Patent ID: 8833039

Claim:
A high-strength steel truck frame rail comprising a hot-rolled high-strength steel elongated truck frame rail having a uniform cross-sectional C-shaped configuration along the complete truck frame rail length, the C-shaped cross-sectional configuration consisting of a web portion with upper and lower flange portions each having an average thickness and extending at about a 90° angle from opposite ends of said web portion, each said upper and lower flange portions intersects the web portion to form a corner having inner and outer radii, said web portion having an average thickness less than the average thicknesses of said upper and lower flange portions, said upper and lower flange portions providing increased load bearing capacity to said truck frame rail, said web portion thickness providing weight savings in said truck frame rail with essentially no strength compromise uniformly along the truck frame rail length as shown by the calculation for comparative section modulus (ΔSM) of said truck frame rail when compared to a baseline frame rail with a web portion and extending flanges having the same thickness, wherein the high-strength steel has a tensile strength of at least about 120,000 psi and a yield strength of at least about 90,000 psi comprising, by weight percent, carbon, about 0.30% to about 0.65%, manganese, about 0.30% to about 2.5%, at least one of the group consisting of aluminum, niobium, titanium, and vanadium, and mixtures thereof, about 0.03% to about 0.35%, and iron, balance.