Introduction to structural materials The basic requirements for structural materials, as for the elements made from them,

are adequate strength and stiffness. It is also highly desirable that deformations under normal loading should disappear with the load. Without this characteristic known as elasticity the repeated application of such loadings, even without any dynamic effects, would lead to cumulative increases in deformation and to collapse simply as a result of this. As properties of a material rather than of an element, strength is measured in terms of the maximum stress that can be resisted, and stiffness in terms of the stress that is developed by a given proportionate deformation i.e. deformation per unit of length, known as strain in the direction of the stress. For most materials, both strengths and stiffness vary according to the type of loading, the values most commonly measured being those for stress in one direction only, either tension or compression. Important associated properties of structural materials are density, response to changes in temperature and humidity, and also ageing characteristics including durability. All structural materials expand slightly when heated, and some, notably concrete and wood, expand also when they become damp. With steel, very high and very low temperatures can, in addition, lead to major changes in the internal structure. By ageing is meant an irreversible change in the material itself. Also density is important chiefly in relation to strength, but its importance varies with the type of structure and the nature and magnitude of the live loading. Wide variations in load in relation to the maximum are, in general, undesirable, particularly when they occur frequently since they may then lead to cumulative damage known as fatigue even without loss of elasticity. Similarly, large wind loads are usually undesirable in relation to vertical loads since they act horizontally and may either overturn the structure as a whole or accentuate any existing tendency to buckle under the vertical loading. Other characteristics are important because of their effects on the whole process of construction on the ease with which it can be carried out and on its costliness in terms of natural resources and human effort. Some materials can be used as they occur in nature, but differ widely in their availability and the ease with which they can be obtained and cut or shaped or desired. Others are artificial and differ even more widely in the ease which they can be made and shaped or moulded. The properties discussed earlier have always operated in the same way in determining the suitability of structural purposes, whether or not their relevance was fully understood. Structural materials Wood Until the eighteen century the only material that was available in quantity and in suitable sizes for the construction of roofs, floors was wood. It was, therefore, very widely used in conjunction with stone, brick, and to lesser extent, concrete, as well as being used on its own. In addition to use wood for building was, at least until recently, much easer than other natural materials because wood is easy to cut and transport. Nowadays, the European hardwoods, for instance, are virtually extinct as a structural material, and it had already become difficult, in the later Middle Ages, to find the tall straight and mature trees that had been selected earlier. Today these woods, such as oak and chestnut, have been replaced, for nearly all structural purposes, by softwoods of the pine family. Wood is a natural material composed of cellulose fibers, which occupy about two- thirds of the bulk, and a binding matrix, lignin. Timber consists of softwoods (from coniferous trees) and hardwoods (from broad- leafed trees). The latter contain relatively more cellulose and are usually, but not always, denser, harder, and stronger than softwoods, and also harder to shape.

Unseasoned green wood contains great amount of moisture (60 % or more). Subsequent seasoning (drying) stabilizes moisture- related movements in wood (shrinking on drying can be quite high), makes wood less susceptible to fungus attack and allows some chemical preservative to be used. The strength of wood varies with the slope to grain. Longitudinally along the grain, wood has great strength. Perpendicular to grain, bonding is very weak and the material lacks strength. Wood is durable material and it can last indefinitely if protected from fungus and in kept in suitable conditions. For example, moisture related dry rot is the most serious form of fungus decay, since it leaves the material friable and without strength. In addition, wet rot is similar to the latter but it occurs in much damper environments. Metals Metals have long been used in structure. Most metals commonly available copper, iron, bronze, brass, gold, silver, lead, aluminum have been used at one time or another. There many different methods for working with different metals to produce sculptural forms. Which technique is most suitable depends greatly on the actual physical properties of the material. Metals are usually classified as ferrous (containing iron) or nonferrous. Steel, wrought iron, and cast iron are all ferrous metals, while aluminum, copper, tin, brass, and bronze are nonferrous metals. The precise composition of a metal strongly affects its mechanical properties, such as strength or ductility. For example, steel differs in chemical composition from cast iron primalary in terms of its lower carbon content. The precise way a metal is cast or rolled, worked by hammering, or subsequently treated by processes such as annealing also strongly affects its final properties. Hammering metals into thin sheets, for example, typically increases the hardness of the metal while at the same time increasing its brittleness and sensitivity to fracture. Consequently, elements are often heated to certain temperatures and slowly cooled (a process called annealing), which toughens the metal and again makes it more ductile. Metals can and do deteriorate through phenomena such as corrosion. Corrosion deterioration of a metal by chemical or electrochemical reaction with its environment, which is often accompanied by the development of a surface oxide or incrustation. Platinum, gold, and copper are among the less corrosive of metals, while plain iron is among the corrosive.