HSS Tubing

Structural tubing per ASTM A500 is tubing produced and used for structural applications. Standard strength requirements of the tube help dictate applications for which certain tubing is most appropriate. Structural tube is often referred to as hollow structural sections or HSS. Structural Tubing, especially rectangular sections, are commonly used in welded steel frames where members experience loading in multiple directions.

Square and circular HSS are very efficient shapes for this multiple-axis loading as they have uniform geometry along two or more cross-sectional axes, and thus uniform strength characteristics. This makes them good choices for columns. They also have excellent resistance to torsion. The flat square surfaces of HSS structural tubing can ease construction, and they are sometimes preferred for architectural aesthetics in exposed structures.

HSS structural tubing is most commonly produced to ASTM A500 grade B standards, but can also be available in ASTM A1085 as well. Structural products are ordered to a specific outside dimension (OD) and “gauge” or wall thickness.