Steel Plate Basics: How They&#;re Made & Used

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In some of our other resources, we&#;ve discussed the basics of other structural steel shapes such as beams, pipes, angles, and rebar. While steel plates are about as simple as steel products come, there&#;s still plenty to discuss about what defines them, what they&#;re used for, as well as their sizing conventions.

What is plate steel?

Steel plates are generally rectangular, flat steel products that are used in a variety of structural applications. They are often cut or transformed into different steel shapes to fit a number of different applications. The most common steel alloys used for these products are A36, A572 (Grade 50), and A786, all of which are available in our inventory.

What&#;s the difference between steel plate & sheet?

It&#;s not uncommon to think of steel plates and steel sheets as closely related. The boundary that separates the two is primarily the thickness, where the product is considered a &#;plate&#; if its thickness is greater than ¼&#; (6mm). If the thickness of the steel is less than that, it&#;s considered a steel sheet. Another way you can tell is that steel plates are stored by stacking them, while sheet steel is coiled.

How is a steel plate made?

The most common way that steel plates are manufactured is through hot rolling, where steel slabs are heated until they are more malleable. The steel is then run through a series of rollers that flatten and thin them out to the desired thickness. When making these plates, it&#;s common to start with multiple layers of steel that are slowly compressed into one plate. The plate is then cut to the required dimensions for a given project.

What are they used for?

Because of their simple nature, steel plates are used for a wide range of applications in a variety of industries. Some common uses include:

• Bridge and building construction: Plates are used primarily to strengthen the foundations of large structures such as bridges and warehouses, as well as for anchoring steel beams in these situations.
• Military shielding: Many military vehicles and buildings use steel plates for protection against gunfire and other dangers.
• Ship construction: Due to their strength and ease of welding, steel plates are also common in large ships, and are one of the most common materials used in the building of these boats.
• Road plates: While construction is being done on streets, steel plates are commonly used as a temporary surface for traffic to pass over, and can cover potholes, trenches, excavations, and other damage to the normal road surface.
• Shipping containers: Lots of the large shipping containers used to transport goods across the globe are made from steel plates to preserve the life of the containers.

There are many more applications for steel plates, but these are some of the top situations where this critical steel shape is used.

Steel plate measurements

Unlike steel sheets, which usually use gauge numbers to measure thickness, steel plates almost always use inches. This makes it easy to not only understand plate sizing charts, but also to visualize the size of the plates. Besides metrics such as thickness, width, and length, weight is also a common consideration with steel plates. The weight per square foot will obviously change with the thickness, but also with the steel grade and finishing services (such as painting, galvanizing, and tread pattern).

Get strong plates for your project today

No matter what type, size, or specification of steel plates you need, Service Steel can supply it. Even better, our experts can help you decide what the best choice is for your project so you don&#;t need to feel pressured to be an expert in steel plates and standard sizing.

Steel plates, also referred to as structural steel, are made up of multiple steel layers that are compressed together to form individual plates. Those individual plates can be welded and cut as necessary, and they offer the strength and durability needed in a variety of applications. Steel plates come in different sizes and grades and are both corrosion and abrasion resistant. Due to variations in their thickness, they are an attractive alternative to steel sheet. They are used widely, for home construction, heavy civil construction, mining, machinery engineering, shipbuilding, for military projects, and in the oil and gas pipelines. More, specifically, here are some of the major uses of steel plates:

1. Construction

Steel plates play a versatile role in the construction industry. They&#;re particularly common in the construction of bridges, building, and warehouses. They&#;re also used for building large commercial structures like airports and sports arenas. Steel plates are used to help make building foundations stronger and to provide foundational support to bridges. They&#;re also an essential component of most pre-fabricated homes, including the new, trendy &#;tiny houses.&#;

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In the heavy civil sector, steel plates are used for road plates, shoring plates, excavation, and more.

2. Military

Military buildings and vehicles are often fortified with the help of steel plates. They&#;re common in jeeps, tanks, trucks, helicopters, jets, and ships used for military purposes. They&#;re also used to test the strength of weapons and bullets. All branches of the military use steel plates in some fashion.

3. Ship construction

Easily welded and ultra-strong, steel plates are used in a significant number of ships and are probably one of the most commonly used materials in ship building. They&#;re also a key component of many oil rigs and in offshore construction. Their corrosion resistance makes them ideal for these applications.

4. Pressure vessels

Pressure vessels like gas tanks and boilers, which need to protect against leaks and extreme temperatures, are frequently made of steel plates. Oftentimes, these steel plates are specifically engineered to be able to hold gas or fluid contents at different temperatures to reduce the risk of explosion.

5. Shipping

Large shipping containers are commonly built using steel plates. Steel plates help preserve the life of these shipping containers due to their corrosion and rust resistance, and they are strong enough to protect all different types of cargo.

6. Oil and gas

In addition to being used for construction of rigs, many oil and gas pipelines use steel plates to maximize their strength and ensure they last longer without corroding. Steel plates can easily be welded to suit the needs of pipelines and can also be used for repair purposes when parts of pipelines need to be patched up.

7. Household appliances

You probably weren&#;t aware of this, but steel plates are even used to build your household refrigerators and dishwashers. In refrigerators, steel plates are beneficial because they help the appliance hold its temperature and are unlikely to rust even after years and years of use.

8. Automotive Industry

Steel plates are found in many cars on the road today. Due to their strength, they&#;re essential in keeping drivers and passengers safe in the event of accidents. They can also be relatively light in weight in comparison to other materials of their strength, which means they help improve the fuel economy of cars.

9. Road Work

In addition to being used in almost every other area of construction, steel plates are also used for road work projects. Skid-resistant, steel road plates can be a viable and temporary fix to place over holes and other compromised areas of road to allow road traffic uninterrupted access to those areas during construction projects and road repair projects.

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We have a large selection of used steel plates for sale. If you don&#;t see the type of steel plates you&#;re interested in, contact us here and our dedicated team of experts will help you find it.

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