Steel construction excels in the industrial and engineering sectors of construction. Structural steel has long been recognized as the material of choice for these applications.
Steel structures dominate the construction of industrial structures in the world. Today, industrial structures in most industrialized nations are almost exclusively built of structural steel. Steel is routinely selected for applications from heavy constructions in the energy sector to manufacturing, from mining to off-shore construction, from port facilities to communication structurers, etc. Steel structures are synonymous with structures of many forms, such as on-land and off-shore oil drilling facilities, mining and conveyor structures, transmission towers, pipelines, crane-supporting structures, storage facilities, mills and manufacturing plants etc.
Advantages of Steel Construction
In addition to the said benefits that steel offers for the construction of commercial and institutional buildings, including speed of construction, cost effectiveness, adaptability and versatility, functional performance, sustainability and incombustibility, steel construction is the natural choice for industrial application for these obvious reasons:
- Absence of repetitive floors:
The lack of repetitive floors makes cast-in-place concrete construction costly and unsuitable. Many industrial structures are frames without floor slabs, which are avoided to permit passage of vertical pipes etc.
- Large concentrated loads:
The versatility of steel framing allows large concentrated loads to be supported by inclined legs, hangers or girders, which integrate well with the passage of horizontal piping etc.
- Irregular layouts:
Many industrial structures have irregular layouts. Structural steel lends itself to this type of construction.
- High storeys:
Many industrial buildings feature a high storey(s), which also favours steel construction.
- Rural construction:
Construction in remote areas makes concrete works impractical and very expensive.
- Future changes:
Steel framing also lends itself to future changes; the versatility of steel construction permits the least possible downtime.
The endless benefits of steel construction go on. All in all, steel is undeniably the material of choice.