Structural steel, one of the other widely used building materials in the construction industry, is also the most studied and best understood. Its behavior is predictable and is subject to various standards and codes established by agencies that define its specific shape, cross-section, chemical composition, and mechanical properties.
Steel’s primary purpose in the building industry is to form a skeleton that holds everything together. Structural steel is mainly used as a reinforcement material to counter concrete’s low tensile strength and ductility. Structural Engineering in construction is a sub-discipline of Civil Engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the bones and muscles that create the form and shape of man-made structures.
Structural engineers need to understand and calculate the stability, strength and rigidity and earthquake of built structures for buildings and non building structures. The structural designs are integrated with those of other designers such as architects and building services engineer and often supervise the construction of projects by contractors on site.
Structural steel is widely used for critical infrastructure, such as offshore structures, ships, marine pipelines, coastal and harbour facilities, bridges, storage tanks, pipelines and conveyor systems. It involves process of cutting, burning, machining, welding, final assembly & then erecting at site.