Corten steel

Corten steel project, House of Essen History (Scheidt Kasprusch Architects)

Corten steel (trade name COR-TEN steel , also Korten steel ) is a weatherproof structural steel .

Properties and use

Corten steel forms on the surface due to weathering, under the actual rust layer , a particularly dense barrier layer of firmly adhering sulfates or phosphates , which protects the steel part from further corrosion .

A distinction is made between Corten A and Corten B.

Corten A (according to ASTM A 242, material no. 1.8946, EN 10027-1: S355J2WP) corresponds to a weatherproof, phosphorus-alloyed structural steel. The thickness range is limited to less than 100 mm due to the poor weldability and poor formability.

Corten B (ASTM A 588 material no. 1.8965, EN 10027-1: S 355J2W) is not phosphorus-alloyed, has good weldability and good cold and hot formability . The steel is used for welded, bolted structures, e.g. B. in structural steelwork and bridge construction , in container construction , for ISO containers and in plant construction .

Due to its insensitivity to the weather and its characteristic patina , Corten steel is also used for accents in architecture , such as for facade cladding. Many sculptors use the material for outdoor sculptures .

Corten steel is a difficult obstacle for snails to overcome and is therefore suitable as a snail barrier to protect salad beds. Corten steel contains less than 1% copper. However, this small amount is sufficient for the slime to oxidize the copper in the Corten steel. This creates an irritating substance for the snail that prevents the snail from crawling further.

history

The American Byramji D. Saklatwalla reported a steel alloy with alloying additions of copper , phosphorus , silicon , nickel and chrome 1932 patent to. The United States Steel Corporation further developed the steel, which is characterized by high weather resistance, and gave the new material with the approximate additional alloy proportions 0.8% Cr, 0.5% Ni, 0.5% Cu, 0.1% P the name Corten steel. The name Cor-Ten was derived from the word corrosion resistance for "rust resistance" and tensile strength for "tensile strength". Hüttenwerke Oberhausen AG was the first German company to start manufacturing Corten steel in early 1959.

The historical puddling process for the production of wrought iron , which was widespread in the 19th century, also produced a material with similar properties. A prominent example in Germany is the Griethausen railway bridge near Kleve , which shows hardly any corrosion damage despite the lack of a protective coating.

Facade of the “Department 1” and “Teaching Center” buildings at WU Vienna
Guard rails of the Brenner motorway in Italy
Sculpture Der Schild by Hannes Meinhard at the Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office
West facade of the main building of the State Office for Information and Technology NRW (Düsseldorf)
Christoph Mancke : The roof (2003, Speyer) in front of the German Pension Insurance Rhineland-Palatinate
Georg Elser Monument by Friedrich Frankowitsch (2010, Königsbronn)
Rostiger Nagel observation tower made of weatherproof structural steel on the Sorno Canal
Corten steel cladding (2010, Deutschnofen I)
Memorial plaque made of Corten steel on the researcher mile in Bremerhaven
Overhead line mast of the high voltage line Etzenricht-Hradec near Zhorec in the Czech Republic
Anneau , Mauro Staccioli , Louvain-la-Neuve , Belgium
Terminal (sculpture) by Richard Serra , Bochum