CHS 406.4×20 - Section Properties

CHS 406.4×20 has a mass of 190.58 kg/m, tabulated to EN 10219. A 12 m length therefore weighs about 2287 kg, which is the figure to use for a steel take-off or when checking a lift.

CHS 406.4×20 has a depth of 406.4 mm, a width of 406.4 mm, a wall thickness of 20 mm, with a cross-sectional area of 243 cm². These are the nominal dimensions from EN 10219; rolling tolerances apply to the delivered section.

The plastic section modulus about the major axis, Wpl,y, is 2,989 cm³, and the elastic modulus Wel,y is 2,236 cm³. Wpl,y is what sets the moment capacity of a Class 1 or 2 section: M_pl,Rd = Wpl,y x f_y / gamma_M0, so at S355 with gamma_M0 = 1.0 this section reaches about 1061 kNm before any stability check.

The second moment of area about the major axis, Iy, is 45,430 cm⁴, and about the minor axis Iz is 45,430 cm⁴. Iy is the value deflection depends on - for a simply supported beam under a uniform load, the midspan deflection is 5wL⁴/384EIy - so on spans where a deflection limit governs rather than strength, this is the number that decides the section.

iy is 13.7 cm about the major axis and iz is 13.7 cm about the minor axis. Column buckling is governed by the SMALLER value: the slenderness is lambda = L_cr / i, so with iz = 13.7 cm a 1.4 m effective length already gives lambda = 100. Minor-axis buckling almost always controls unless the weak axis is restrained.

The St Venant torsion constant It is 90,860 cm⁴. Closed sections carry torsion in a shear flow around the perimeter, which makes them far stiffer in torsion than an open section of the same weight and is usually why one is specified.