Use of steel in construction

Dr Rick Chan,
Lecturer, SCECE
ricky.chan@rmit.edu.au
Brooklyn Bridge, NY
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 2
Lecture Outline
What is steel?
Where do we use steel?
How it is made?
Advantages & disadvantages
Mechanical properties
Comparison with other construction materials
Corrosion
Welding and fire resistance
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 3
The Colosseum in Rome,
Italy
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
The Eiffel Tower, France
Source:http://www.planetware.com/
What is steel
Steel may be defined as an alloy of iron and carbon
Tensile strength: 200-500MPa
Density: 7850kg/m
3
Youngs modulus: 200,000MPa
Shear modulus: 80,000MPa
Poissons ratio: 0.3
Coeff. thermal expansion: 12x10
-6
/K

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 4
Southbank Footbridge
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 5
Effects of carbon content
An increase in carbon content will
Increases tensile strength
Increases hardness
Reduction in ductility
Increase difficulty in welding
Greater tendency to corrode
Steel used in construction is
generally low in carbon content to
ensure ductility
Transmission towers
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 6
Effects of carbon content
Rollason, Metallurgy for
Engineers, Butterworth-
Heinemann
El= Elongation
TS = Tensile
strength
BH = Brinell
Hardness
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 7
Carbon content in Steel (by mass)
Low carbon steel 0.15% C
Mild Steel 0.15-0.25% C
Medium Carbon Steel 0.2-0.5% C
High Carbon Steel 0.5-1.4% C
Common in construction
Australian standards
There are several Australian Standards which governs chemical
composition, test requirement, and geometrical requirements, etc for
structural steel sections
AS/NZS 1163:2009 : Cold-formed structural steel hollow sections
AS/NZS 3679.1:2010 : Structural steel - Hot-rolled bars and sections
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 8
Structural sections
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 9
Use of steel in construction Tall Buildings
Empire State Building, NYC
Photo: Ricky Chan
Bank of China, Hong Kong (left)
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 10
Use of steel in construction Framed buildings
A residential building in Japan
Photo by Ricky Chan
A car park in Japan
Photo by Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 11
Use of steel in construction Bridges
A plate girder bridge in Japan
Photo by Ricky Chan
A box girder bridge in Japan
Photo by Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 12
Use of steel in construction long span roofs
Hong Kong airport
Photo by Ricky Chan
Kuala Lumpur airport
Photo by Ricky Chan
Use of steel in construction long span roofs
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 13
Osaka airport
Photo by Ricky Chan
Southern Cross Station
Photo by Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 14
Use of steel in construction reinforcement steel
Reinforcement bars in a column
Photo by Ricky Chan
Reinforcement bars in beam /
column
Photo by Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 15
Earthworks and foundations
Steel piles
Photo by Ricky Chan
Sheet piles
Photo by Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 16
Extraction of metals
Metals occurs in nature as ores, in the form of oxides, sulphides,
carbonates, etc.
We need to extract the metals from their compounds which occurs
naturally
But metal tends to revert to their compounds, i.e. it corrodes
To extract it and keep it that way
Extraction metallurgy techniques with extracting the metals from
their compound
Unaided fire can reach about 1100-1200
o
C
Copper, lead and tin were produced in pre-historic times

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 17
Extraction of Iron
Extraction of Iron dated back to 1200BC, the Iron Age
Iron has melting point of 1535
o
C
In 18s and 19s century, forced air blast furnaces were
able to melt iron

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 18
Modern extraction of iron
Limestone, Iron ore and Coke are put together in blast
furnace. The following reactions occur in general
2C
(s)+
O
2(g)
2CO
(g)
Fe
2
O
3(s)
+3CO
(g)
2Fe
(l)
+ 3CO
2(g)
The limestone remove silica in the ore
CaC0
3(s)
CaO
(s)
+ CO
2(g)

CaO
(s)
+ SiO
2(s)
CaSiO
2(l)
see the making of steel from BlueScope Steel


RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 19
Effect of cooling rate
The rate of cooling of steel crystal distribution, and affects mechanical
properties of steel product
Annealing
Steel is cooled slowly in a controlled manner (usually in furnace)
Coarse-grain structure
Higher ductility, easier to machine
Lower yield strength than normalized steels

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 20
Effect of cooling rate
Normalizing
Steel is allowed to cool in still air
Fine grain structure
Harder and Higher yield strength than annealing
Quenching
Rapid cooling rate by plugging the steel into water (or iced brine)
Intensely hard but brittle steel



RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 21
Hot working
At temperature above re-
crystallization For steel, at
temperature over 910
o
C Rolling
is a common method of forming
structural sections
Exposure to air at high
temperature causes a heavy
film of oxide layer to form on
surface
Rolling
Illston J.M. & Domone P.L.J.
Construction materials, 2001
Hot-rolled I-beams / columns
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 22
Cold working
Because of the cold ductility of metal, they can be shaped below re-
crystallization temperature
Yield strength can be increased
Metals sheets
Cold drawn wires

Cold formed steel decks
Steel deck in Westfield
Shopping Centre
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 23
Advantages of steel
High tensile strength (very high yield stress)
Long span structures made possible
Generally it is the only high tensile strength material commonly
used in construction. Recently the development of carbon fibre
based material replace some steel, but use is very limited.
High compressive strength
High shear strength
e.g. shear resistance of concrete structures relies on steel stirrups
to provide shear resistance
Youngs modulus is high (E=o/c)
Structure built with steel are resistance to deformation
E = 200GPa compares to Aluminium's E=75GPa
Ductile
Prevents sudden failure


RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 24
Advantages of steel
Durability
Resistance to wear and abrasion
Malleability
Can be rolled or shaped into various shape to enhance structural
efficiency. e.g. an I-beam is most efficient in bending
Alloying
Adding other chemical will change its properties. E.g. Stainless
steel contains chromium, nickel and molybdenum.
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 25
Disadvantages of steel
Large amount of energy used in production (sustainability issue)
International Iron and Steel Institute research shows that the
amount of energy required to produce a tonne of steel is less than
half of what it was 35 years ago
Mining of iron ore destroys natural landscape
Slender steel member may buckle under compression
Can be avoided by engineering
Corrosion
Can be delayed by coating / galvanising
Poor fire resistivity
Can be improved by fire proofing material
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 26
Comparison with concrete and timber
Material Youngs
Modulus
(MPa)
Working
stress
(MPa)
Density
(kg/m
3
)
Stiffness
Efficiency
Strength
efficiency
Energy of
production
(MJ/kg)
Energy of
production
(MJ/m
3
)
Energy
per unit
stress
A B C D=A/C E=B/C F G=F*C H=G/B
Steel 210,000 160 7800 27 0.02 30 234,000 1500
Concret
e
25,000 8 2400 10 0.003 0.8 1920 240
Timber 11,000 7.5 600 18 0.013 1 600 80
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 27
Mechanical properties
We want to know what is the yield stress of
material, as we want to keep the steel
members within elastic range under design
service loads.
We are also interested in its stiffness
(resistance to deformation) and ductility.
Tensile test on coupon a small test piece is
cut from steel section and put under tensile
test. AS1391 2007 Metallic materials
Tensile testing at ambient temperature
Determine: yield stress, ultimate stress,
Youngs modulus, elongation (ductility), etc.
Youngs Modulus = 200GPa for steel
(constant)
Yield / ultimate stress vary with steel grades

Fig 14, AS1391-2007
Photo: Ricky Chan
Tensile test
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 28
Tensile test
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 29
Stress-strain curve in tensile test
Tensile test carried out by Ricky Chan
Elastic
Plastic
Strain hardening
Elastic region



Stress is linearly proportional to strain


This is known as Hooks Law
i.e. if we can measure strain, we can calculate stress (E is material
constant)
Strain are measured by attaching strain gauges (by glue) to steels
surface. Changes in electrical resistance is converted to strain.

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 30
Ee = o
Attaching a rosette strain
gage to surface of steel
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 31
Stress
Strain

P = Uniaxial tension
L = Length
L
0
= Initial length
A
0
= Initial cross-sectional area
e = engineering strain
o =nominal stress
Valid when strain magnitudes not exceed 0.002 (0.2%)




0
A
P
= o
0
0
L
L L
e

=
Small strain problems
Large strain problems
For large strain problems, strain should be expressed in natural strain
Total strain = elastic strain + plastic strain


For incremental strain

integration from original length to the current length
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 32
p e
c c c + =
L
dL
d = c
} } |
|
.
|

\
|
= = =
L
L
L
L
L
dL
d
0
0
ln c c
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 33
Creep
Time-dependent strain when a steady stress is maintained
Creep reduces with decrease in temperature
Significant strains do not normally occur at temperature below 40% of
melting point of metal in K (degree K =
o
C +273)
Creep would not be expected in ferrous metals at room temperature
But a related phenomenon called relaxation occurs in cold-worked
steel such as prestressing tendons

Prestressing tendons used in bridge
construction
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 34
The Charpy impact test
Steel becomes brittle in cold temperature
Requirement in Section 10 of AS4100 Brittle fracture based on lowest
one day mean ambient temperature.
e.g. Grade 300+ (AS/NZ3679.1 Grade 300) belongs to Steel Type 1
according to Table 10.4.4. It lowest permissible service temperature is -
10C for thickness between 6 and 12mm
Charpy impact test is a standardised test on materials toughness.
Toughness is the energy require to fracture (fail) a specimen. (area
beneath stress-strain curve of standard tensile test is toughness under
low-strain rate). Charpy impact test is a high strain rate test.

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 35
Impact strength
Taylor G.D., Materials in Construction,
2002
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 36
Brinell hardness test
Proposed by Swedish engineer Johan
Brinell in 1900
Correlates the diameter of an indentation
on a material test piece to a hardness
scale.
Typical tests use a 10mm dia steel ball as
an indenter with 3000kgf (29kN) force
For hard material, a tungsten carbide ball
is used.
Typical values:
Softwood: 1.6
Hardwood: 2.6 7.0
Aluminium: 15
Mild Steel: 120

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 37
Oxidation of metal
Almost all metals are unstable in oxygen containing atmosphere,
exceptions are gold and silver
Metals release electrons and oxygen accept electrons
General equation: M + O MO
Not a major cause of corrosion in buildings as temperature is low

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 38
Oxidation & oxide layer
Taylor G.D., Materials in Construction,
2002
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 39
Oxidation of metal
In order for oxidation process to continue, oxygen must have access
to metallic ions below the oxide layer
Properties of oxide layer defines the rate of corrosion
Oxide layer of zinc, chromium, lead and aluminum are so tightly
bounded, oxygen cannot penetrate down and eventually corrosion will
cease
A bridge showing signs of corrosion
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 40
Electrolytic and acidic corrosion
Metals have tendency to dissolve in aqueous solution
The tendency depends on types of metals, temperature
This tendency is measured using a Standard Hydrogen Electrode
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 41
Electrode potentials
Metal Electrode potential (Volts)
Magnesium -2.4
Aluminum -1.7
Zinc -0.76
Chromium -0.65
Iron -0.44
Nickel -0.23
Tin -0.14
Lead -0.12
Hydrogen 0.00
Copper +0.34
Silver +0.80
Gold +1.40
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 42
Acidic Corrosion
In the presence of acid, free hydrogen ions receive electrons to give
hydrogen gas
2H
+

(aq)
+ 2e
-
(from metal) H
2(g)
Reactions occur with metal above hydrogen in the table of electrode
potentials
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 43
Electrolytic Corrosion
Different metals in contact
e.g. Zinc in contact with copper
Electrons flow from zinc (anode) to copper (cathode)
Giving a potential difference of 0.34-(-0.76) = 1.1V

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 44
Pitting Corrosion
Anode and cathode on the same piece of metal
Ferric oxide behaves as a cathode with respect to iron
Taylor G.D., Materials in Construction, 2002
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 45
Pitting Corrosion
Electrolytic corrosion cells may form in a single metal in presence of
moisture
Contributes to most corrosion problems in civil structures / buildings
A heavily rusted bridge in Toronto
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 46
Effects of oxygen
In pure water, corrosion is extremely slow because water only ionizes
slightly
H
2
O H
+
+ OH
-

Fe Fe
2+
+ 2e
-
At cathode, 2H+ + 2e- H2
Fe
2+
+ 2(OH)
-
Fe(OH)
2
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 47
Effects of oxygen
But, with oxygen in water, oxygen reacts with electrons to form
hydroxyl ions
2H
2
O + O
2
+4e
-
4(OH)
-
Steel corrode quite rapidly
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 48
Corrosion
As a summary, corrosion takes place when the followings are present
Metal
Water (moisture)
Oxygen
Corrosion can be slowed down if either water or oxygen is eliminated.

Marine structures will require
stringent corrosion protection
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 49
Protection against corrosion
Impervious coating
By covering the metal with coating (paint, pitch, tar, etc.)
Level of protection depends on thickness of paint
Relatively cheap method
Paint must be applied immediately after manufacture
The film of paint must be intact (unbroken)


Paint workshop for structural steel
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 50
Cathodic protection
Sacrificial anodes
Simply connect the metal you want to protect to a more reactive
metal
Replacement of sacrificial metal is required
Not commonly used in construction

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 51
Hot-dip galvanizing

A very common form of protection (but could be costly)
Prepared steel sections are dipped into molten zinc at about 450
o
C
Zinc, being more reactive than iron, act as a sacrificial anode
50m to 200m thick, 100m common
Zinc reacts with oxygen to form oxide, and because of its oxide is tightly
bounded, corrosion will cease

Galvanising factory
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 52
5 steps of hot-dip galvanizing
Pickling - Dilute solutions of either hydrochloric or sulfuric acid
remove surface rust and mill scale to provide a chemically clean
metallic surface
Fluxing - Steel is immersed in liquid flux (usually a zinc ammonium
chloride solution) to remove oxides and to prevent oxidation prior to
dipping into the molten zinc bath
Galvanizing - The article is immersed in a bath of molten zinc at
between 435-455
o
C
Finishing The galvanized item is then air-cooled or quenched in liquid.
Inspection - Coating-thickness and surface-condition inspections
complete the process
AS/NZS 4680 Hot-dip galvanized (zinc) coatings on fabricated ferrous
articles

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 53
Welding
The material is heated locally to melting temperature, additional metal
may added to connect two metal components
Structural steel sections are often connected by arc welding
Welding should be performed by skilled workmen to ensure quality
Governed by AS1554 Structural steel welding
Welded beam / column
connection
Photo: Ricky Chan
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 54
Types of weld
Fillet Weld Butt Weld
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 55
Fire resistance of structural steel
At about 250
o
C, yield strength
increases
At about 400
o
C, strength
decreases rapidly
Some means of fire protection
are needed
Robinson J. T., Architecture and
construction in steel, 1993
50% strength @ 600C
RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 56
Sprayed fire proofing materials
Spray-on fire proofing materials
Photo: Ricky Chan
Further reading
Shielded metal arc welding
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaDsmeB5ywM
Flux-cored arc welding
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li_pAMrUWSw
Fire protection of structural steel in buildings
http://www.pfpa.com.au/docs/Steel%20Fireproofing/Rakic%20-
%20Type%20of%20Fireproofing%20materials.pdf
Galvaniser Association of Australia
http://www.gaa.com.au/

RMIT Universityyyyy School/Department/Area 57