11 4.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Structural Steel Design ADVANTAGES OF STEEL AS A STRUCTURAL MATERIAL ‘A person traveling in the United States might quite understandably decide that steel is the perfect structural material. He or she would see an endless number of steel bridges, build- ings, towers, and other structures, After seeing these numerous steel structures, this traveler might be surprised to learn that steel was not economically made in the United States until late in the nineteenth century, and the first wide-flange beams were not rolled until 1908. ‘The assumption of the perfection of this metal, perhaps the most versatile of struc- tural materials, would appear to be even more reasonable when its great strength, light weight, ease of fabrication, and many other desirable properties are considered. These and other advantages of structural steel are discussed in detail in the paragraphs that follow. 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 struc- tures situated on poor foundations. Uniformity The properties of steel do not change appreciably with time, as do those of a rein- forced-concrete structure. Elasticity Steel behaves closer to design assumptions than most materials because it follows Hooke’s law up to fairly high stresses. The moments of inertia of a steel structure can be accurately calculated, while the values obtained for a reinforced-conerete structure are rather indefinite.2 Chapter 1 Introduction to Structural Stee! Design 114 1.1.5 1.1.6 Erection of steel joists. (Courtesy of Vulcraft.) Permanence Steel frames that are properly maintained will last indefinitely. Research on some of the newer steels indicates that under certain conditions no painting maintenance what- soever will be required. Ductility The property of a material by which it can withstand extensive deformation without failure under high tensile stresses is its ductility. When a mild or low-carbon structural steel member is being tested in tension, a considerable reduction in cross section and a large amount of elongation will occur at the point of failure before the actual fracture occurs. A material that does not have this property is generally unacceptable and is probably hard and brittle, and it might break if subjected to a sudden shock. In structural members under normal loads, high stress concentrations develop at various points. The ductile nature of the usual structural steels enables them to yield lo- cally at those points, thus preventing premature failures. A further advantage of ductile structures is that when overloaded, their large deflections give visible evidence of im- pending failure (sometimes jokingly referred to as “running time”). Toughness Structural steels are tough—that is, they have both strength and ductility. A steel mem- ber loaded until it has large deformations will still be able to withstand large forces. This is a very important characteristic, because it means that steel members can be subjected1.1.7 1.1.8 1.2 1.24 1.2 Disadvantages of Steel as a Structural Material 3 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. The ability of a material to absorb energy in large amounts is called toughness. Additions to Existing Structures Steel structures are quite well suited to having additions made to them. New bays or even entire new wings can be added to existing steel frame buildings, and steel bridges may often be widened. 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, as described in Section 1.4 of this chapter; (e) possi- ble reuse after a structure is disassembled; and (f) scrap value, even though not reusable in its existing form. Steel is the ultimate recyclable material. DISADVANTAGES OF STEEL AS A STRUCTURAL MATERIAL In general, steel has the following disadvantages: Corrosion Most steels are susceptible to corrosion when freely exposed to air and water, and therefore must be painted periodically. The use of weathering stecls, however, in suit- able applications tends to eliminate this cost. Though weathering steels can be quite effective in certain situations for limiting corrosion, there are many cases where their use is not feasible. In some of these situa- tions, corrosion may be a real problem. For instance, corrosion-fatigue failures can occur where steel members are subject to cyclic stresses and corrosive environments The fatigue strength of steel members can be appreciably reduced when the members are used in aggressive chemical environments and subject to cyclic loads. The reader should note that steels are available in which copper is used as an anti-corrosion component. The copper is usually absorbed during the steelmaking process. Fireproofing Costs Although structural members are incombustible, their strength is tremendously re- duced at temperatures commonly reached in fires when the other materials in a build- ing burn, Many disastrous fires have occurred in empty buildings where the only fuel for the fires was the buildings themselves. Furthermore, steel is an excellent heat conductor—nonfireproofed steel members may transmit enough heat from a burning section or compartment of a building to ignite materials with which they are in contact in adjoining sections of the building. As a result, the steel frame of a building may have