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OVERVIEW
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF STEEL STRUCTURES

 Metal as a structural material began with cast iron in England in 1777-1779,

where a number of cast-iron bridges were built during the period 1780-1820
mostly arch shaped with main girders consisting of individual cast-iron pieces
forming bars or trusses.
 Wrought iron began replacing cast iron soon after 1840. The earliest structure
built was the Brittania Bridges over Menai Straits in Wales in 1846-1850. This
was a tubular girder bridge having spans 70-140-140-70 m, which was made
from wrought-iron plates and angles.
 The process of rolling various shapes was developing as cast iron and wrought
iron received wider usage. Bars were rolled on an industrial scale beginning
about 1780 and extended to I-shapes in 1820 to 1870.
 The development of the Bessemer process (1855), the introduction of a basic
liner in the Bessemer converter (1870), and the open-hearth furnace brought
widespread use of iron ore products in building materials.
 Since 1890, steel has replaced wrought iron as the principal metallic building
material.
 Currently (1995), steels having yield stresses ranging from 165 MPa to 690
MPa are available for structural uses.

COURSE MATERIALS
1.0 STRUCTURAL STEELS

Structural steels are referred to by ASTM designation. Steels for structural use in
hot-rolled applications may be classified as
a) Carbon steels
b) High-strength low-alloy steels
c) Alloy steels

2.0 ADVANTAGES OF STEEL AS A STRUCTURAL MATERIAL

1) High Strength
 The high strength of steel per unit of weight means that the weight of
structures will be small. This fact is of great importance for long-span
bridges, tall buildings and structures situated on poor foundations.
2) Uniformity
 The properties of steel do not change appreciably with time, as do
those of a reinforced-concrete structure.

3) Elasticity
 Steel behaves closer to design assumptions than most materials
because it follows Hooke’s law up to fairly high stresses.
4) Permanence
 Steel frames that are properly maintained will last indefinitely. Recent
research on newer steels indicates that under certain conditions no
painting maintenance will be required.
5) Ductility
 It is the property of a material by which it can withstand extensive
deformation without failure under high tensile stresses.
 In structural members under normal loads, high stress concentrations
develop at various points. The ductile nature of the structural steels
enables them to yield locally at those points, thus preventing
premature failures. More so, ductile structures when subjected to
overload produces large deflections giving a visible evidence of
impending failure (jokingly referred to as “running time”).
6) Toughness
 It is the ability of a material to absorb energy in large amounts.
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 Structural steels are tough – that is, they have both strength and
ductility. This is a very important characteristic of steel, because it
means that steel members can be subjected to large deformations
during fabrication and erection without fracture – thus allowing them to
be bent, hammered, and sheared and to have holes punched in them
without visible damage.
7) Additions to Existing Structures
 Steel structures are quite well suited to have additions made of them.
New bays or even entire new wings can be added to existing steel
frame buildings, etc.
8) Miscellaneous
 Several other important advantages of structural steel are as follows:
a) ability to be fastened together by several simple connection
devices, including welds and bolts
b) adaptation to prefabrication
c) speed of erection
d) ability to be rolled into a wide variety of sizes and shapes
e) possible reuse after a structure is disassembled
f) scrap value, even though not reusable in its existing form

3.0 DISADVANTAGES OF STEEL AS A STRUCTURAL MATERIAL

In general, steel has the following disadvantages:

1) Corrosion
 Most steels are susceptible to corrosion when freely exposed to air and
water, and therefore must be painted periodically. The use of weathering
steels, however, in suitable applications tends to eliminate this cost.
(Copper are usually used as anti-corrosion component)
 Weathering steels can be effective in certain situations for limiting
corrosions; however there are many cases where their use is not feasible.
For instance, corrosion-fatigue failures can occur where steel members
are subject to cyclic stresses (load) and corrosive (aggressive chemical)
environment.
2) Fireproofing Costs
 Although structural members are incombustible, there strength is
tremendously reduce at temperatures commonly reached in fires when the
other materials in building burn.
 Excellent heat conductor
3) Susceptibility to Buckling
 As the length and slenderness of a compression member is increased, its
danger of buckling increases. Additional steel is needed to stiffen them so
they do not buckle; this tends to reduce their economy.

4) Fatigue
 Strength is reduced if it is subjected to a large number of stress reversals
or even to a large number of variations of tensile stresses.
5) Brittle Fracture
 Steel may lose its ductility, and brittle fracture may occur at places of
stress concentration. Fatigue-type loadings and very low temperature
aggravate the situation.

4.0 TYPES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL MEMBERS

1) Structural Steel Shapes

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Figure 1 : Standard rolled shapes

In manufacturing steel products, ingots obtained from the refining of pig iron are rolled
into several steel shapes; plates of varying widths and thickness; round, square and
rectangular bars; and pipes. The most common structural steel shapes are described
below.

W-Shapes
American wide-flange I-or-H shaped steel beams are referred to as W-
Shapes and are designated by the letter W followed by their nominal depth in
millimeters, with their mass in kilograms per lineal meter given last. For example,
W460 x 95 means that this W shape is 460 mm deep ad has a mass of 95 kg/m.
This shape consists of two rectangular-shaped flanges connected by a
rectangular web.

S-Shapes
These shapes were formerly called I-beams and American Standard beams.
They are produced in accordance with dimensions adopted in 1896. The
differences between W and S shapes are:
 The flange width of the S shape is narrower than the W shape.
 The inner face of the flange of the S shape has a slope of about 16.70.
 The theoretical depth of the S shape is the same as its nominal depth. A
S310 x 74 is a shape with a nominal depth 310 mm x 74 kg/m.

C-Shapes
These are channel shapes formerly called American Standard Channels. The
theoretical and nominal depths are identical. The inner face of the flange has the
same slope as S shapes. A [230 x 22 is a standard channel shape with a
nominal depth of 230 mm and a mass of 22 kg/m
L-Shapes
These are either equal or unequal leg angles. All angles have parallel flange
faces. An ∟76 x 76 x 12.7 is an equal leg angle with leg dimensions of 76 mm
and 76 mm respectively, and a leg thickness of 12.7 mm.

M-Shapes (Also called HP Shapes)

These are doubly symmetrical (symmetrical about both the x-and y-axes)
shapes which are not classified as W or S shapes.

MC-Shapes
These are formerly called Shipbuilding or Miscellaneous Channels and are
not classified as C shapes.
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T-Shapes
Structural tees are obtained by splitting W, S or M shapes, such that each
split section has one-half the area of the original shape. Material loss caused by
splitting either by sawing or flame cutting is disregarded. A WT230 x 47.5 is a
structural tee with 230 mm nominal depth and mass of 47.5 kg/m obtained by
splitting the W460 x 95 shapes.

Pipe Section
Pipe sections are designated “standard”, “extra strong” and “double-extra
strong” in accordance with the thickness and are nominally prescribed by the
diameter.

Structural Tubing
Structural tubing is used where pleasing architectural appearance is desired
with exposed steel. Tubing is designated by outside dimension and thickness
such as structural tubing 8 x 6 x ¼.
The sections shown in Figure 1 are all hot-rolled, that is, they are formed from
hot billet steel (blocks of steel) by passing through rolls numerous times to obtain
the final shapes.

Many other shapes are cold-formed from plate material having a thickness
not exceeding 25 mm (1 in.) as shown in the Figure 2 below. These are made by
bending thin sheets of carbon or low-alloy steels into almost desired cross
section. These shapes – which may be used for light members in roofs, floors,
and walls – vary in thickness from about 0.01 in to 0.25 in. Regarding size and
designation of cold-formed steel members, there are no truly standard shapes
even though the properties of many common shapes are in the Cold-Formed
Steel Design Manual.

Figure 2: Some cold-formed shapes

2) Tension Members
The tension member occurs commonly as a chord member in a truss, as
diagonal bracings in many types of structures, as direct support for balconies, as
cables in suspended roof systems, and as suspension bridge main cables and
suspenders that support the roadway.

3) Compression Members
Because compression members’ strength is a function of the cross-sectional
shape (radius of gyration) the area is generally spread out as much as is
practical. Chord members in trusses, and many interior columns in buildings, are
examples of members subject to axial compression. Even under most ideal
condition, pure axial compression is not attainable so, design for “axial” loading
assumes the effect of any small simultaneous bending may be neglected.

4) Beams
Beams are members subjected to transverse loading and are most efficient when
their area are distributed so as to be located at the greatest practical distance
from the neutral axis. The most common beam sections are the wide-flange (W)
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and the I-beams (S), as well as smaller rolled I-shaped sections designated as
“miscellaneous shapes” (M).

For deeper and thinner-webbed sections that can economically be rolled,

welded I-shaped sections are used including stiffened plate girders.

For moderate spans carrying light loads, open-web “joist” are often used.
These are parallel chord truss-type members used for the support of floors and
roofs. The steel may be hot-rolled or cold-formed.

5.0 STEEL STRUCTURES

Steel structures may be divided into three general categories:
a) Framed structures – where elements may consist of tension members,
columns, beams and members under combined bending and axial loads;
b) Shell-type structures, where axial forces predominate; and
c) Suspension-type structure, where axial tension predominates the principal
support system.