Steel Section Properties — IS 808
Free reference for 101 Indian rolled-steel sections published in IS 808:1989. Depth, width, web/flange thickness, weight per metre, area, moment of inertia (Ixx, Iyy), section modulus (Zxx, Zyy), and radius of gyration. Each section has a detail page with the full property table and a scaled cross-section drawing.
ISMB — Medium Beam (14 sections)
I-section, narrow flange. Standard for general flexure with adequate lateral restraint. Most economical per kg of steel.
ISWB — Wide-flange Beam (12 sections)
I-section with wider flange than ISMB at the same depth. Better lateral-torsional buckling resistance — preferred for long unrestrained spans.
ISHB — Heavy-duty Beam (8 sections)
Same width as ISWB but thicker web/flange. Used for heavy axial + flexure (column-like beams in industrial structures).
ISLB — Light Beam (16 sections)
Lighter I-section for lightly-loaded floors, purlins, secondary framing.
ISMC — Medium Channel (11 sections)
Channel section. Common as purlin (flat orientation), edge beam, or back-to-back built-up column.
ISJB — Junior Beam (4 sections)
Smallest I-section family — light secondary framing, gantry rails, miscellaneous.
ISUA — Unequal Angle (19 sections)
Unequal angle. Used in trusses, bracing, lattice structures where unequal legs match geometry.
ISA — Equal Angle (17 sections)
Equal angle. Most common steel section in India. Used in trusses, transmission towers, bracing, edge framing.
How to use these tables
For flexural design (IS 800:2007 Cl. 8.2), use Zxx (section modulus about strong axis) for major-axis bending; Zyy for minor-axis. For shear (Cl. 8.4), web area = (D − 2T_f) × t_w. For axial compression (Cl. 7), minimum radius of gyration r_min = √(I_min / A) feeds the slenderness ratio λ = Le / r_min.
Nominal IS 808 properties differ from IS 1852 cross-section tolerances by ±2-3% on area and ±5% on outer dimensions. For competition design (composite, hot-rolled vs welded), refer to actual mill test certificates. For routine residential/commercial steel design, IS 808 nominal values are used directly.
Related
Use the Beam Selection Helper to pick a section for a given span+load combination. The Steel Section Properties Calculator filters all 101 sections by depth/weight/area constraints. IS 800:2007 is the Indian Standard for steel structure design; IS 2062:2011 covers structural steel grades (E250, E350, etc.).