H beams (wide-flange sections) are hot-rolled structural steel sections with parallel inner flange faces and equal or near-equal flange width and depth. The wide flanges deliver exceptional resistance to compression, making them the section of choice for columns in high-rise buildings, industrial portal frames, warehouses and heavy infrastructure works.
A concise, citation-ready summary used by search engines, AI assistants and procurement teams to answer common questions about h beams.
H beams are hot-rolled at integrated steel mills from continuously-cast beam blanks. The wide-flange geometry is formed in universal mills, giving parallel inner flange faces, tight dimensional tolerances and uniform mechanical properties along the length.
Yield strength ranges from 235 MPa (S235JR) through 355 MPa (S355JR) and higher, with tensile strength 360 – 510 MPa. The wide flange and short web make H beams especially efficient under axial compression, as is typical of building columns.
Specified for primary building columns, portal-frame industrial warehouses, marine jetties, oil & gas modules, mining headgear, bridge piers and heavy-duty platform structures.
An H-beam, also called a wide-flange section or W-section in North America, is a hot-rolled structural steel profile that, when viewed end-on, resembles a capital letter H. Two horizontal flanges are connected by a vertical web of approximately equal width and depth. The parallel inner flange faces, controlled tolerances and uniform metallurgy along the rolled length make H-beams the workhorse column section for modern steel buildings, industrial sheds, oil & gas modules and bridge superstructure.
The core difference is geometry. H-beams have wide parallel flanges roughly equal to the depth of the section, giving them very high biaxial compression capacity, ideal for columns. I-beams (such as IPN or IS 808 ISMB) have narrower, tapered flanges and a much deeper web relative to flange width, giving them superior bending efficiency for floor beams and bridge stringers. H-beams are heavier per metre, easier to connect, and available in much larger sizes (up to 1000 mm depth and beyond), while I-beams are typically capped around 600 mm.
H-beams begin life as continuously-cast beam blanks at integrated steel mills. The blank is reheated to 1,200°C and passed through a sequence of breakdown and universal rolling mills that progressively form the H-profile. Tight roll-gap control delivers parallel inner flange faces and the dimensional tolerances required by EN 10034 or ASTM A6. After rolling, the sections are straightened, cut to standard mill lengths of 6, 9 or 12 metres, stamped with heat number and grade, and inspected to issue EN 10204 3.1 mill test certificates.
S235JR, S275JR and S355JR (EN 10025-2) are the dominant European grades supplied across the UAE and GCC, with yield strengths of 235, 275 and 355 MPa respectively. ASTM-specified projects call A992 (345 MPa yield, the modern US wide-flange standard) or A572 Gr.50. Asian-origin sections supply SS400 / SM490 (JIS G3101 / G3106) and Q235B / Q355B (GB/T 1591). All grades carry minimum guaranteed Charpy impact values for low-temperature toughness when the JR / J0 / J2 / K2 sub-grade is specified.
Indicative mill data. Customised grades, sizes and certifications available on request.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Designation | H 100×100 to H 1000×400 (Asian); HE100A – HE1000B (European) |
| Standards | EN 10025-2, ASTM A992 / A572, JIS G3192, GB/T 11263 |
| Grades | S235JR, S275JR, S355JR, S460, A992, A572 Gr.50, SS400, SM490, Q235B, Q355B |
| Yield strength | 235 – 460 MPa |
| Tensile strength | 360 – 620 MPa |
| Elongation | ≥ 21 % (A5) |
| Depth (h) | 100 – 1000 mm |
| Flange width (b) | 100 – 400 mm |
| Flange thickness | 6 – 50 mm |
| Web thickness | 4 – 30 mm |
| Standard lengths | 6, 9, 12 m (longer on request) |
| Tolerances | EN 10034 / ASTM A6 |
| Finish | Black, shot-blasted, red-oxide primed, hot-dip galvanised on request |
| Designation | Depth h (mm) | Flange b (mm) | Web tw (mm) | Flange tf (mm) | Mass (kg/m) | Section area (cm²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HE 100 B | 100 | 100 | 6 | 10 | 20.4 | 26 |
| HE 160 B | 160 | 160 | 8 | 13 | 42.6 | 54.3 |
| HE 200 B | 200 | 200 | 9 | 15 | 61.3 | 78.1 |
| HE 240 B | 240 | 240 | 10 | 17 | 83.2 | 106 |
| HE 300 B | 300 | 300 | 11 | 19 | 117 | 149.1 |
| HE 400 B | 400 | 300 | 13.5 | 24 | 155 | 197.8 |
| HE 500 B | 500 | 300 | 14.5 | 28 | 187 | 238.6 |
| HE 600 B | 600 | 300 | 15.5 | 30 | 212 | 270 |
| HE 800 B | 800 | 300 | 17.5 | 33 | 262 | 334 |
| HE 1000 B | 1000 | 300 | 19 | 36 | 314 | 400 |
Full dimensional tables (HE A / B / M, US W-sections, Asian H-sections) issued on request as PDF data sheet.
Architects and engineers often interchange the terms, but H-beams and I-beams are distinct sections with different structural roles.
| Property | H-Beam (Wide-Flange) | I-Beam (Standard) |
|---|---|---|
| Flange face | Parallel inner faces | Tapered inner faces (IPN/IS) |
| Flange width vs depth | ≈ equal (square envelope) | Narrow, depth dominates |
| Primary use | Columns, heavy framing | Floor & roof beams |
| Axial compression | Very high (biaxial) | Moderate |
| Bending efficiency | Good | Excellent (deep section) |
| Connection ease | Bolted / welded, easy | More complex on tapered flange |
| Typical standards | EN 10034, ASTM A992, JIS G3192 | EN 10024, IS 808, JIS G3192 |
| Max practical depth | 1000+ mm | 600 mm |
| Region | Standard | Designation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | EN 10025-2 / EN 10034 | HE A / HE B / HE M, S235JR – S460 | Profile & grade, most common in GCC |
| United Kingdom | BS 4-1 / EN 10365 | UC / UKC sections | Universal Column equivalent |
| USA | ASTM A992 / A572 Gr.50 / A6 | W-shapes (W6 – W44) | AISC steel construction manual |
| Japan | JIS G3192 / G3101 / G3106 | H-sections, SS400 / SM490 | Asian mill supply |
| China | GB/T 11263 / GB/T 1591 | HW / HM / HN, Q235B / Q355B | High-volume mill origin |
| India | IS 12778 / IS 2062 | NPB / WPB / WPC, E250 / E350 | Indian Standard Wide-Flange |
A six-step engineering workflow used by architects, structural consultants and procurement teams to specify the correct section, grade and finish.
Establish whether the member acts primarily as a column (compression), beam (bending) or combined member. H-beams favour compression-dominated columns; UB / IPE sections are more efficient for pure bending.
Compute axial, bending and shear demands to Eurocode 3, AISC 360 or BS 5950 as called up in the project specification. Apply partial factors and load combinations to derive ultimate design forces.
Use depth-to-span ratios (typically L/20 for columns, L/15 – L/20 for beams) to pick an initial HE A / B / M, W or H designation from manufacturer tables.
Check section classification, axial capacity, lateral-torsional buckling and combined utilisation. Adjust upward through HE A → HE B → HE M as utilisation exceeds 1.0.
Specify S275JR for general framing, S355JR for primary frames, A992 / A572 Gr.50 for US-spec works, and higher-strength S460 for weight-critical long spans.
Confirm cut-to-length, drilling, welding preparation, surface preparation (Sa 2½ shot-blast), primer or hot-dip galvanising to ISO 1461, and project marking before placing the mill indent.
Reference cross-section diagram showing the principal dimensions used in structural specification. Detailed dimension tables, weight per metre and section properties are available in our full data sheet. Share your project requirement and we'll send a tailored specification pack.
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EN, ASTM, JIS, BS, GB and IS standards, supplied with mill test certificates, EN 10204 3.1 / 3.2 inspection on request.
Container, break-bulk and full project shipments, coordinated from origin port to UAE/GCC discharge or onward delivery.
Standard mill lengths, custom cut-to-length, heat-numbered bundles and project-marked dispatch.
Stock-and-indent model: held stock for fast-moving sizes, mill rolling on programme for project tonnages.
Five decades of experience supplying contractors, fabricators and EPC firms across the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Common technical and procurement questions about h beams, structured for engineers, architects and procurement teams.
How tapered-flange I-sections differ from H-beams in floor framing.
BS 4-1 / EN 10365 parallel-flange beams.
BS-standard square-envelope columns.
European parallel-flange I-beams.
Full TIC Dubai structural steel range.
Classic tapered-flange I beams: efficient bending sections for floors, roofs, secondary beams and bridge stringers.
BS 4-1 / EN 10365 universal beams with parallel flanges, the standard primary beam section across UK / GCC building practice.
BS 4-1 / EN 10365 universal columns: near-square sections optimised for axial compression in primary building frames.
EN 10365 IPE sections: parallel-flange European I-beams widely specified across GCC and European-spec projects.
DIN 1025-1 / EN 10024 IPN sections: the traditional tapered-flange European I-beam, still specified for legacy and specialised work.
EN 10365 HEA series wide-flange sections: the lightweight version of the HE family for moderate-load columns and beams.
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