If a company is looking for a versatile and flexible material, it is hard not to consider structural steel. Fabrication of this metal is responsible for making skyscrapers and other large construction projects in Cleveland, New York, Paris, Toronto, Tokyo and London possible. Engineers turn to structural steel to make their seemingly impossible dreams a concrete reality.
What Is Structural Steel?
Structural steel falls into a specific category of steel. They are generally examples of load bearing material suitable for producing construction material. Structural steel, like other types of steel, comes in a variety of compositions, shapes, strengths, and sizes – each having a specific purpose. It is a carbon steel – by definition possessing a carbon content of a maximum of 2.1 percent by weight. It also contains iron. However, the carbon content determines the strength of the structural steel. This results in the labeling of structural steel as falling into the following three categories:
1. Low-carbon steel or mild steel – the most ductile of structural steel types
2. Medium-carbon steel
3. High-carbon steel
Of these two, the most common for construction purposes is mild structural steel. Fabrication of this substance is in such amounts that many manufacturers in Cleveland consider this type to be the standard. Typical shapes of the metal for construction purposes include:
American Standard Beam Bars (S-Shaped Beam)
* Angle (L-Shaped)
* Bearing Pile (H-Shaped)
* Channel (C-Shaped)
* I beams
* Rods
* Tee Beams
* Z-shape
Custom shapes are also possible.
Structural Steel Fabrication
The United States ranks as the world’s third-largest steel-producing country. Industries that range from can manufacturers to construction companies use steel as an essential material. Yet, of all the diverse types of steel available for industrial use, one of the most common types in Cleveland and elsewhere is structural steel. Fabrication of this metal ensures America can continue to create structures that soar high in the sky or stretch over canyons and rivers.