BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 3
STEEL COLUMNS AND BEAM (I, H, AND W)
I-BEAMS
IT IS ALSO KNOWN AS STANDARD BEAMS, HAVE FLANGES THAT
TAPER TOWARDS THE WEB, GIVING THEM A SLIGHTLY TAPERED
APPEARANCE.
THIS TAPERED DESIGN MAKES THEM MORE EFFICIENT FOR
APPLICATIONS WHERE BEAMS ARE SUBJECTED TO BENDING
STRESSES, AS IT PROVIDES MORE RESISTANCE TO BENDING AT THE
TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE BEAM.
THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF STEEL STRUCTURAL MEMBERS AND
USED IN CONSTRUCTION.
THEY ARE MADE OF HOT-ROLLED STEEL AND ARE AVAILABLE IN A
WIDE VARIETY OF SIZES AND SHAPES TO MEET THE SPECIFIC NEED OF
A PROJECT.
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS: BENDING STRESS-RESISTANT BEAMS
COLUMNS BEAMS
IT IS USED TO SUPPORT IT IS USED TO SPAN HORIZONTAL
VERTICAL LOADS, SUCH AS THE DISTANCES, SUCH AS THE
WEIGHT OF A BUILDING’S DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO
FLOORS AND ROOF. COLUMNS.
THEY ARE MADE OF A THEY ARE MADE OF AN I-
RECTANGULAR OR SQUARE SECTION, WHICH RESEMBLES
HOLLOW SECTION (HSS) OR A THE CAPITAL “I”.
THE I-SECTION PROVIDES A
LARGE AMOUNT OF STRENGTH
WIDE FLANGE (WF) SECTION.
AND STIFFNESS FOR ITS WEIGHT.
TYPE I STEEL COLUMNS AND BEAMS ARE STRONG, DURABLE, AND
FIRE-RESISTANT, MAKING THEM AN IDEAL CHOICE FOR A WIDE
VARIETY OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. THEY ARE ALSO RELATIVELY
EASY TO FABRICATE AND INSTALL, WHICH CAN HELP TO REDUCE THE
COST OF CONSTRUCTION.
ADVANTAGES OF USING I STEEL COLUMNS AND BEAMS
STRENGTH: THEY ARE VERY STRONG AND CAN SUPPORT LARGE
LOADS.
DURABILITY: VERY DURABLE AND CAN WITHSTAND HARSH
WEATHER CONDITIONS
FIRE RESISTANCE: CAN WITHSTAND HIGH TEMPERATURES.
EASE OF FABRICATION: RELATIVELY EASY TO FABRICATE AND
INSTALL.
COST- EFFECTIVENESS: THEY ARE COST-EFFECTIVE OPTION FOR A
WIDE VARIETY OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
H-BEAMS
ALSO KNOWN AS WIDE FLANGE BEAMS, HAVE FLANGES THAT ARE
PARALLEL TO THE WEB, GIVING THEM A MORE UNIFORM
APPEARANCE.
THIS PARALLEL DESIGN MAKES THEM STRONGER AND STIFFER THAN
I-BEAMS, BUT THEY ARE ALSO HEAVIER AND MORE EXPENSIVE. H-
BEAMS ARE TYPICALLY USED FOR APPLICATIONS WHERE HIGH
STRENGTH AND STIFFNESS ARE REQUIRED, SUCH AS IN BUILDING
FRAMES AND BRIDGE GIRDERS.
THEY ARE MADE OF ROLLED STEEL IN THE SHAPE OF THE ALPHABET
“H”.
TYPICAL APPLICATION: HIGH-STRENGTH AND STIFFNESS-REQUIRED
BEAMS.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN I-BEAM AND H-BEAMS
I -BEAM H-BEAM
H-BEAMS ARE STEEL BEAMS
MADE OF ROLLED STEEL IN THE
I-BEAMS ARE STEEL BEAMS
SHAPE OF THE ALPHABET “H.”
FABRICATED BY MILLING OR
THEY ARE FABRICATED AS
ROLLING STEEL IN AN I-SHAPE.
BUILT-UP UNITS. THE FLANGES
IT IS MADE OF A SINGLE PIECE
ARE WELDED TO THE WEB TO
OF METAL OR ALUMINUM
FORM THE H-SECTION. H-BEAMS
THROUGHOUT THE UNIT.
ARE ALSO CALLED WIDE
FLANGE BEAMS.
H-BEAMS HAVE GREATER WEB
THICKNESS COMPARED TO I-
THE WEB OF I-BEAMS IS
BEAMS. THIS INCREASED
THINNER THAN H-BEAMS.
THICKNESS GIVES STRENGTH TO
H-BEAMS.
THE FLANGES OF I-BEAMS ARE
THE FLANGES OF H-BEAMS HAVE
TAPERED WITH AN INCLINATION
EQUAL THICKNESS AND ARE
OF 1:10 FOR BETTER LOAD-
PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER.
BEARING CAPACITY. THEIR
THEY ARE LONGER, WIDER, AND
THICKNESS IS LESS THAN THAT
HEAVIER THAN I-BEAMS.
OF H-BEAM FLANGES.
THE CROSS-SECTION OF H-
BEAMS IS MORE OPTIMIZED
THAN I-BEAMS, GIVING IT A
THE CROSS-SECTION OF I-BEAMS
REASONABLE STRENGTH-TO-
IS TYPICALLY DEEPER IN HEIGHT
WEIGHT RATIO, I.E., MORE
THAN ITS WIDTH, WHICH GIVES
STRENGTH PER UNIT AREA.
THEM RESISTANCE AGAINST
THEY POSSESS A GREATER
LOCAL BUCKLING.
SURFACE AREA ON THE CROSS-
SECTION, HENCE HIGH
STRENGTH.
THE WIDER FLANGES OF H-
THE MOMENT OF INERTIA OF I- BEAMS GAIN A GREATER
BEAMS IS LESS THAN H-BEAMS, MOMENT OF INERTIA AND HIGH
MAKING THEM LESS EFFICIENT LATERAL STIFFNESS. HENCE,
IN RESISTING BENDING. THEY HAVE BETTER BENDING
RESISTANCE THAN I-BEAMS.
I-BEAMS ARE USED FOR SPANS H-BEAMS ARE USED FOR SPANS
OF UP TO 330 FEET THAT CAN BE
FROM 33 TO 100 FEET. BUILT UP TO ANY SIZE AND
HEIGHT.
I-BEAMS ARE LIGHTWEIGHT H-BEAMS ARE HEAVIER THAN I-
COMPARED TO H-BEAMS BEAMS.
I-BEAMS WITHSTAND DIRECT H-BEAM SECTION CAN
AND TENSILE LOADS. BUT THEY WITHSTAND DIRECT LOADS AND
CANNOT WITHSTAND TWISTING TENSILE LOADS. ITS BROAD
LOADS DUE TO THEIR SMALLER CROSS-SECTION ALLOWS IT TO
CROSS-SECTIONS. WITHSTAND TWISTING LOADS.
H-BEAMS ARE USED AS LOAD-
I-BEAMS ARE SUITABLE FOR
BEARING COLUMNS FOR
MAKING SUPPORT FRAMES AND
COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS, FOR
COLUMNS FOR ELEVATORS,
PLATFORMS, BRIDGES, ETC.
TRAILERS, TROLLEY WAYS,
WIDE FLANGE BEAMS ARE
HOISTS, STRUCTURAL STEEL
COMMONLY USED FOR
BUILDINGS, AND BRIDGES.
RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS.
W-BEAMS
IT MEANS “WIDE FLANGE”
ARE STOUT, STURDY BEAMS WITH WIDE FLANGES POSITIONED
PERPENDICULARLY TO THE WEB OF THE MATERIAL GIVING THEM
THEIR CHARACTERISTIC SHAPE AND DISTINGUISHING THEM FROM I-
BEAMS.
W-BEAMS HAVE A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FLANGE THICKNESS AND
WEB THICKNESS THAN H-BEAMS. W-BEAMS ARE TYPICALLY USED
FOR APPLICATIONS WHERE A HIGH STRENGTH-TO-WEIGHT RATIO IS
REQUIRED, SUCH AS IN CRANES AND SCAFFOLDING.
TYPICAL APPLICATION: HIGH STRENGTH-TO-WEIGHT RATIO BEAMS.
FEATURE I-BEAM H-BEAM W-BEAM
FLANGE SHAPE TAPERED PARALLEL PARALLEL
STRENGTH MODERATE HIGH HIGH
STIFFNESS MODERATE HIGH HIGH
WEIGHT LIGHTER HEAVIER HEAVIER
COST LOWER HIGHER HIGHER
STEEL AND PEDESTAL DETAILS
A STEEL PEDESTAL IS A REINFORCED CONCRETE BLOCK USED TO
SUPPORT STEEL COLUMNS IN BUILDINGS AND OTHER STRUCTURES. IT
IS TYPICALLY PLACED ON TOP OF A FOOTING AND TRANSFERS THE
LOAD OF THE COLUMN TO THE GROUND. PEDESTALS ARE OFTEN
USED WHEN THE COLUMN BASE IS LOCATED BELOW THE GRADE, OR
WHEN THE COLUMN NEEDS TO BE ELEVATED
TO A SPECIFIC HEIGHT.
A. LEVEL AT WHICH FORCES FROM THE COLUMN ARE TRANSFERRED TO
THE FOUNDATION
B. FORCES AND MOMENTS ARE CALCULATED HERE FOR FINDING THE
SOIL PRESSURES AND FOR THE SLIDING AND OVERTURNING CHECKS
MAIN COMPONENTS
FOOTING - The footing is a reinforced concrete slab that supports the pedestal. It
is typically designed to distribute the load of the pedestal and column over a large
area of soil.
PEDESTAL - The pedestal is the reinforced concrete block that supports the
column. It is typically rectangular or square in shape and is designed to withstand
the compressive loads from the column above.
GROUTING - Grouting is a non-shrinkage
grout that is used to fill the gap between the
base plate and the pedestal. It provides a
level and solid surface for the column to bear
on and ensures that the load is transferred from the column to the pedestal.
BASE PLATE - The base plate is a steel plate that is placed on top of the pedestal.
It provides a level surface for the column to bear on and distributes the load of the
column over the top of the pedestal.
ANCHOR BOLTS - Anchor bolts are steel
bolts that are embedded in the pedestal and
secure the base plate to the pedestal. They
are typically sized to withstand the uplift
loads from the column.
