17 May Uses For Structural Steel in the Construction Industry
When working in the construction industry, it’s essential to use materials that provide high levels of health and safety whilst ensuring that costs are managed and that installation is as easy as possible. One material that hits all of these needs is structural steel.
Structural steel is a fantastic material that is the most popular option used across the construction industry. It is strong, ductile, flexible and cost-effective, helping steel buildings to last for a very long time. One example of this is the Empire State Building in New York City – built with structural steel beams; it’s the ultimate sign of reliability and design in construction and is made from structural steel!
The team here at Baker Steel Trading have years of structural steel fabrication experience and understand just how valuable using the material can be. Take a look at the variety of projects that it’s used for to understand why structural steel is such a fantastic material choice.
Structural Steel in Construction
Structural steel is a preferred choice for many engineers, designers and fabricators in the construction industry due to its high strength-to-weight ratio. This strength means that relatively light buildings and structures can hold vast amounts of weight without affecting the project’s safety. Structural steel components are used within the following types of construction projects:
Residential Buildings
These structures use light-gauge steel for construction, creating an effect similar to wooden beams but with increased reliability and strength. This means that structures built with light-gauge steel are lighter than wood-framed structures of equivalent strength. Structural steel beams also have the added benefit of reliability compared to wooden frames, as a steel beam will not rot, shrink, warp, or decompose like wood.
High-Rise Buildings
Structural steel is weather-resistant and flexible, so specific issues with high-rise buildings such as extreme weather conditions aren’t an issue as the steel bends instead of breaking, helping to save lives.
Industrial Sheds
One of the most significant advantages of constructing a steel frame building is that they tend to be cost-effective. Structures such as industrial sheds can be made and prepared offsite to speed up construction and installation, meaning onsite construction is quick and efficient, saving time and money.
Bridges
As previously mentioned, structural steel has an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, which makes it the perfect material to use to build bridges. These structures need to be light enough to not crumble into the gap they’re covering whilst carrying large amounts of traffic. The safety that comes with structural steel helps engineers, designers, and steel fabricators to make bridges such reliable structures.
Parking Garages
When filled with vehicles, garages carry incredible weights. Therefore, all of the advantages already mentioned above (high strength-to-weight ratio and the reliability of the material) ensure that a structural steel parking garage is safe for the public to use.
Structural Steel in Vehicle Building
Most vehicles contain a sizable portion of structural steel parts due to the material’s high levels of elasticity, strength, and corrosion resistance. Therefore that explains why this material is used for the engineering and manufacturing of transport vehicles such as trucks, aircraft, ships, and trains. It’s common to find structural steel within many of the internal components or the exterior protective sheets that protect the engine. In addition, structural steel columns and beams are also used in manufacturing other transport-related components such as rails, ship and jet engine components, aircraft undercarriages, anchor chains, etc., proving just how advantageous it is to many different industries.
Structural Steel in Energy Infrastructure
The health and safety advantages of building with structural steel mean that the material is often used in energy sectors such as electric, mining, oil, natural gas, nuclear, and wind power to manufacture different components. Structural steel is corrosion, fire, and weather-resistant, which reduces the risk of accidents at sites where it is used and reduces their maintenance costs due to its reliability. Structural steel is also used for manufacturing and creating transmission towers, turbines, electromagnetic shields, electricity pylons, oil and gas wells, and pipelines in various industries.
Structural Steel Fabricators
As a material, structural steel is malleable and ductile, meaning that it can be used for many different purposes whilst providing the same level of reliability and strength. Along with the cost-effective nature of the material and the health and safety advantages it offers, it’s no wonder that structural steel is now the most popular construction material used today.
The team of steel fabrication experts here at Baker Steel Trading can engineer and fabricate a variety of structural steel projects depending on your needs. If you’re interested in speaking to us further about how high-quality steel could help your project, talk to a member of our team, and we’d be more than happy to help.