THere are hundreds or even thousands of distinct alloys of steel in commercial use.
Their properties vary widely.
Additionally, the heat treatment and forming of the piece [at least since the last annealing] make a big difference.
On top of which, steel rusts, so consider using stainless.
WHich alloy you would use is not a straightforward choice, at least not to me, as I am a chemical engineer, not a mechanical engineer.
The AISI website may have useful information
For purposes of analysis and design the strength in compression is taken as the same as in tension. For commercial grade steel without any certifications, the yield strength commonly used for design is 33,000 pounds per square inch (psi). The ultimated can be between 60,000 to 75,000 psi. For structural grade steel with certifications, yield strength of 36,000 psi and ultimate of 58 to 80,000 psi. For vanadium alloyed structural steel, 50,000 psi yield and minimum of 65,000 psi tensile.
You're asking the wrong question.
It's impossible to compress a solid, so the compressive strength of steel is infinite. There are also literally hundreds of different types of steel, all with different properties depending on what purpose they're used for.
I'm working on a presentation comparing the potential materials used in the production of tennis racket frames. In order to complete this presentation I need to know how much stress it takes to break steel. I have been searching the internet for this answer to no avail. Please help
