Strength and Resilience

Structural Integrity

  • Steel structures provide long-term, consistent performance.
  • Steel framing will not rot, warp, split, crack or creep.
  • Steel framing does not expand or contract with moisture content.
  • Structural steel frames are designed to satisfy the minimum building code requirements for structural integrity to ensure robust interconnection of frame elements.
  • Steel is very effective in blast-resistant applications. Steel frames and systems, designed and detailed for blast loads, are widely used in buildings with special security and physical protection requirements. Design guidance is available.
  • Steel-framed buildings are inherently resistant to progressive collapse, where the loss of single building element due to an extreme event could lead to more widespread damage. Design guidance is available to maximize the progressive collapse resistance of steel buildings.

Wind and Earthquake Resistance

  • Steel is a resilient material, with reserve strength and ductility that result in significant advantages in natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes.
  • When properly designed, steel connections provide a reliable, consistent load path.
  • Steel has Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QC/QA) provisions available to ensure a better quality product.

Resilience

  • Steel's durability, noncombustibility and strength make it an inherently resilient design material, with "resilience" defined as a structure's ability to meet extreme natural and man-made challenges with minimal disruption to occupants and functions. These properties also make steel a cost-effective choice.
  • The homogenous and isotropic properties of steel assure consistent, predictable performance and confidence in design.
  • The reserve strength of steel provides inherent additional resistance to the forces caused by natural disasters and man-made extreme events.
  • The ductility of steel allows for redistribution of forces (when necessary) to provide an alternate structural load path or to accommodate displacements caused by natural disasters and man-made extreme events.
  • Steel provides strength, structural integrity and resilience for other materials' systems (e.g., reinforcing steel in concrete construction and steel connectors in wood frame construction), making it a logical choice for the whole structural system. 
  • Hot-rolled structural steel shapes and cold-formed steel profiles are typically selected from a defined list of standard shapes and profiles. Actual properties exceed design assumptions, providing an inherent extra margin of safety.
  • Steel construction utilizes secure connections and reliable fastening technologies such as welds, bolts and screws. Additional strength and load paths are often available; e.g., when a bolted shear connection in a gravity frame is able to accommodate unanticipated tension forces and prevent disproportionate collapse.
  • More information: