This specification deals with the general requirements that apply to rolled structural steel bars, plates, shapes, and sheet piling. The steel shall be made in an open-hearth, basic-oxygen, or electric-arc furnace followed by additional refining in a ladle metallurgy furnace, or secondary melting by vacuum-arc remelting or electrostag remelting. The steel products shall undergo heat treatment, structural conditioning, and strand casting in stationary molds. Tension testing and chemical analysis shall be performed wherein the specimens shall conform to the required mechanical properties such as tensile strength, yield strength and elongation, and the required metallurgical structure and composition specifications of the products. Final products shall be legibly marked, bundled, and tagged with the applicable designation, grade, heat number, size and thickness, and name, brand, or trademark of the manufacturer for identification and shipment.

1.1 This general requirements specification covers a group of common requirements that, unless otherwise specified in the applicable product specification, apply to rolled structural steel bars, plates, shapes, and sheet piling covered by each of the following product specifications issued by ASTM: