Issues of Concern

Fire

protection

Although great advances have been made in

lighter and more economical fire protection
systems but fire protection remains an issue of
greater concern for steel structures than
compared to concrete or other construction
materials. The smaller members and thermal
mass associated with steel structures makes it
more vulnerable. The memories of collapse of
world trade centre towers in USA due to fire
caused by burning of aviation fuel and sudden
rise of temperature leading to complete
destruction of structure might not have faded
away. Fire protection adds up to larger part of
structural cost. It would be a challenge to
engineers toward reducing these costs, while
assuring adequate resistance to elevated
temperatures expected during a fire.
Buckling
Buckling and stability become more critical in
Steel structures due to smaller members and
large stress levels.

 Micro

Cracks

The increasing yield stress, operating stress

levels, emphasis on plastic and ultimate
capacity, and use of welded construction have
resulted in increased frequency of initiation of
micro cracks and cause of fracture in bridges
and industrial structures. Further development
of Micro Cracks and crack growth become a
major concern in areas of seismically
vulnerable areas.
Corrosion
Steel has great tendency to corrode when
exposed to the environment, which leads to
deterioration, increased maintenance costs,
and increased reconstruction costs. Although
Galvanization, paint, and coatings may provide
protection against corrosion, yet they increase
the overall fabrication costs of the steel
structure appreciably. In hot and humid
regions and industrially polluted severe
environments problem is more pronounced.
Therefore, engineers have to continually seek

economically viable
reducing these costs.

solutions

to

aim

at

Welding
Presently welded constructions are more
commonly used, for these provide stiffer,
stronger structures with reduced building
weight. Increased steel yield strength requires
new innovative welding methods, because high
strength steels pose more difficulty to weld
without affecting adversely the ductility and
performance of the structural system. Recently
the use of fully automatic and semi-automatic
submerged arc welding results in increase in
welding speed apart from the good quality. The
elimination of any fumes, smoke or any visible
arc column gives an ease of operation and
efficiency; better quality & thus encourages its
application in welding industry.
Ductility

from

seismic

considerations

Seismic design is today a must requirement for

almost
all
civil
engineering
structures.
Although steel is an ideally more suited
material from point of view of seismic design

because of its property inherent material

strength, stiffness, and ductility. Weldability
may affect the seismic performance and it
follows that new methods to improve inelastic
seismic performance of steel structures need
to be investigated.
Meliorations
Critics point to poor aesthetics with a typical
'industrial' or 'warehouse' look; minimal flexibility
regarding location, shape and size of structural
members; the need to utilise off the shelf building
shapes and sizes in order to realise cost savings;
and a lighter structure which does not achieve the
longevity of more conventional structural systems.