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SECTION - 5: STEEL STRUCTURES
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Section 5: Steel Structures Technical
Specifications

Section 5 - Steel Structures

GENERAL
This Section comprises the Standards and Specifications
pertaining to the fundamental requirements of design,
manufacture, testing, inspection, supply and erection of steel
support structures for line terminations, supporting buses and
other equipment such as circuit breakers, dis-
connectors/isolators, instrument transformers, line traps, surge
arresters and post insulators.

All drawings and statements shall be in English language and

Metric System of measurements shall be used.

SCOPE OF WORK

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Design, manufacturing, testing, inspection, supply,
erection, installation, commissioning and guaranteeing of all
steel support structures required or specified or implied herein

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are included in the scope of the Contract. The material and
fabrication shall be the best of their respective kinds and to a
standard not less than specified herein.

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General configuration of structures for the substation as provided
in the Contract Documents indicate details of Work to be carried
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out.
Lattice type structure comprises structural steel members
with connecting bolts, nuts, washers, check nuts and step bolts (if
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required) shall be furnished. All steel material shall be hot dip

galvanized after fabrication. The Contractor shall ensure proper
fitting and alignment of offered structures.
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The Contractor shall be responsible for submitting all detail

designs and drawings as required or specified herein on
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the basis of information provided in the Contract Documents and

as directed by the Employer’s Representative. The Contractor
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shall prepare as-built drawings/documentation and submit to the

Employer’s Representative.

DESIGN STANDARDS

Unless otherwise specified in these Specifications or in the

drawings, the Contractor shall conform to the applicable
requirements of the latest revisions of the following standards or
equivalent as approved by the Employer’s Representative. The
latest applicable standards shall be those which are enforced
thirty (30) days prior to the date of Bid opening.

ASCE 7 (Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and

Other Structures)
ASCE 10 Design of Latticed Steel Transmission Structures
AISC LRFD-93 For Steel Design

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ASCE Manual No. 74 Guidelines for Electrical Transmission Line

Structural Loading

ASCE Manual No. 113 Substation Structure Design Guide

STRUCTURAL LOADINGS
Calculations for loadings on terminal structures used for dead ending of
conductors, overhead shield wires and substation bus structures shall
be carried out by the Contractor and submitted to the Employer’s
Representative for approval. A twenty (20) degree angle of entry for
terminal structures shall be assumed.
Loading and design shall be in accordance with the requirements of the
latest ASCE Manual No. 113 and ASCE Standard 10 based on the
information hereof.

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5.4.1 Wind Loads

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Structures shall be designed for (i) wind acting at 90 degrees to the
surfaces (ii) wind acting at 135 degrees (45 degrees) to the surfaces.
Wind pressure corresponding to 160 km/hr wind velocity acting

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horizontally in any direction at 25C everyday temperature shall be
used.
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5.4.2 Vertical Loads
Equipment weights and dead loads together with estimated
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construction/maintenance loads as required.

5.4.3 Loading Due to Thermal Forces

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Thermal stresses caused by a temperature variation as indicated in

special provisions shall be taken and expansion joints shall be provided
at the appropriate locations.
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5.4.4 Earthquake Intensity

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Horizontal earthquake acceleration of an intensity of 0.15g acting in

any direction shall be considered for the design of ground structures
acting in any direction irrespective of their height and flexibility. The
above value shall be considered as the Zero Period Acceleration
(ZPA).
All the joints and base mounted fastening of free standing electrical
equipment such as circuit breakers, dis-connectors/isolators,
instrument transformers, line traps, bus bars, surge arresters and post
insulators shall be designed to resist the effects of an acceleration
intensity 0.15g in any direction.

5.4.5 Short Circuit Loads

Short circuit loads shall also be considered in the design of steel
structures as per maximum short circuit level.

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5.4.6 Load Cases and Load Combinations

The above loads shall be combined with tension of conductor loading
on the structure. The various load combinations and load cases to be
used shall be as per relevant Standards and Codes.

DESIGN

5.5.1 General
The Contractor shall submit complete details of the structure design
proposes to furnish, showing outline dimensions together with member
dimensions, stresses and calculations in sufficient detail to determine
compliance with the Contract Documents.

The substation shall be adequately protected against direct lightning

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strokes, by the use of shield wires located on the substation structures.
The height, location, and number of shield wires shall be such as to
protect the equipment installed within the substation to a failure rate of

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shielding from direct lightning strokes of not greater than 1 per annum.

5.5.2 Slenderness Ratio (L/r)

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Determination of L/r ratio and allowable compressive stress shall be
based on ASCE 10 “Design of Latticed Steel Transmission Structures”.
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The maximum L/r ratio of a member shall not exceed to the following
limits:
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(a) For main compression member 150

(b) For secondary members carrying 200
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calculated stresses
(c) For redundant members without 250
calculated stresses
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5.5.3 Allowable Unit Stresses

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All parts of the structure shall be so proportioned that the unit stresses
in members, produced by design load factors shall not exceed the
values as given in ASCE Standard 10 and as summarized below.
Members shall be of such size, shape and length as to preclude
damage or failure from vibration or stress reversal.

(a) Compressive Stress:

The allowable unit stress on the gross section of axially loaded
compression members shall be calculated as:
F c = [1- {(KL/r)2 / (2C c 2)}] F y ------------------- (1)

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when KL/r < C c

OR
F c = 200,000 / (KL/r)2 ------------------- (2)
when KL/r > C c
in which C c = S —(2E/F y ) ------------------- (3)
where,
F y = Minimum guaranteed yield strength, kg/mm2
F c = Allowable compressive stress in member, kg/mm2
E = Modulus of Elasticity of the material, kg/mm2

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KL/r = Largest effective slenderness ratio of any un-braced
segment of the member and provided that the largest (b/t) ratio
is not more than the limiting value given by:

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(b/t) Lim = 66.289 / —F y ------------------- (4)
in which,

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b = Distance from the edge of fillet to the extreme fiber
t = Thickness of the material
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If the width-thickness ratio exceeds (b/t) Lim , equations (1) and
(3) shall be modified by substituting for F y the value F cr given by:
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F cr = [1.8 - {0.8 (b/t) / (b/t) Lim }] F y ------------------- (5)

where (b/t) Lim < b/t < 99.433 / —F y
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F cr = 5900 / (b/t)2 ------------------- (6)

where b/t > 99.433 / —F y
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(b) Tensile Stress: Allowable Tensile Stress (F t ) through the

minimum Net Section shall be taken as applicable yield point
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(F y ).
(c) Bending Stress: Allowable Bending Stress (F b ) on Extreme
Fibers shall be taken as the applicable yield point (F y ).
(d) Shearing Stress: Allowable Shear Stress (F s ) shall be taken as
5/8 of the applicable yield point (F y ).
(e) Bearing Stress: Allowable Bearing Stress, for all steel materials
specified herein shall be taken as 1.65 times the applicable yield
point (F y ).
(f) Combined Compression and Bending: Members
simultaneously subjected to both axial compression and bending
stress shall be designed as:
f c / F c + f b / [F b (1 – f c / F c )] < 1

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f c = Actual axial compressive stress (resultant axial force divided

by the effective cross sectional area of the column).
f b = Actual bending stress, tension or compression whichever is
greater at extreme fiber (bending moment divided by the Section
Modulus).
(g) Combined Shear and Tension: Where applicable, maximum
stress resulting from combined shear and tension shall be
investigated.

MATERIALS
All materials shall be of the highest grade free from defects and
imperfections of recent manufacture, unused and of the classification
and grades designated, conforming to the requirements of the latest

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revision of the relevant Standards cited herein. All structural steel
sections, plates and its connection bolts, nuts, washers, check nuts
and step bolts (if required) shall be hot dip galvanized after fabrication.

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5.6.1 Structural Steel

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All rolled steel sections and plates shall be supplied in accordance with
latest edition of EN 10025 (minimum S355JR grade) or Chinese (GB)
Standard (minimum Q345B grade) or equivalent Standard. The
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following minimum steel thickness shall apply:
(a) Main members 6 mm
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(b) Secondary members carrying calculated stresses 5 mm

(c) Redundant members without calculated stresses 4 mm
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(d) Gusset Plates 6 mm

(e) Size for stub 8 mm
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The minimum leg member for equipment steel structure shall be

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70x70x6.

5.6.2 Bolts and Nuts

All steel structure connection bolts and nuts shall be of steel and shall
conform to the requirements of ISO 898-1 (minimum 6.8 property
class), ISO 898-2 (minimum 6.8 property class), DIN 7990 and DIN
555. All steel structure connection bolts, nuts, washers and check nuts
shall be of minimum 16 mm size.
All connections shall be bolted type and shall be designed for 100%
member capability. 5% surplus of bolts, nuts, washers and check nuts
shall also be supplied. A connecting bolt shall contain one nut, one
washer and one check nut.
(a) Bolt Spacing: Minimum spacing of bolts shall be as follows:

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Bolt Diameter Minimum Bolt Spacing

16 mm 40 mm

20 mm 50 mm

22 mm 60 mm

(b) End Distances: The minimum end distances measured from

the centre of the bolt hole to the end of the member shall be as
follows:
(i) For Compression Members: One and one-half bolt
diameter.

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(ii) For Tension Members: In an end connection of not
more than three bolts, the end distance shall not be less

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than that given in (i) above or the following value,
whichever is greater.
0.865 P + 0.38 d

2-2- Fy x t
Where,
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P = Ultimate load on bolt, kg
t = Thickness of member, mm
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d = Nominal bolt diameter, mm

Fy = Yield stress of material, kg/mm2
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(c) Minimum Edge Distance

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Minimum distance from any hole centre or edge member shall

be as follows:
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Bolt Diameter Minimum Edge Distance

Rolled Edge Sheared Edge Flamed Edge

16 mm 19 mm 24 mm 27 mm
20 mm 26 mm 30 mm 33 mm
22 mm 32 mm 33 mm 36 mm
For gusset plate one and half bolt diameter.

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5.6.3 Washers
All washers shall be of galvanized malleable iron or steel conforming to
the requirements of DIN 7989 and shall be provided for all bolts. Only
one washer per bolt shall be used.

5.6.4 Check nuts

Galvanized check nuts of the type approved by the Employer’s
Representative conforming to the requirements of DIN 7967 shall be
provided for all bolts.

5.6.5 Step Bolts

Galvanized step bolts shall be provided on one leg of gantry columns

and shall have minimum 16 mm diameter. The length of bolts shall be

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180 mm. Steps shall be spaced approximately 300 mm to 350 mm
apart.

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STEEL FABRICATION

5.7.1 Holes

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All holes shall be clean-cut without torn or ragged edges. All burrs
resulting from reaming or drilling shall be removed. All holes shall be
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cylindrical and perpendicular to the member. The diameter of the
finished hole shall be 1.5 mm greater than the nominal diameter of the
bolt.
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5.7.2 Welding
Welding shall be performed in accordance with the latest edition of
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"Code for Arc and Gas Welding in Building Construction", as

formulated by the American Welding Society or equivalent Standard.
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A shielded arc-welding process shall be used. All welds shall be made

in such a manner that residual shrinkage stresses will be reduced to a
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minimum.

5.7.3 Galvanizing
All plates and shapes shall be hot dipped galvanized after fabrication in
accordance with ASTM Designation A123 or equivalent Standard. All
bolts, nuts and washers shall be hot dipped galvanized in accordance
with ASTM A153 or equivalent Standard. Re-threading of bolt threads
after galvanizing will not be permitted.
All necessary precautions shall be taken in the selection of steel and its
fabrication and preparation for galvanizing to prevent embrittlement of
any item or parts of item including bolts and nuts.
Material on which galvanizing has been damaged shall be re-dipped.
Any member on which the galvanized coating becomes damaged after
having been dipped twice shall be rejected.

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All material shall, prior to shipping, be dipped in a suitable solution to

protect the galvanizing from “white rust” corrosion during transit. Full
details of the treatment proposed shall be submitted to the Employer’s
Representative for approval. The effectiveness of the treatment shall
be verified in accordance with ASTM Standard B201.

5.7.4 Repairs of Damaged Steel

(a) Correction of Mis-fabricated and Damaged Steel
All shop errors and damaged steel shall be reported to the
Employer’s Representative who will decide the manner in which
corrections shall be made. All costs incurred due to punching,
drilling or cutting shall be deemed to be included in the steel
erection costs.

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Pieces bent in handling may be used if they can be straightened
to the satisfaction of the Employer’s Representative, without
structurally damaging the material. If bent pieces cannot be

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satisfactorily repaired, they shall be replaced.
(b) Damage to Galvanizing

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Small areas of galvanizing damaged by abrasion, in
straightening bent pieces or by necessary clipping in the field,
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shall be repaired by carefully cleaning the affected area and
painting. The appropriate paint will be furnished by the
Contractor.
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Damaged area shall be wiped with clean rags saturated with

Xylene or equivalent solvent, followed by wire brushing then re-
cleaned with solvent to remove residue, and painted with one
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coat of "Galvanox", or approved equivalent.

Galvanizing damaged by drilling or punching shall be repaired
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by applying an aluminium paste or zinc rich coating material to

completely fill all voids between the bolt and the surfaces bared,
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or all exposed steel surfaces around the holes or on cuts on

which such corrective work is permitted. The coating material
shall be "Galvanox" or approved equivalent.

5.7.5 Prototype Assembly

Before starting mass fabrication of steel structures, one structure of
each type shall be shop assembled and vertically erected on a suitable
foundation bed to assure proper fit of all parts as finally manufactured.
Following should be kept in view during shop assembly.
(a) Check carefully each member while assembling the prototype to
revise and amend the detailed drawings according to the correct
solution.

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(b) For each member, the length, position of holes and interface
with other members shall be checked accurately for proper
fitness.
(c) Quantity of each member and bolts shall be carefully checked
from the bill of materials when assembling the prototype.
(d) On the assembled structure eventual modifications shall be
examined and performed, if necessary, without modifying its
functionality.
(e) Drawings and bill of materials, sizes of bolts, fillers etc. shall be
put up-to-date accordingly, in all details before starting mass
production.
All changes/modifications incorporated in the drawings shall be brought

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to the notice of Employer’s Representative along with corrected final
copies of the drawings for approval. The Manufacturer shall also
submit details of all the changes/modifications carried out.

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The Employer’s Representative may witness a shop assembly of any
or all types of steel structures/towers before shipment.

5.7.6 Marking
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All structural members shall be marked with the correct designation
shown on the shop drawing. Marking shall be done by stamping the
members prior to galvanizing with numerals or letters of minimum
12mm height, and shall be clearly legible after galvanizing.
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5.7.7 Tolerances
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Ease of assembling the structure in the field is of utmost importance.

The structure shall be so manufactured that all members carrying the
same mark shall be interchangeable when assembled. The structure
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shall fit without undue pressing and no reaming or drifting of holes shall
be required. When erected, the structures shall not deviate from the
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vertical by more than 1/300.

The Contractor shall be responsible for the correct fitting of all parts
and shall replace free of cost any defective materials discovered during
erection. The Contractor shall also be responsible for the correction in
the field of any errors not previously discovered.
The permissible variation from dimensions for structural size steel
shapes shall not exceed the prescribed limits in ASTM A6 Standard.

TESTS

5.8.1 Manufacturer's Tests

The Manufacturer shall select two samples from each heat to carry out
the following tests to satisfy himself that the products comply with the
Specifications.

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(a) For Sections and Plates

(i) Chemical composition (Ladle Analysis)

(ii) Tensile test
(iii) Bend test

(b) For Nuts and Bolts

(i) Proof load test

(ii) Ultimate tensile strength test
(iii) Ultimate tensile strength test under eccentric load
(iv) Cold bend test
(v) Hardness test
(vi) Galvanizing test

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(c) For Washers and Ring Fillers

(i) Hardness test

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(ii) Galvanizing test
The Manufacturer shall maintain a record of tests carried out by himself

5.8.2
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for examination by Inspectors during pre-shipment inspection.

Acceptance Tests
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The Contractor shall provide sampling plan prior to pre-shipment
inspection for Employer’s Representative approval. The following
acceptance tests shall be carried out during pre-shipment inspection.
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(a) For Sections and Plates

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(i) Visual examination

(ii) Verification of dimensions and weights
(iii) Prototype assembly tests
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(iv) Chemical composition (Check analysis)

(v) Tensile tests
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(vi) Bend tests

(vii) Galvanizing tests
(b) For Nuts and Bolts
(i) Verification of dimensions
(ii) Visual inspection
(iii) Proof load tests
(iv) Ultimate tensile strength tests
(v) Galvanizing tests
The Contractor shall render all necessary assistance to the Inspectors
during above-mentioned tests.

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5.8.3 Acceptance and Rejection

(a) Chemical Composition

To indicate adequately, the chemical composition of a heat or a
lot, the minimum number of samples selected to represent the
heat shall be as follows:
50 tons or more 2
50 tons or less 1
If a piece fails to meet the requirement the lot shall be rejected.

(b) Tensile Properties

Sample plan for tension and bend tests shall be made for each

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grade of steel. Three (03) tension and two (02) bend tests shall
be made (for every 50 tons’ lot) from the finished offered
material for each grade of steel.

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If a test piece fails to meet the requirement the lot shall be
rejected.

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Galvanizing
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The acceptance and rejection on the basis of galvanizing test
will be according to the specified Standards. The galvanizing
test shall be carried out on all ferrous parts complying with the
following requirements:
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(i) Weight of zinc coating

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(ii) Uniformity of zinc coating

(iii) Adherence of zinc coating
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(iv) Zinc coating thickness

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Test samples for determination of compliance to the tests

specified shall be performed in accordance with relevant ASTM
Specification and shall be taken from each lot. The lot shall
consist of a quantity as specified in the relevant standards.

DRAWINGS AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA

Drawings and descriptive data for each structure shall include, but not
limited to:
(a) Outline drawings
(b) Design calculations, 3D computer models, and stress diagram
by using SAP2000 software. Design calculations along with
computer printouts shall be fully documented.
(c) Erection drawings

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(d) Bill of materials

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