1.Reliability

Steel constructions have a high level of durability. Consistency and homogeneity in quality, better quality control due to industrial fabrication, significant elasticity, and ductility are all factors in its reliability. When various specimens of a particular type of steel are tested in the laboratory for yield stress, ultimate strengths, and elongations, the variance is far smaller than when other materials such as concrete and wood are examined. Steel also meets the majority of the assumptions used in the formulation of the analysis and design formulae, making the findings produced credible. Due to heterogeneous material, cracking, and nonlinearity of the stress-strain relationship, this may not be the case in concrete structures.

2. Greater Erection Speed/Less Construction Time

Steel buildings are characterized by their industrial characteristics. The operation is progressing quickly, resulting in cost-effective buildings. The reason for this is that these structures can be used sooner. The economy benefits from the savings in labor costs and overhead adjustments, as well as the advantages gained from the building’s early usage.

3. Industrial Behavior

Factory-produced rolled steel pieces. Furthermore, the members may be cut and prepped for assembly in factories, with just the installation of these components taking place on-site using rivets or bolts and welding different components together. Parts of the structure are sometimes constructed in factories as well, demonstrating a high degree of prefabrication adaptability. In such circumstances, manual mistakes are considerably reduced, the building pace improves, and the total cost decreases.

4. Uniformity, Reliability, and Efficiency

Steel is a material that is extremely consistent and homogenous. As a result, it meets most of the analysis and design formulae’s basic assumptions. Steel qualities do not vary much over time if properly maintained by painting, etc., but concrete properties in a reinforced concrete structure change significantly over time. As a result, steel constructions are more durable.

5. High Strength and Light Weight Nature

Because steel has a high strength per unit weight, the dead loads will be lower. It should be noted that dead loads account for a larger proportion of the overall structure loads. Because there is less weight pressing on the bottom parts when the dead load is reduced, they become even smaller. This is critical for long-span bridges, big buildings, and other structures with inadequate foundations.

6. Elasticity

Steel follows Hooke’s rule up to quite large stresses, therefore it acts more like the design assumption than most other materials. The stress produced stays proportionate to the strain applied, resulting in a straight line on the stress-strain diagram. Because steel sections do not break or tear before reaching their ultimate load, the moments of inertia of a steel structure may be computed with certainty. For a reinforced concrete building, the moments of inertia produced are quite ambiguous.

7. Expansions of Existing Structures

It is quite simple to add on to existing steel constructions. Connections between existing and new structures can be used extremely successfully. Existing steel frame buildings can have extra bays or even complete new wings added, and steel brides are frequently extended.

8. Ductility and Failure Forewarning

A material’s ductility is defined as its ability to resist substantial deformation without failing under high tensile pressures. Mild steel has high ductility. After a conventional tension test specimen has been fractured, the percentage elongation can be as high as 25% to 30%. In the event of overloads, this results in obvious deflections of signs of imminent collapse. To keep the building from collapsing, the excess loads may be eliminated. Even if the building collapses, there is enough time for the residents to evacuate. High stress concentrations arise at various sites in structural members under normal loads. Because structural steel is ductile, it may give locally at such points, redistributing stress and minimizing premature collapse.

9. Construction with a long span

Structural steel is used to construct high-rise structures, long-span bridges, and tall transmission towers. Plate girders or trusses can be used to create industrial structures with spans of up to 90 meters. Plate girders can support bridge spans of up to 260 meters. Bridge spans of 300 meters have been utilized for through-truss bridges.

10. Reuse Potential

Steel pieces can be reused after a construction has been disassembled.

11.Temporary Construction

Steel is usually the best material for temporary construction. The structure can be deconstructed by loosening a few bolts, component sections may be moved to other locations, and the structure can be rebuilt quickly.

12. Constructions that are water-and-air-tight

Steel buildings are fully impermeable to water, and structures such as reservoirs, oil pipelines, and gas pipelines are commonly composed of structural steel.

13. Scrap Value

Steel has a scrap value despite the fact that it is unusable in its current condition.

1. More Corrosion and Expensive Maintenance

Because most steels are prone to corrosion when exposed to air and water, they must be coated on a regular basis. This comes at a higher cost and requires extra care. In stable design situations, the use of weathering steels reduces or eliminates this expense. Steel members can lose 1 to 1.5 mm of thickness each year if they are not properly maintained. As a result, such structures might lose up to 35% of their weight over time and break under external stresses.

2. The Cost of Fireproofing

Steel members are incombustible, but their strength is greatly diminished at the temperatures seen during fires. Creep becomes considerably more noticeable at around 400°C. Creep is described as long-term plastic deformation caused by a constant load. This causes abnormally significant deflections or deformations in the primary members, putting additional stress on the other members or potentially causing them to collapse. Steel is a great heat conductor, and it may transport enough heat from a burning compartment of a building to ignite fires in other areas of the building. The structure must be adequately fireproofed, which will incur additional costs.

3. Buckling Susceptibility

Steel sections are generally made up of a number of thin plates. In addition, the total dimensions of steel members are less than those of reinforced concrete members. If these thin parts are compressed, they are more likely to buckle. Buckling is a form of member collapse induced by excessive bending due to a critical compressive force. When steel is used for columns, it can be expensive since a lot of material is necessary only to keep the columns from buckling.

4. Aesthetics

Steel is the ideal architectural form for some types of structures. Steel constructions without false ceilings and cladding, on the other hand, are deemed to have a poor aesthetic look in the majority of residential and business buildings. To improve the look of such constructions, a significant amount of money will be invested. Cladding is a metal, plastic, or wood covering that is applied to the surface of a structural part to completely encapsulate it. Not only does the cladding preserve the part, but it also enhances its aesthetic.

5. Less Availability / Higher Initial Cost

Steel is scarce in a few places, and its initial cost is considerable when compared to other structural materials. This is the most important reason for the fall of steel constructions in these areas.

This list of structural steel advantages and disadvantages is determined by two factors: material quality and builder expertise. Building owners profit from an attractive, well-designed building that is both lasting and sustainable when these two parts of the puzzle are in place.