When did steel frame construction start?

Building technique using skeleton frames of vertical steel columns

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Not to be confused with Structural system

Steel frame structure Rectangular steel frame, or "perimeter frame" of the Willis building (at right) contrasted against the diagrid frame at 30 St Mary Axe (at center), in London.

Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The development of this technique made the construction of the skyscraper possible. [1] Steel frame has displaced its predecessor, the iron frame, in the early 20th century.

Concept

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The rolled steel "profile" or cross section of steel columns takes the shape of the letter "I". The two wide flanges of a column are thicker and wider than the flanges on a beam, to better withstand compressive stress in the structure. Square and round tubular sections of steel can also be used, often filled with concrete. Steel beams are connected to the columns with bolts and threaded fasteners, and historically connected by rivets. The central "web" of the steel I-beam is often wider than a column web to resist the higher bending moments that occur in beams.

Wide sheets of steel deck can be used to cover the top of the steel frame as a "form" or corrugated mold, below a thick layer of concrete and steel reinforcing bars. Another popular alternative is a floor of precast concrete flooring units with some form of concrete topping. Often in office buildings, the final floor surface is provided by some form of raised flooring system with the void between the walking surface and the structural floor being used for cables and air handling ducts.

The frame needs to be protected from fire because steel softens at high temperature and this can cause the building to partially collapse. In the case of the columns this is usually done by encasing it in some form of fire resistant structure such as masonry, concrete or plasterboard. The beams may be cased in concrete, plasterboard or sprayed with a coating to insulate it from the heat of the fire or it can be protected by a fire-resistant ceiling construction. Asbestos was a popular material for fireproofing steel structures up until the early s, before the health risks of asbestos fibres were fully understood.

The exterior "skin" of the building is anchored to the frame using a variety of construction techniques and following a huge variety of architectural styles. Bricks, stone, reinforced concrete, architectural glass, sheet metal and simply paint have been used to cover the frame to protect the steel from the weather. [3]

Cold-formed steel frames

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Interior partition walls made with cold-formed steel

Cold-formed steel frames are also known as lightweight steel framing (LSF).

Thin sheets of galvanized steel can be cold formed into steel studs for use as a structural or non-structural building material for both external and partition walls in both residential, commercial and industrial construction projects (pictured). The dimension of the room is established with a horizontal track that is anchored to the floor and ceiling to outline each room. The vertical studs are arranged in the tracks, usually spaced 16 inches (410 mm) apart, and fastened at the top and bottom.

The typical profiles used in residential construction are the C-shape stud and the U-shaped track, and a variety of other profiles. Framing members are generally produced in a thickness of 12 to 25 gauge. Heavy gauges, such as 12 and 14 gauge, are commonly used when axial loads (parallel to the length of the member) are high, such as in load-bearing construction. Medium-heavy gauges, such as 16 and 18 gauge, are commonly used when there are no axial loads but heavy lateral loads (perpendicular to the member) such as exterior wall studs that need to resist hurricane-force wind loads along coasts. Light gauges, such as 25 gauge, are commonly used where there are no axial loads and very light lateral loads such as in interior construction where the members serve as framing for demising walls between rooms. The wall finish is anchored to the two flange sides of the stud, which varies from 1+1&#;4 to 3 inches (32 to 76 mm) thick, and the width of web ranges from 1+5&#;8 to 14 inches (41 to 356 mm). Rectangular sections are removed from the web to provide access for electrical wiring.

Steel mills produce galvanized sheet steel, the base material for the manufacture of cold-formed steel profiles. Sheet steel is then roll-formed into the final profiles used for framing. The sheets are zinc coated (galvanized) to increase protection against oxidation and corrosion. Steel framing provides excellent design flexibility due to the high strength-to-weight ratio of steel, which allows it to span over long distances, and also resist wind and earthquake loads.

Steel-framed walls can be designed to offer excellent thermal and acoustic properties &#; one of the specific considerations when building using cold-formed steel is that thermal bridging can occur across the wall system between the outside environment and interior conditioned space. Thermal bridging can be protected against by installing a layer of externally fixed insulation along the steel framing &#; typically referred to as a 'thermal break'.

The spacing between studs is typically 16 inches on center for home exterior and interior walls depending on designed loading requirements. In office suites the spacing is 24 inches (610 mm) on center for all walls except for elevator and staircase wells.

Hot-formed steel frames

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Hot Formed frames, also known as hot-rolled steel frames, are engineered from steel that undergoes a complex manufacturing process known as hot rolling. During this procedure, steel members are heated to temperatures above the steel&#;s recrystallization temperature (˚F).This process serves to refine the grain structure of the steel and align its crystalline lattice. It is then passed through precision rollers to achieve the desired frame profiles.[4]

The distinctive feature of hot formed frames is their substantial beam thickness and larger dimensions, making them more robust compared to their cold rolled counterparts. This inherent strength makes them particularly well-suited for application in larger structures, as they show minimal deformation when subjected to substantial loads.

While it is true that hot rolled steel members often have a higher initial cost per component when compared to cold rolled steel, their cost-efficiency becomes increasingly evident when used in the construction of larger structures. This is due to the fact that hot rolled steel frames require fewer components to span equivalent distances, leading to economic advantages in bigger projects.

History

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A school building being demolished in Tama New Town, Tokyo due to low enrolment, showing the steel frame used during its construction inside the remaining piece of outer wall.

The use of steel instead of iron for structural purposes was initially slow. The first iron-framed building, Ditherington Flax Mill, had been built in , but it was not until the development of the Bessemer process in that steel production was made efficient enough for steel to be a widely used material. Cheap steels, which had high tensile and compressive strengths and good ductility, were available from about , but wrought and cast iron continued to satisfy most of the demand for iron-based building products, due mainly to problems of producing steel from alkaline ores. These problems, caused principally by the presence of phosphorus, were solved by Sidney Gilchrist Thomas in .

It was not until that an era of construction based on reliable mild steel began. By that date the quality of steels being produced had become reasonably consistent.[5]

The Home Insurance Building, completed in , was the first to use skeleton frame construction, completely removing the load bearing function of its masonry cladding. In this case the iron columns are merely embedded in the walls, and their load carrying capacity appears to be secondary to the capacity of the masonry, particularly for wind loads. In the United States, the first steel framed building was the Rand McNally Building in Chicago, erected in .

The Royal Insurance Building in Liverpool designed by James Francis Doyle in (erected &#;) was the first to use a steel frame in the United Kingdom.[6]

Additional resources:
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See also

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References

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Published by Steel LLC on

Steel construction offers several advantages: it is structurally sound, has a high strength-to-weight ratio and is very durable. These characteristics of steel make it ideal for constructing buildings of all sizes. Let&#;s take a look at how steel came to be such a popular choice today for constructing buildings of all shapes and sizes.

Steel&#;s use as a construction material roughly follows the same timeline as steel innovation in general &#; especially as railroads became a popular mode of transport. In the s, there were three forms of &#;ferrous metals&#; in use: wrought iron, cast iron, and steel. Wrought iron was very familiar to blacksmiths who had been working with the material for years. While we now think of it as mostly decorative, in the Victorian era, it was also commonly used as a building material. Cast iron, strong but brittle, was more widely used for cooking and farming but was not very appropriate for building. Steel was expensive to produce and was used for higher-end items like watches, swords, and scythes.

In , the Bessemer Method, created by Sir Henry Bessemer in England, made the production of steel more efficient. It allowed for the creation of steel with good tensile strength, however, wrought iron continued to be the more prevalent choice for iron-based building of the period. By , inventor Sidney Thomas mastered a method to remove phosphorous from steel &#; increasing its quality and its possibilities. His &#;Basic Process&#; meant that steel could finally be produced more cheaply so, it&#;s production rapidly grew. His method became popular in Europe and, by the s, steel quality became more consistent.

In the United States, the Great Chicago Fire of destroyed thousands of timber buildings. After the fire, Chicago responded by creating stricter building regulations by requiring non-combustible construction materials including brick, stone, marble, and limestone. Other building solutions were cast iron and wrought iron paired with brickwork, but as the city grew, Chicago needed to look to steel construction to go skyward.

The Home Insurance Building in Chicago, completed in , was a 10-story building widely recognized as the first to use steel skeleton frame construction with reinforced concrete. When it weighed only one-third of what a traditional masonry building of its size would have weighed, city officials halted construction to investigate its safety. Demolished in , the building is seen as the father of the skyscraper. The Rand McNally Building in Chicago was built in as the first all-steel framed skyscraper. Designed by Burnham and Root, it stood ten stories and cost $1 million to build at the time. It was demolished in .

By the early s, advances in technology and production yielded a steel product that was consistently stronger. Railroads thrived and structural steel became the building material by which others would be judged. From to steel production in America grew from 380,000 tons to 60 million tons annually, making the U.S. the world leader. This allowed magnates like Charles Schwab and Andrew Carnegie to become some of the wealthiest men of the time. The incredibly rapid growth was built on a solid technological base and the ongoing development of office buildings, factories, railroads, bridges and more.

By , America was ready to reach higher into the sky and the Woolworth Building, a 60-story tower, was built in New York. For a time, it was the tallest building in the world and was looked to as a model of pioneering American steel-frame construction. By , the Chrysler Building was competing with 40 Wall Street and the Empire State Building to become the world&#;s tallest building. Today, the Chrysler Building remains the world&#;s tallest steel-supported brick building.

By the s, hundreds of thousands of people worked in American steel mills, and steel was being regularly used in building construction &#; including those built by Steel, LLC. Founded in , Steel, LLC grew from humble roots into one of the nation&#;s leading structural engineering and steel suppliers. Since then, we have had the privilege of being a part of significant steel construction projects across the country from Nellis Air Force Base to Annapolis, the Marriott Marquis hotel in Atlanta and Jewish Hospital in Louisville, KY, to the Fort Carson Air Traffic Control Tower and the Fort Campbell UAS Hangar.

Steel, LLC is a leading structural steel construction firm, headquartered in Atlanta. Steel, LLC produces fabricated steel to frame all types of conventional and complex steel buildings, and specializes in suburban mid-rise office buildings, corporate campuses, aviation structures, and steel trusses. We are AISC certified in conventional steel structures and complex building structures, with a sophisticated paint (multiple-coat system) endorsement.  If you&#;re interested in learning more about how steel can benefit your next project, please get in touch with one of our experts today.

 

Steel Construction Highlights Timeline

    Brooklyn Bridge completed

     Home Insurance Building complete, often seen as the first skyscraper

     Eiffel Tower completed

     Woolworth Building completed

     The Chrysler Building

     Empire State Building completed

     Steel, LLC founded

     Seagram Building completed

s   Steel completed several major Atlanta projects including Phipps Plaza shopping                  center, the World Congress Center, and the CNN building.

     U.S. Steel Tower completed

     Willis Tower (Sears Tower) completed

     Burj Khalifa completed

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