rolled steel, at 70,000 psi compared to the latter&#;s 45,000 psi.

This makes cold-rolled steel ideal in the machining industry, in which the quality of steel determines the quality of the final product.

Quality is Still Key

Depending on what you need them for, the quality of your coil of steel will always matter. If you are in the manufacturing, machinery, or even construction business, you will need to use only the highest quality of steel.

Hascall Steel Co ensures that you get only the best quality of steel according to your specifications. Fill out our form for your questions or to let us know what else we can do for you. Contact us today.

Glenn Wegman said:

rbent,

I had never thought about it until I saw this post.

Are you saying that if you have hot rolled and cold rolled that are both spec'd at 83k tensile, (just pulling a number out of the air) one won't be 83K?

Or are you saying that if you take 1" cold rolled annealed round, and 1" hot rolled annealed round, and heat treat them both at the same time in the same furnace that one will differ from the other in tensile?

Click to expand...

The "1" cold rolled annealed round" will have lost its cold work-induced strength in the annealing process, or any other heat-based hardening process. Once you heat treat identical alloy steels, it does not matter whether they were originally hot rolled or cold rolled. The cold work grain structure will be modified by high heat, whether annealing or hardening.

Cold rolled steel will be harder/stronger/less ductile than as-rolled hot rolled of the same alloy. You should not expect to be able to spec the same tensile strength in cold rolled and hot rolled steel of identical alloy unless the hot rolled has been hardened after rolling. I would expect pre-hard to be stronger than cold rolled when you buy it.

That said, the main reason to use cold rolled bars is to get more accurate bar dimensions and smoother bar surface finish than with hot rolled. Cold rolled rounds are usually suitable for holding in standard collets, especially in high production lathes and parts that retain some of the original bar diameter when finished.. Hot rolled is sometimes held in special serrated or toothed collets, so the application is limited to parts where the original bar surface is turned down or is not important.

Larry

The "1" cold rolled annealed round" will have lost its cold work-induced strength in the annealing process, or any other heat-based hardening process. Once you heat treat identical alloy steels, it does not matter whether they were originally hot rolled or cold rolled. The cold work grain structure will be modified by high heat, whether annealing or hardening.Cold rolled steel will be harder/stronger/less ductile than as-rolled hot rolled of the same alloy. You should not expect to be able to spec the same tensile strength in cold rolled and hot rolled steel of identical alloy unless the hot rolled has been hardened after rolling. I would expect pre-hard to be stronger than cold rolled when you buy it.That said, the main reason to use cold rolled bars is to get more accurate bar dimensions and smoother bar surface finish than with hot rolled. Cold rolled rounds are usually suitable for holding in standard collets, especially in high production lathes and parts that retain some of the original bar diameter when finished.. Hot rolled is sometimes held in special serrated or toothed collets, so the application is limited to parts where the original bar surface is turned down or is not important.Larry

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