What is a Steel frame? It is a building technique with a “skeleton frame” of horizontal I-beams and vertical steel columns, and it is constructed in a rectangular way to support the roof, floors and walls of a building attached to the frame. The skyscraper was only possible because of the development and construction of this technique.
The cross-section or rolled steel “profile” of steel columns takes the shape of the letter “I”. The two broad flanges of a column are broader and thicker than the flanges on a beam to better resist compressive stress in the structure. Round and square tubular sections of steel can also be used to fill it with concrete often. The Steel beams are connected to the columns with bolts and threaded fasteners and are historically attached by rivets. The central “web” of the I-beams is usually more expansive than a column web to resist the higher bending moments in beams.
Vast sheets of steel deck cover the top of the steel frame as a “form” or corrugated mould, below a thick layer of steel and concrete reinforcing bars. Another good alternative is a floor of precast concrete flooring units in some form of concrete topping. Often final floor surface and the office buildings are provided by a raised flooring system with the vacancy between the structural floor and the walking surface being used for air handling ducts and cables.
The frame is supposed to be protected from fire because steel softens at high temperature, and this can cause the building to collapse partially. In the columns, this is usually done by encasing it in some form of fire-resistant structure such as masonry, concrete or plasterboard. For example, the beams may be cased in concrete, plasterboard or sprayed with a coating to enclose them from the heat of the fire, or a fire-resistant ceiling construction can protect them. Asbestos was a popular material used for fireproofing steel structures in the early 1970s before the health risks of asbestos fibres were understood entirely.
The exterior “skin” of the building is tied up to the frame using various construction techniques and following a wide variety of architectural styles. Stone, bricks, reinforced concrete, paint and sheet metal have been used to cover the frame to protect the steel from the weather.
Cold-formed steel frames are called lightweight steel framing.
Thin sheets of galvanized steel are formed into steel studs for use as a non-structural and structural building material for both partition and external walls in commercial, residential and industrial construction projects. First, the dimension of the rooms is established with the help of a horizontal track that is anchored to the ceiling and flooring to outline each room. Then, the vertical studs are arranged in ways, usually spaced 16 inches apart and fastened at the bottom and the top.
The typical profiles used in residential construction is the C-shape stud and the U-shaped track, and a lot of numbers are from other profiles. Framing members are generally manufactured in a thickness of 12 to 25 gauge. 12 and 14 gauge are often used when axial loads are high, such as in load-bearing establishment. Medium-heavy gauges, such as 18 and 16 gauge, are usually used when there are no axial loads but heavy lateral loads such as outer wall studs that need to take hurricane-force wind loads along coasts. Light gauges, such as 25 gauge, are mainly used where there are no axial loads and small lateral loads, such as in interior construction where the members set out as framing for demising walls between rooms. The wall finish is harboured to the two flange sides of the stud, which varies from 1+1⁄4 to 3 inches thick, and the width of the web ranges from 1+5⁄8 to 14 inches. Rectangular parts are removed from the web to provide access to electrical wiring.
Author Bio: Ester Adams is a farmer of words in the field of creativity. She is an experienced independent content writer with a demonstrated history of working in the writing and editing industry. She is a multi-niche content chef who loves cooking new things.
