What’s the difference between ASTM A36 and ASME SA36?

A36 carbon steel round bar provides stiffness and strength to projects at a lower cost and is a popular structural round bar used in a variety of applications and industries compared to other grades. Consider A36 as a starting point. Carbon steel round bar A36 is a popular structural steel round bar used in a variety of applications and industries because it adds stiffness and strength to projects at a lower cost than other steel round bar grades.

A36 is bolted and nailed in most structural applications, but can also be welded using shielded metal arc, gas metal arc or oxyacetylene welding. One of the notable differences between SA36 and A36 steel is that SA36 has a higher yield strength.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ASTM A36 AND ASME SA36
While the ASTM and ASME standards for steel and other metals are very similar, if not identical, there may be slight differences between A36 and SA36 grades depending on the criteria used by each organisation. In fact, ASTM A36 and ASME SA36 are the only two standards that exist, ASTM SA36 is not.

For use in bridges and buildings that are riveted, bolted or welded, and for general structural purposes, ASME A36 specifies carbon steel shapes, rounds and bars, while ASME contains design standards for pressure applications. In most cases, ASME standards are based on ASTM standards, although their numbers are prefixed with the letter ‘SA’ rather than just the letter ‘A’ as in ASTM.

A material is designated An A or SA depending on whether it is approved by the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. Materials supplied for use in code fabrications conform to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section II. As an A grade, a material meets the weaker ASTM A36 standards – it typically meets the same or similar specifications, but has not been approved by ASME for boilers and pressure vessels.

SA36 can be used in projects that require A36, but ASTM A36 cannot be used in projects that require ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code approval. In other words, A36 and SA36 may be similar, but SA36 cannot be used in code writing.