Components made of fine grain structural steels

The construction products described here are components made of fine grain structural steels. The construction techniques described here are structural works or parts thereof assembled from these components.

Due to their chemical composition and a special heat treatment, fine grain structural steels have a particularly fine and regular microstructure. The resulting presence of a higher number of grain boundaries increases the strength of the steel without greatly affecting its ductility, an effect known as Hall-Petch relationship or grain boundary strengthening. Fine grain structural steels therefore feature high strengths as well as a favourable elongation and ductility behaviour.

Regulatory framework

The non-harmonised parts 3 and 4 of standard series EN 10025 cover flat and long products made of hot rolled fine grain structural steels for construction purposes. (Note only EN 10025-1 is a harmonised standard.)

Fine grain structural steels for hot finished or cold formed hollow sections are covered by harmonised standards EN 10210‑1 or EN 10219‑1 respectively. EAD 200022-00-0302 addresses some fine grain structural steels that deviate from EN 10025‑4.

DIBt grants national technical approvals (abZ) for components (construction products) made from these intermediate fine grain structural steel products, when the final product

  • is not covered by a harmonised product standard (e.g. EN 1090-1),
  • deviates significantly from the Technical Building Rules (cf. MVV TB, Chapter C 2) or
  • when neither Technical Building Rules nor generally recognised technical rules exist for the product.

European Technical Assessments (ETAs) can also be issued for products that are not covered or not fully covered by a harmonised standard.

Furthermore, DIBt grants general construction technique permits (aBG) for applications comprising components made of fine grain structural steel for which there are no conclusive technical rules regarding design and execution.

Please also refer to the relevant provisions of the federal states following the Model Administrative Provisions – Technical Building Rules (MVV TB).

The party executing the welding work on components made of fine grain structural steels is subject to special qualification requirements (e.g. welding certificate in accordance with EN 1090-1, cf. MVV TB).

EAD 200022-00-0302 Thermo-mechanically rolled long steel products made of weldable fine grain structural steel of special steel grades (12 pages ) Version: May 22015; OJEU 2016/C 172/03; EOTa

National procedure

To prepare an abZ/aBG for your construction product, we need an application from you. We recommend that you contact us prior to doing so. Feel free to send us your enquiry informally via email to dibt(at)dibt(.)de or to the competent technical contact listed in the top right.

For a first assessment, please send us the following information:

  • Description of the construction product and its intended field of use
    • e.g. material, configuration, number of sizes, variants, dimensions
    • e.g. use in walls, ceilings, interior construction, building services
  • Description of the construction technique and its field of application
    • e.g. design of walls, ceilings, elements, etc., and interaction of components
    • e.g. application in foundation engineering, reinforced concrete construction, building insulation; as load-bearing or non-load-bearing component; under static and quasi-static loading; fire exposure; other environmental exposures
  • Information regarding impact on regulatory concerns
    • in particular structural integrity, fire protection, health and environment protection, sound insulation as well as thermal performance
  • Explanation of need for an abZ/aBG
  • Contact details
    • preferably email address and/or telephone number, as well as name, organisation/company, and postal address

We will then contact you to clarify the next steps.

If you already hold a DIBt approval and/or construction technique permit and wish to apply for an amendment, supplement, or renewal, please use the form provided below.

European Technical Assessment (ETA)

To start the ETA procedure, please submit the form below. We will then check if the prerequisites for issuing an ETA are met, i.e., in particular, if the product is not fully covered by an existing harmonised standard. If the prerequisites are met, we will check whether a European Assessment Document (EAD) covering the requested assessment scope already exists or still needs to be developed. If an EAD needs to be developed or amended, a complete technical file needs to be established before the procedure can begin.

Subject concerned Applicant Decision no. Issued on
Long products made of HISTAR 355 / 355L and HISTAR 460 / 460L ArcelorMittal Belval&Differdange ArcelorMittal Commercial Sections S.A. 66, rue de Luxembourg 4221 ESCH/ALZETTE LUXEMBURG ETA-10/0156 11.12.2015