Shop
Login
Steel Network
American Iron and Steel Institute
Steel Market Development Institute
Autosteel
Strategic Alliance for Steel Fuel Tanks
Steel Sustainability
Auto/Steel Partnership
Build Using Steel
Steel Utility Poles
Canned Food Alliance
Toggle Navigation
About Our Program
Codes & Standards
Staff
Industry Partners
News
Why Choose Steel
Durability
Strength and Resilience
Fire Safety
Product Transparency
Sustainability
Energy Efficiency
Economic Value
Adaptability and Reuse
Build Using Steel
Cold-Formed Steel Framing
Bridges
Structural Steel Framing
Metal Building Systems
Steel Joists
Steel Deck
Metal Roof and Wall Systems
Corrugated Steel Pipe
Reinforced Pavement
Steel Pipe And Tanks
Utility Poles
AISI Design Resources
Design Guides and Manuals
Design Aids
Design Standards
Research Reports
Papers and Articles
Publication Archive
Strength and Resilience
Home
»
Why Choose Steel
»
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.
SMDI Fact Sheet, "The Benefits of Steel vs. Wood for Mid-Rise Building Construction"
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:
SFIA's "Cold-Formed Steel and Resilience" Issue Paper, May 2015