Material Traceability

and Reusability in
BC1: 2012
by:
CHIEW Sing-Ping
Nanyang Technological University

http://www.bca.gov.sg/StructuralPlan/others/Design_Guide_BC1_2012.pdf
http://www.bca.gov.sg/StructuralPlan/others/Handbook_to_BC1_2012.pdf

Steel Selection & Quality Assurance

BC1: 2008 - Design
Guide on Use of
Alternative Steel
Materials to BS5950

BC 1: 2012
Current Revisions ?
In short:
- new steel
- new design code
- reused steel
Companion publication:
- Handbook to BC1: 2012

Current Revisions of BC 1

Expanded title: BC 1: 2012 Design Guide on

use of alternative structural steel to BS5950
and Eurocode 3 to cover expanded scope:

Additional material categories (Section 2)

Specific provision to Clause 4.4 (Section 4)
Design parameters to Eurocode 3 (Section 5)
Material traceability & reusability for re-use steel
(new Section 6 for struts and sheet piles)
Update production standards, and hence the list of
certified steel materials (Appendix A)

BC 1: 2012
Updates in Section 2

Inclusion of 2 new material categories: Hot-rolled steel bars round/flat/square bars up to

grade 690/1000 based on EN 10058/59/60;
Sheet piles hot-rolled sheet piles to JIS A5523 &
EN 10248, cold-formed sheet piles to EN 10249;
pipe piles & steel piles are already covered under
hot-rolled sections and hollow sections.
Important Note: Sheet piles to JIS A5528
not-certified (Grades SY295 and SY390),
only Grades SYW295 and SYW390 to JIS
A5523 are certified.

BC 1: 2012
Updates in Section 4

Clause 4.4 Special Case is made more

specific and clearer, i.e. the written plan
should comprise at least one set of material
testing for each batch/lot of steel materials
(instead of 100% material testing)

BC 1: 2012
Updates in Section 5

Inclusion of design recommendations to EN 1993

Simplification of design parameters tables for
ASTM/AS steel materials* and bolts
*Gradual downgrading of material strengths are applied to

ASTM/AS steel materials as thickness increases

Omission of bolt-nut-washer matching tables

more appropriate to refer to the material standards
Inclusion of GB/T 19879:2005 steels up to Q460,
ASTM A1046:2007 profiled sheets, JSS II-09:1981
S10T torshear bolts & other materials deemed
suitable

BC 1: 2012
Section 6NEW!!! (1)

Addition of new section, i.e. Section 6.

Material traceability and reusability
Guidelines on the re-use of sheet piles &
steel materials in steel strutting system used
in ERSS
Two important aspects: Traceability
Reusability

BC 1: 2012
Section 6NEW!!! (2)
Material traceability
The ability to trace back the source of a
specific steel material to its original identity
as delivered from the mill, through proper
identification and quality assurance system
Each piece of steel members to be marked
with a unique ID for future reference to the
FPC certificate, MTC, inspection record &
test report

BC 1: 2012
Section 6NEW!!! (3)
Traceability/Classification of ex-stock material
Ex-stock materials delivered without
FPC certificate for repeated use

Key:
Yes

- delivered with manufacturer test certificate

- certifiable & listed in Appendix A

No

Mill has subsequently

obtained FPC
certificate?
Batch/lot
known?
Material
testing for
each batch/lot
(see Appendix B)

Correlated
NDT for each
member
(see Appendix B)

Class 1

Material
testing for
each batch/lot
(see Appendix B)

Class 2

Note: Ex-stock steel materials which do not fit into this flow chart shall be classified as Class 3

100% Correlated NonDestructive Testing (NDT)?

Correlation of mechanical properties to chemical composition using
verified equations from database analysis

a) Surface Polishing

b) Test Gun

c) Portable Computer

Non-Destructive Testing using Portable Optical Emission

Spectrometer (OES)

BC 1: 2012
Section 6NEW!!! (4)
Material reusability
The ability of the used steel materials to be
reused & to perform adequately as
anticipated in the design
Good practices: Apply permanent & systematic marking;
Avoid mixing of steel grades;
Apply corrosion protection coating

BC 1: 2012
Section 6NEW!!! (5)
Reusability assessment
1. Surface condition
85% steel surface free of rust not severe than Grade C
(per BS EN ISO 8501-1);
Minor repair if necessary

2. Sectional dimensions
Measured at 3 locations;
Measured dimension nominal dimension allowable
tolerance, or relegated to next lighter section

BC 1: 2012
Section 6NEW!!! (6)
Reusability assessment
3. Shape & straightness
To comply with BS 5950-2;
Straightening treatment if necessary

4. Bolts & welded connections

Visual inspection on used connections;
Loosened/retrieved bolts not to be re-used

5. Interlock of sheet piles

- Adequate free play to fit together and engaged in a such
manner to transfer the in-service forces

BC 1: 2012
Section 6NEW!!! (7)
Reusability assessment
Used steel materials with
unique/traceable identity

Quality test regime

Pass

(see 6 . 2 . 2.1, 6 .2. 2.2, 6. 2.2.3 & 6 . 2 .2.4)

Fail

Re-use

Economic
feasibility of
re-conditioning
No

Reject & scrap

Re-conditioning
Yes

BC 1: 2012
Section 6NEW!!! (8)
Quality system

Supplier/fabricator to implement a quality system:

Material marking & identification;

Documentation of certificates/reports;
Record of usage & reconditioning history;
In-house inspection & quality test regimes

The quality system shall be audited by an independent

inspection body (IB) acceptable to BCA and accredited
by SAC in the first instance, followed with subsequent
surveillance audits at every 6 months

BC 1: 2012
Updates in Appendix A

All latest standards have been compared

against the material performance
requirements
The lists have been updated, including two
(2) new categories of materials, i.e. hot
rolled steel bars & sheet piles*
*Steel for cold forming is also accepted as

certified materials for cold formed sheet piles

Summary (1)
Latest revisions of BC 1 to cover extended scope
& updated material standards:

Additional material categories steel bars & sheet

piles
Design recommendations to Eurocode 3
Material traceability & reusability for sheet piles &
steel strutting system
Update of the list of certified steel materials per
latest material production standards
Good for stockists/traders and steel specialist
builders/suppliers to keep abreast of development

Summary (2)
Companion handbook to BC1 covers:

Design Procedures
Design Parameters for Class 1, 2 & 3
Certified Steel Materials
Non-Certified Steel Materials
Reusability of Steel Materials3