IPE 120 vs IPN 120

Steel section comparison · IPE / IPN · EN 10365

  • IPE 120 is 6 % lighter than IPN 120 (10.4 vs 11.1 kg/m).
  • IPN 120 has 3 % higher strong-axis stiffness Iy.
  • IPE 120 has 29 % higher weak-axis stiffness Iz, which governs columns and lateral stability.
  • IPN 120 has 5 % higher plastic bending resistance (Wpl,y).
  • Per kilogram of steel, IPE 120 is the more efficient bending section (Iy/G: 31 vs 30 cm⁴ per kg/m).
PropertyIPE 120IPN 120
Height h [mm]120120
Flange width b [mm]6458
Web thickness tw [mm]4.45.1
Flange thickness tf [mm]6.37.7
Area A [cm²]13.214.2
Mass G [kg/m]10.411.1
Moment of inertia Iy [cm⁴]318328
Elastic modulus Wel,y [cm³]5355
Plastic modulus Wpl,y [cm³]6164
Moment of inertia Iz [cm⁴]2822
Radius of gyration iy [mm]49.048.0
Radius of gyration iz [mm]14.512.3
Torsion constant It [cm⁴]1.72.7
Warping constant Iw [×10³ cm⁶]0.90.7

Highlighted value = the favourable one (higher stiffness/modulus, lower mass). Full property sets on the profile pages.

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