SQ 38 - Section Properties

SQ 38 has a mass of 11.34 kg/m, tabulated to EN 10059. A 12 m length therefore weighs about 136 kg, which is the figure to use for a steel take-off or when checking a lift.

SQ 38 has a depth of 38 mm, a width of 38 mm, with a cross-sectional area of 14.4 cm². These are the nominal dimensions from EN 10059; rolling tolerances apply to the delivered section.

The plastic section modulus about the major axis, Wpl,y, is 13.72 cm³, and the elastic modulus Wel,y is 9.145 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 5 kNm before any stability check.

The second moment of area about the major axis, Iy, is 17.38 cm⁴, and about the minor axis Iz is 17.38 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 1.1 cm about the major axis and iz is 1.1 cm about the minor axis. Column buckling is governed by the SMALLER value: the slenderness is lambda = L_cr / i, so with iz = 1.1 cm a 0.1 m effective length already gives lambda = 100. Minor-axis buckling almost always controls unless the weak axis is restrained.