Metal

Course Building Technology

Confidence Not Confident

Last Edited @November 1, 2023 7:17 PM

Metals - strongest building material in present

Properties of Metal

Plastic(Malleable)/ Melting - can be liquefied by heating and solidify by cooling

Ductile - can be hammered thin or drawn into wires

Conductive - conducts heat and electricity

Corrosive - vulnerable to oxidation(rust)

Classifications of Metal

Ferrous - consist primarily of IRON, easy and economical, strongest material,

most vulnerable to rust

Non-ferrous - expensive, resistant to rust, aesthetic and easy to work with

Alloys - Metal mixed with other elements

ex: BRONZE = Copper + Tin

Steel - suited in rapid construction, plentiful and inexpensive

Cast iron - iron ore in a blast furnace, ex: Crystal Palace - Joseph Paxton

Wrought iron - purified by beating it repeatedly with a hammer, ex: Eiffel Tower -
Gustave Eiffel

Steel - iron containing less than 2% carbon, ex: Home Insurance Building -
William Jenney

Metal 1
 Carbon content determines strength of ferrous metal:
too much = brittle (cast iron), too little = weak/ malleable (wrought iron)

materials for smelting to cast iron (via blast furnace)

iron ore - raw iron

coke - carbon

crushed limestone - produces slag (impurities)

Steel Alloy

Two types of Steel in construction: Structural Steel and Light Gauge Steel

Mild structural - ASTM A36 (common for building frames), low carbon (soft steel)

High-strength, low-alloy - ASTM A992 or A572

Wide flange - ASTM A992

Angle, channels, plates, bars - ASTM A572

Weathering Steel - exposed to exterior conditions without protective finish, used in

bridge construction

Structural - ASTM A588

Thin sheets - ASTM A606

Stainless steel - ASTM A240 and A270 (greater corrosion resistance)

Galvanizing is a zinc coating of steel to protect from corrosion

Mechanical Process of Steel - via heat treatment

Quenching - rapid cooling, steel becomes much harder and brittle

Tempering - partial reheating, steel becomes hard and strong

Annealing - slow cooling, steel become softer and brittle

Metal 2
 Check out more terms in the topic of STEEL in the Visual Dictionary

Types of Treatment/ Protection for Metal

Galvanized - coating with zinc as protection

Electroplating - coat metals such as chromium and cadmium onto steel to

improve appearance and add protection

Anodized - electrolytic process in aluminum, adding thin oxide layer

Non-metallic coating - paint, lacquer, organic coatings, porcelain enamel, and

thermosetting powders

Structural Steel - Products and Systems

Commercially available steel products

American Standard (I-beams) - nominal depth x weight

Wide Flanges - nominal depth x weight

Steel Channels (C-channels) - nominal depth x weight

Angle, Unequal Legs - length of each leg x thickness

Angle, Equal Legs - length of each leg x thickness

Structural Tee - horizontal section cut of wide flange, nominal depth x weight

Solid Bars (square 2”x2”, round 2” diameter, rectangular 2” x 6”)

Metal 3
 HSS - hollow structural section, structural tubular pipes (square, round,
elliptical, rectangular), aka structural tubing

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 Types of Production of Structural Steel

Cast Steel - pouring of molten steel into molds, custom-shaped connections,

produces weaker materials (only good for ornaments or plumbing fixtures:
faucets)

Rolling

Cold-worked Steel - rolled or bent in a cold state, harden and strengthen

metals

Light gauge steel sheet - C-shaped sections, frame partitions and

exterior walls (large bldgs), and floors (small bldgs)

Steel sheet stock - corrugated configurations, for floor and roof decking
steel-frames

Cold-worked Steel with Heavy Plates - rolled with welded seam to from HSS
(hollow steel sections)
effective to prevent torsion stress (twisting) and compression (buckling)

Extrusion - process of squeezing heated metal into shaped die

Forging - heating metal until soft then beating it into shape

Stamping - squeezing metal sheet between matching dies

Drawing - producing wires by pulling a metal rod through a series of

progressively smaller orifices

Open-web Steel Joists (OWSJ) - truss systems for floors and roof decks

K- Series - 18m joists

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 LH series - longspans, 29m joists

DLH series - deep longspans, roofs only, 44m open-web joists

CJ (composite joists) - composite floor construction

Joist Girders are prefab steel trusses to carry bays of steel joists

Joining Methods of Steel Members

Rivets

Bolts

Carbon Steel Bolts - ASTM A307, unfinished or common bolt

High Strength Bolts - ASTM A325 and A490

Methods of determining tension in bolt

Turn-of-nut Method - used in slip-critical connections

Load Indicator Washer - direct tension indicator (DTI), under a nut of bolt

Calibrated wrench method - less used, special torque wrench is used to

tighten bolts

Tension control bolts - protruding splined ends, tightened by a special power-

driven shear wrench

High strength bolt alternative are lockpin and collar fastener / swedge bolt

Types of Bolt Connections

bearing-type connection - snug tight condition, stressed primarily in shear

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 slip-critical (friction-type) connection - stressed in tension

(left) bearing-type connection, (right) slip-critical connection

Welding - monolithic whole, stronger than the members they join

Bolting is quick, resists only shearing forces and compensates to physically

inaccessible joints (by welding)

Soldering or Brazing is different from Welding, parent material is not melted

but lower melting point materials (bronze, brass) is melted to join two pieces

Types of Welding

Fusion Welding -

Homogeneous

Gas Welding

Electroslag

High Energy Beam

Electric Arc - simple, metal electrode is used, melting of a localized

area and tip of the electrode (merging)

Metal 7
 Heterogeneous

Brazing

Soldering

Pressure Welding

Friction Welding

Seamless Welding are often used in stainless steel connections: GTAW

(gas tungsten arc welding), Plasma arc, GMAW (gas metal arc welding

Weld Testing Methods

Non-destructive Testing

Welding Symbols

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 Plug/ Slot Weld - non-structural

Filet Weld - non-structural

Groove weld - structural (stronger)

Welding for Structural Steel: shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), flux
cored arc welding (FCAW), submerged arc welding (SAW), gas metal arc
welding (GMAW) and electroslag welding (ESW)

Demand-critical welds, term used for welds for seismic critical connections

Structural Steel Framing Systems

Common Steel Member Connections - commonly use of angles, plates, tees

Beam-to-column-flange - moment connection, vertical member of beam

joined to column

Beam-to-column-web - shear connection, horizontal members of beam joined

to column

Metal 9
 stiffener plates - installed inside flanges of column as support

Welded/ Bolted End Plate Beam-Column

Coped Beam-girder

Bolted Column-column

JOIST (smallest) carried by a BEAM, BEAM is carried by a GIRDER

(largest horizontal member)

American Institute of Steel Committee (AISC) Types of Beam-to-column

Connection

Type 1: Moment Connection - Rigid, Fully-restrained

welded moment connection - cutting a dog-bone section near the column

connection to prevent severe failure during earthquake

Type 2: Shear/ Simple Connection - Non-rigid, Unrestrained

Type 3: Semi-rigid Connection (combination) - Partially restrained

Methods in Stabilizing Building Frame

Braced frames - diagonal bracing between beam and columns

Metal 10
 Eccentrically braced frames - diagonal ends are offset from center

Shear walls - stiff walls

Moment-resisting frames - moment connections of beams and columns

Metal 11
 Bracing Arrangement for High-rise Buildings

Rigid Core

Rigid Perimeter - tube structure

Vertical Loads via shear connections, Lateral forces via diagonal bracing,
shear walls, beam-to-column moment connections (less efficient on the list)

Construction Process of Steel Structures

1. Structural engineer - makes structural analysis and computations

2. Specifier - makes specifications

3. Steel Detailer - makes drawings of details

4. Fabricator - on-site fabrication of steel members

5. Erector - installs steel members

Topping out is the last beam in a steel frame

Floor and Roof Decking

Form Deck - needs shoring and reinforcement, 1 1/2 in to 2 1/2 in depth

Composite Deck - with corrugation, the decking is the reinforcement, 1 1/2 in to 3

in depth

Metal 12
 shear studs - welded on top of each steel beam, to create strong shear
connection of slab-to-beam

Roof Deck - no concrete application for decking, 1 1/2 in to 7 in depth

Cellular Decking - can use underfloor electrical connections

Structural Steel and Fireproofing Long-span

Structures
Fireproofing Steel Framing - Columns

Metal 13
 Encasement

Enclosure in metal lath and plaster

Enclosure in multiple layers of gypsum board

Spray-on fireproofing - spray-applied fire-resistive materials (SFRM), most

prevalent

Loose insulating fill inside metal enclosure

Water-filled box column

Fireproofing of Steel Framing - Beams and Girders

Encasement

Enclosure in metal lath and plaster

Rigid slab

Spray-on Fireproofing

Suspended plaster ceiling

Longer Span and High-Capacity Columns

used in athletic buildings, industrial buildings, aircraft hangars, auditoriums, theaters,
etc. with longer span requirements
Types of Long-span structural devices

Castellated Beams - long-span floor system

Metal 14
 Plate Girders - custom made

Steel Rigid Frames

Trusses and Space Frames

Metal 15
 Arches

Tensile and Fabric Structures use cables to support a light roof element

Light Gauge Steel Framing Construction

non-combustible equivalent to wood light frame construction

Metal 16
 Characteristics - similar to wood light frames

closely spaced studs, joists, and rafters

building may be sheathed, insulated, wired, and finished

ASTM A1003 - steel used in light gauge members, coated in zinc or aluminum-zinc
alloy to protect from corrosion

Structural Steel Framing are hot worked / hot-rolled, Light-gauge Steel

Framing are cold worked / cold-formed

Types of Steel Members

C-sections - stud or joist sections for wall, floor and roof framing

Track sections - top and bottom plates, where stud or joist are attached

Channel sections and furring channels - used for lighted bracing and framing

Standard Nomenclature for Light gauge steel members

Example: 600S162-54
6.00-inch-deep (600) stud or joist Section (S), 1.625-inch-wide (162), made from 54-
mil-thick-sheet metal (54)

Accessories or light gauge steel framing

Metal 17
 End clips - used to join members that meet at right angles

Foundation clips - anchor plate (if applied not on foundation), attach ground-floor
platform to anchor bolts embedded in foundation

Joist hangers - connect joists to headers around openings

Web stiffeners - two-piece assembly inserted inside a joist, to transmit wall

vertical load to joist

Stud - vertical member, Track/ Runner - horizontal member

Metal 18