Archive for October, 2009

The construction world in the present scenario is brimming over with prefabricated steel buildings. Steel is being looked upon as one of the better construction materials as opposed to the conventional concrete and masonry. However, one must not ignore a few crucial things about steel because choosing the right material, is as important as design and other structural considerations. All this while, you might have been reading about the advantages of steel. Here, we shall give you a brief about few points that you must know before you choose steel as the construction material for your building.

Stress and Strain: The most essential things to keep in mind while using steel as a construction material are stress and strain. Vulnerable to stress and strain, one must be acquainted with the stress limits of steel, as stress beyond a limit creates permanent deformations. Although steel is strong enough for the purpose, but one should keep in mind the various factory procedures that include actions like cold-forming, welding and machining, that tend to alter the steel’s stress behavior. Stress and strain resistance usually define the steel grades. So, invest in a grade that can resist the various loads.

Strength and Stability: Providing a steel structure with suitable stability is another important concern! Unlike concrete, it is usually the collapse of buckling that poses a threat to the integrity of a steel building. In addition to this, another important thing to be considered by the designers is how to provide a suitable degree of three-dimensional stability to the structure for which, the possible solutions can be rigid-frame action, truss action as with triangulation, with extra bracing elements like guys, struts, X-bracing etc.

Don’t forget, a better steel grade and a stable design makes a good investment for a durable and a long-lasting steel building! What is your take on this? Feel free to send in your feedback.