By Allan
Are you looking to find what the UB means in a 310UB40, how about CT in a 155CT79 steel columns?
The table below outlines the commonly used designations for steel members in Australia and New Zealand.
| Section type | Material standard | Abbreviation | Typical example of designation |
| Welded beam | AS/NZS 3679.2 | WB | 700WB115, 1200WB455 |
| Welded column | AS/NZS 3679.2 | WC | 350WC197, 500WC440 |
| New Zealand welded sections | NZS 3404 | SWB, SWC, LB, SB, HB, PB, EB, TB, SC, HP, BP | 700SWB115, 350SWC197, 600LB60, 500PB158 |
| Universal beam | AS/NZS 3679.1 | UB | 150UB14.0, 610UB125 |
| Universal column | AS/NZS 3679.1 | UC | 100UC14.8. 310UC158 |
| Tee cut from UB | AS/NZS 3679.1 | BT | 75BT7.0, 305BT62.5 |
| Tee cut from UC | AS/NZS 3679.1 | CT | 50CT7.4, 155CT79.0 |
| Taper flange beams | AS/NZS 3679.1 | TFB | 100TFB, 125TFB |
| Parallel flange channels | AS/NZS 3679.1 | PFC | 150PFC, 125TFC |
| Taper flange channels | AS/NZS 3679.1 | TFC | 75TFC, 125TFC |
| Equal angles | AS/NZS 3679.1 | EA | 25×25×6EA, 200×200×26EA |
| Unequal angles | AS/NZS 3679.1 | UA | 65×50×5UA, 150×100×12UA |
| Flat bar | AS/NZS 3679.1 | FL | 20×3 FL, 150×50 FL, 300×12 FL |
| Round bar | AS/NZS 3679.1 | ROD or RD | 16 DIA ROD or 100 RD |
| Square bar | AS/NZS 3679.1 | SQ | 10 SQ, 40 SQ |
| Plate | AS/NZS 3678 | PLATE or PL | 250×150×16 PLATE |
| Circular hollow sections | AS 1163 | CHS | 13.5×2.3CHS, 610.0×12.7CHS |
| Rectangular hollow sections | AS 1163 | RHS | 50×20×1.6RHS, 250×150×9.0RHS |
| Square hollow sections | AS 1163 | SHS | 20×20×1.6SHS, 250×250×9.0SHS |
| Cold-formed purlins and girts | AS 1397 | Z or C | Z10010, Z35030 C10010, C35030 |
On a plan what is a 125 TFC
125mm high Tapered Flange Channel (TFC), which is steel framing – You don’t see as many of these steel members nowadays, many years ago tapered flange beams and channels where popular.