What changes have occurred to the ASTM A325 specification since it was incorporated into the F3125 specification?
In December 2015, ASTM committee F16 approved the new F3125 standard, which combined six structural bolt standards, A325, A325M, A490, A490M, F1852, and F2280. The goal was to clean up inconsistencies within those various standards and combine them, so that future updates would be easier and less costly.
The goal was not to drastically change any of the requirements of the bolts, as they had been used and functioning in the marketplace for decades without major issues. However, in order to better align with each other and with current design standards, minor changes were made. The most notable change was the increase in mechanical properties of large diameter A325 bolts. Originally, bolts ½” through 1” diameter had a minimum tensile requirement of 120ksi, whereas for bolts above 1” diameter, the requirement dropped to 105ksi. AISC design guides had used the 120ksi value for design loads all along regardless of bolt size, so this increase by ASTM aligns the design strength with the actual strength.
The table below outlines the mechanical changes. This is not meant to be a comprehensive comparison, there is much more information both on our website and within the F3125 standard at ASTM.org
Mechanical Requirements
| A325 ½” – 1” | A325 above 1” | F3125 Gr.A325, all sizes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tensile, min ksi | 120 | 105 | 120 |
| Yield, min ksi | 92 | 81 | 92 |
| Elongation, min % | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| RA, min % | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| Hardness, HBN | 253-319 | 223-286 | 253-319 |
Additional Revisions
After much clamoring by the industry, a supplemental requirement was added to address alternate bolt configurations. Supplement S2 allows the purchaser to specify nonstandard dimensions for thread length, head style, etc. Bolts ordered to S2 are marked with an “S” to signify that these bolts vary from the ASME B18.2.6 dimensional standard, for example A325S.
Dear Sir,
Good day!
I have question, That if purchaser do not mention the requirement as “Supplementary requirement” in purchase request for “Full Threaded” Bolt produced >4D. what will be head marking A325M or A325S ? where “S” is for special requirement as supplementary clauses S2.2.
please confirm
@Sajjad- If the bolt is manufactured with full thread, and it is 4x or less long, it should be marked A325T. If the bolt is longer than 4x, it should be marked A325S.
Good day Dane,
Thank you for posting this important message, I do have a query. The ASTM A325M-09 has the table 5, it shows the from M12 to M36 (Metric standard) the yield and tensile strength is same, so the revision in F3125 is only the standards that combines 4 different standards together to single platform. No difference in mechanical properties.
Reference : ASTM A325M-2009 , Table 5. Pg 5.
Your comment on this pls.
@Sathish- There were six structural standards combined, A325, A325M, A490, A490M, F1852, and F2280. The idea behind combining them was for ease of maintenance and to clear up some conflicting language in the individual standards. With one small exception, none of the mechanical or chemical requirements were changed, they were simply combined into one standard. An A325M manufactured under A325M-09 shouldn’t be any different from one made per F3125-17 gr.A325M.