A572 Grade 50 steel for yard ramps construction

ASTM A572 Grade 50 [345] material is a columbium and vanadium blend steel with trace elements of manganese, phosphorus, sulfur and silicon. Copper, silicon, nickel, and chromium are also added to ASTM A572 Grade 50 steel in our ramps, increasing corrosion resistance.
Columbium and vanadium are added for strengthening purposes and alter the microstructure of carbon steel plates, producing a fine dispersion of alloy carbides in an almost pure ferrite matrix. This eliminates the toughness-reducing effect of a pearlitic volume fraction, yet maintains and increases our ramps’ strength by refining the grain size. Due to this higher strength and toughness, our ASTM A572 Grade 50 ramps require 25 to 30% more power to form, but that power translates into superior resilience and durability.

Are There Special Requirements For Machining A572 Grade 50?
A572 Grade 50 HSLA steel is made to meet specific mechanical properties. A572 Grade 50 steel ramps have a carbon content between 0.05–0.25% that gives excellent formability and is an excellent material for strong and safe welds.
A572 Grade 50 HSLA steel is versatile and easy to cut. You can cut A572-50 with plasma, oxy-Acetylene, laser, water jet, and abrasive cut-off saws. Machining, drilling, countersinking, counterboring, tapping, milling, and general machining can also all be done with conventional equipment and carbide tools. A572 Grade 50 steel can be welded with simple procedures and common consumables such as E7018 welding rod.

Our A572 Grade 50 plate steel ramps are a little harder to form and a little heavier than aluminum but our steel yard ramps are the best option when you deal with heavy weights and if moving a slightly heavier ramp isn’t a concern.

Why we use A572 Grade 50 high strength steel on the yard ramps construction?
As the industry leader in manufacturing and selling loading dock equipment, we insist on using the best material possible. A572 Grade 50 HSLA steel plates have a flat, clean surface, are stronger than mild steel, and provide incredibly high yield strength in a surprisingly light package. In permanent or moveable yard ramps where superior strength is required, a relatively light end product weight is a major plus.

A572 Grade 50 has a smaller cross-section that can support the same or larger load than A36 steel or steels that are not structural grade. This directly correlates to the overall weight of the ramp where the higher the steel’s Yield Strength, the less the ramp can weigh. A572 Grade 50 has a 139% greater Yield Strength than A36 steel.