Saturday, 6 April 2013

Steel Beams - A Godsend to Architects

By Sandra Church


Steel has been used by man since before the Middle Ages, a fact that may be news to many people. People learned a long tome ago that when iron was treated to remove impurities, it become tougher and more resilient. The main issue was that doing this was extremely hard and inefficient. That is why it was to be several hundred years later before steel become more widespread.

The steel industry began in earnest after Henry Bessemer patented his method for manufacturing steel in 1855. The Bessemer process, as it is still called today, made it possible to produce steel in large amounts quickly and relatively cheaply.

Industry took a giant leap forward with Bessemer's process, and soon steel was to be found everywhere. The popularity of steel was down to several factors: steel was stronger and more durable than raw iron, it could be tempered with other elements, such as nickel, making it even more versatile, and it was easy to cast. Corrosion was slower to affect steel.

Today, it is difficult to imagine a world without steel. Using steel fabricators melbourne at the heart of the construction industry has opened up a whole new world to architects, and made it possible to build buildings that tower ever higher.

Steel beams have meant that architects can be artistically creative in their designs. Beams can be manufactured in virtually any angular format, removing any restrictions on artistic expression.

In the past, buildings were essentially made of rectangular or square blocks placed one on top of the other. Today, architects and designers have free reign in what the finished building will look like, all thanks to steel. Steel beams made it possible to build the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and its neighbor, the Burj al Arab building that looks like a giant sail, and the group of sails we see in the Sydney Opera House.

Huge changes have been made in the way modern buildings are built when steel is used. Prior to the use of steel in constructing building frames, all the building's structure had to be done on site, but now it is possible to construct large sections away from the site. The sections are assembled when they have been brought to the site from the manufacturing facility.

Erecting buildings in kit form like this brings many cost benefits. The cost of manual labor on the site is driven down. It means that there is no need for one job to be finished before the next can start. For example, the walls do not have to be in place before the roof can be built. Total time spent on construction is greatly reduced.

Thanks to being able to use steel in structural construction, it has been possible to erect vast covered buildings. Aircraft manufacturers, for example, can build their largest jets in vast, covered assembly hangars. Before the arrival of steel, it would not have been possible to cover such huge areas without having support columns in place.

Thousands of lives have been saved around the globe thanks to steel. By using steel in the construction of buildings, they are less prone to collapse should an earthquake take place. The frames of buildings built with steel, or built with reinforced concrete, which gains its extra strength from steel, are able to withstand massive physical forces.




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