ADVANTAGES OF STEEL

Speed of Construction
Structural steel enhances construction productivity because of its shop fabrication while
maintaining tight construction tolerances. Field placed material will always lag behind...
3-D interoperability and Building Information Modeling allows the close cooperation
between designers and steel specialty contractors in the design, fabrication and
erection of building structures. This technology allows designs to save both time and
dollars in the construction process.
Rapid erection in all seasons with close tolerances being maintained for integration with
other building systems and minimal construction site waste is achievable only with
structural steel.
Lower Project Costs
Today, when competing framing systems are evaluated for projects using comparable,
current cost data, structural steel remains the cost leader for the majority of construction
projects. Comparative studies indicate that a structural steel framing system including
decking and fire protection will typically cost 5% to 7% less than a concrete framing
system on a national basis.
Aesthetic Appeal
Architects praise the natural beauty of steel and are excited about exposing it in the
design of their structures to emphasize grace, slenderness, strength and transparency
of frame.
Structural steel allows the project architect a greater degree of expression and creativity
in their design than any other construction material.
Structural steel sections can be bent and rolled to create non-linear members to further
enhance the aesthetic appeal of the structure.

High Strength
All other materials talk about high strength, but their strength is still less than that of
structural steel even when enhanced by steel reinforcing. In fact, the increase in the
standard strength of steel used in buildings today compared to 10 years ago is greater
than the total strength of competing high strength materials. Structural steel is typically
50 ksi material indicating that the steel has a yield stress of 50,000 pounds per square
inch in both compression and tension.
Sustainable
Sustainability is structural steels middle name. Structural steel is the most recycled
material on our planet todays structural steel is made of 88% recycled product, is fully
recyclable in the future and can be reused without further processing.
The recycling rate of structural steel and automobiles at the end of their life is greater
than 100%. Rather than utilizing land for quarrying operations to provide aggregates or
as landfills for construction material waste, structural steel is emptying salvage yards
allowing that land to be used for other purposes.
Today demolitions are often paying for the opportunity to demolish and scrap a
structural steel framed building because of the value of the structural steel. By contrast
buildings using other materials cost between $3 and $10 per square foot to demolish,
scrap and landfill.
Innovative
New systems such as Girder-Slab, Conxtech and Side-Plate have recently entered the
market in response to designer demands for new approaches to projects. They join
ongoing innovations addressing issues such as long-span deck systems, fire protection,
connection optimization, coating systems and progressive collapse!

The structural steel industry continues to pioneer new innovations for both the material
and the use of structural steel.
The structural steel industry pioneered the movement toward open standards and
interoperable software that has most recently resulted in the growth in popularity of
Building Information Modeling. In 1990s the industry adopted CIS/2 as a standard data
protocol for the exchange of information between structural design, detailing and
manufacturing/fabrication programs. The result was that software programs from
different vendors were suddenly able to exchange model based information beyond
simple geometry. Projects taking advantage of this vertical integration within the
structural steel industry were able to demonstrate cost savings of up to 20% on the
structural package.
Modifiable
Structural steel buildings can be modified in the future for new applications, loading
conditions, vertical expansions and changes in owner desires in ways that other framing
systems can never accomplish.
Existing steel columns and beams can be strengthened through the attachment of steel
plate to the flanges or web of sections allowing for greater loads. New stairways can be
added to existing steel framed buildings by removing a portion of the floor decking,
bracing a single bay and adding the desired stair structure. These types of changes can
be accomplished with little disruption while the building is still occupied.
It is not unusual for a structural steel building to have additional floors added even years
after the building was originally completed.
Efficient
Structural steel buildings optimize building space efficiency through the use of slender
columns maximizing useable floor space, longer spans for open, column-free spaces
and the integration of HVAC systems into structural spaces allowing reduction of floorto-floor heights.

The typical steel column occupies 75% less floor space than an equivalent concrete
column. At the same time structural steel allows longer spans that eliminate
intermediate columns creating open floor areas ideal for todays office layouts.
Parking structures benefit from smaller structural steel columns and longer spans as
well.
Reliable and Predictable
Structural steel is manufactured and fabricated under controlled conditions using
modern quality assurance processes. The final strength of the material is verified at the
point of production, not after the material is already placed in the frame of the building.
Structural steel is shop fabricated to close tolerances impossible for site cast materials.

DISADVANTAGES OF STEEL
High maintenance cost and more corrosion
Most steels must be painted at regular intervals because if they are freely exposed to air
they get corrode. This requires extra cost and special care. If we use weathering steel
then this will eliminate this cost. If steel structures are not properly maintained then they
can loose 1 to 1.5 mm of their thickness each year. As a result the structure will loose its
weight up to 35% during its specified life span and can fail under external loads.
Fireproofing costs
Although steel members are incombustible in nature, their strength is tremendously
reduced at temperatures prevailing in fires. At about 400 degree Celsius, creep
becomes much more pronounced. Creep is defined as the plastic deformation under a
constant load for a long period of time. This produces large deflections in steel
structures. Stresses will produce in main member forcing other members to higher
stresses or even to collapse. Steel is an excellent conductor of heat. It may transfer
heat from a burning compartment of a building to start fire in other parts of the building.
Extra cost is required for properly fire proof of the building.
Susceptibility to buckling
Steel sections usually consist of a combination of thin plates. The steel members
dimensions are also smaller than reinforced concrete members. If these slender
member are subjected to compression, there are greater chances of buckling.
Steel when used for columns is not very economical because considerable material has
to be used to stiffen the columns against buckling.
Higher initial cost / Less availability
In few countries, like Pakistan, steel is not available in abundance and its initial cost is
very high as compared with the other structural materials. That is the reason why steel
structures are not very common in these countries.

Aesthetics
For certain types of buildings, the steel structures are architecturally preferred.
However, for majority of residential buildings and office buildings, steel structures are
considered to have poor aesthetic appearance. At these places, they required false
ceiling and cladding to improve their appearance. A good amount is required for such
structures to improve their appearance.