4.
Steel Construction
- flat products
- cables
concrete reinforcement steel – rebar
- Profiles
Flat Products
-Flat products are generally made into
semi-finished products, as they
have low stability in their original form.
-Sheet materials are also described as coils.
-By folding in trapezoidal and wave forms the
necessary stability can be
produced along the direction of the folding.
Cables:
- Bridges and high rise bbuilduings
- A distinction is drawn between running cables and standing
- Cables
-They consist of cold drawn wire and are generally formed of
several wires placed around a core or wires bundle.
Concrete reinforcement steel
-Concrete takes compressive stresses and steel mainly
tensile stresses
-The concrete protects the steel from corrosion by means
of sufficient concrete cover.
-The two materials augment each other extremely well.
-The reinforcement steel generally comes in form of bars,
mats or fibers.
-Usually is warm rolled and has longitudinal and cross
ribbing to produce a better bond with the concrete.
PRODUCTS – profiles
-Profiles or sections are known as longitudinal products.
-Generally produced by rolling and are available as
solid or hollow
sections.
-Solid sections can be made as round, square,
octagonal or flat
Sections.
-For the efficient transfer of forces, large and small
sections in letter form
are usually used: U, I and H sections.
-U sections (channels) with rounded webs and
flanges are frequently
used compound, because the asymmetry permits
only low loads.
4.2.4 PRODUCTS – profiles
-I and H sections differ in the width of the flange
-Wide-flange sections (HE) are used as columns or beams to handle
large loads.
-Normal sections (IP/UP) are generally slender and suitable above all for
taking bending stresses, principally as beams.
-Other sections include angles, T sections, bulb flat sections and
Steel problems:
-The two main concerns about steel are its low resistance against
fire and corrosion.
-Steel is generally non-flammable, it does not conduct fire, and does
not release any poisonous gases when exposed to fire.
-However, at high temperatures it radically changes its properties:
tensile strength, yield point, modulus of elasticity, and metallic
structure.
-Steel deforms radically when subjected to heat, and therefore has to
be protected.
-The protective measures should be to restrict the fire, protect from it,
or to divert the heat.
-Besides the additional fire safety devices that relate to the entire
building (detectors, alarms, sprinklers, fire extinguishers, etc.), there
are two main solutions to protect steel construction from heat and
fire:
-encasing
-coating
Encasing
-Steel can be encased in sprayed plasters, concrete, or panels and
claddings made of mineral fibers.
-The claddings are generally prefabricated box or profile elements
that clad the elements flexibly.
Coating
-Coatings that form a protection layer include paints and foils,
which
foam chemically in the event of fire.
-This kind of coatings forms a protective layer around the building part
and is particularly suitable for steel constructions as it can adapt to
curved and complex shapes.
-The coating avoids direct contact with the fire and the building part
is screened from the heat for a longer period.
4.3.1 STEEL PROBLEMS – corrosion
-Steel is made out of iron and carbon principally, and iron is a metal
widely known for its corrosion process, which involves rust.
-In the corrosion of a metal, a certain material is lost, which
permanently weakens the structural strength of the building part – the
thinner the building part, the more dangerous the rusting process is.
-As a rule, corrosion starts at 65% of relative humidity, and therefore
steel parts must be given a special protection against corrosion
processes.
-Rust is also undesirable for visual reasons as it suggest poor quality
and low maintenance.
-In order to protect steel from corrotion, it is importat to avoid its
contact to air and moisture (oxygen and water at the same time).
-Surface treatments are the main ways to protect steel from corrosion
and it is done by metallic coverings, coating, or both (duplex system).
-In reinforced concrete structures, concrete also serves as protection
agains corrosion.
4.4 STEEL CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS
-Steel as a primary construction, offers numerous advantages,
such as light and filigree constructions, flexible floor plans and a
high degree of prefabrication.
-It also means high demands in terms of fire protection, structural
design, and logistics, which should be taken into consideration
from the very start of the design process.
-Steel structures can be addressed in different ways depending on
the structural requirements or the technologies available (among
many other variables). This also provides very different formal
outcomes.
-The main steel construction systems could be classified as:
-linear construction
-spatial construction
-tensile construction
Linear Systems
-Linear systems, which could also be called frame systems are those
mainly composed of beams/girders and columns – linear elements.
Girders
-Are horizontal structural elements. They are the principal elements
spanning between vertical supports (columns) and usually receive the
loads from secondary beams.
-Usually have constant cross section, but they can also change in height
or adopt different shapes.
Trussed girders
- -When solid web girders are not to be used, the solid girder can be
- broken up to form a truss
Trussed girders
-The triangular truss is a special kind of 3-dimensional truss (linear
elements not in the same plane)
Columns
-They are generally subjected to compression forces and are therefore
exposed to the danger of buckling.
-The point of failure and the efficiency of the building part are influenced
by its slenderness and the material used.
-Not only the size of the cross section is important but also its geometry.
Frames
-A frame consist of two or more linear elements that are spanned in a
single plane so that they define an area and are connected with each
other.
-There are numerous design possibilities and frames can also be
arranged sequentially.
- The space created in between two frames is called bay
STEEL CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS – spatial systems
Planar structures
-Is made out a number of beams and could
also be called a grillage or beam grid.
-The loads are transferred I two directions
and mostly bending load develops.
-In design terms it is very flexible, and for
instance round plans are also conceived
Basic Building Construction. Bert Bilefeld (Ed.) p.259-260
Space frames
-Exactly as in linear systems, in the spatial context, the massiveness of
the
construction can be broken up into a frame.
-Space frames also consist of rods and junctions with hinged
connection
to each other forming a three-dimensional spatial grid.
Suspension construction
-In suspension construction, external
loads are directed through structural
elements subjected to tensile force.
-Ensuring stability is, in general, one of
the major challenges of a suspended
structure.
-For most of the cases cables are the
principal structural elements in such a
construction.
STEEL CONNECTIONS
-The design and execution of connections is a particular
challenge in steel construction.
-The function of the connection in general to transfer forces from
one building part to the another.
-A distinction between detectable and non-detectable
connections is made.
-Detectable connections:
- screw connection
- pin connection
- bolt connection
-Non detectable connections:
- welded connection
- riveted connection
- soldered connection
-As many other types of construction, and mainly because of its
prefabricated character, steel assemblies have very important parts, in
reference to its connection.
STEEL ELEMENTS and PARTS - corners
-Frame corners are characterized by their bending stiffness.
-The decisive aspect is that the parts that meet should not be able to
twist apart under loading.
-To produce this stiff effect the frame corners must be made is a
particular way, generally by means of special stiffening measures
-A foot must be planned in detail when a vertical, pointed building
part is to transfer the forces to a horizontal building part, generally
the foundation.
-Columns and frame posts include such parts.
STEEL ELEMENTS and PARTS -
nodes
-Nodes always occur at points
where
several filigree building elements
from
different planes meet each other.
-They are generally bolted or
welded
firmly together.
-There are different ways of making
the
geometry so that the point of
intersection of the axes is retained.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
-The combination of the materials steel and concrete has proved its
worth in various forms.
-In addition to reinforced concrete building parts with steel
reinforcement, combining steel sections and reinforced concrete also
offers great potential, as it can combine the qualities of both materials.
-Particularly with regard to fire protection, these building elements can
make great sense.
-In addition, they can give lightweight constructions mass and speed up
work on the building site.
-In making floor slabs a combination of concrete and steel beams can
be used as the composite primary construction, or metal sheets can be
used together with concrete as a secondary construction.
