Types of Steel Structures

Tension Members
Primarily occur as:
• Chord members in trusses
• In diagonal bracing in bracing systems
• Cable elements in suspension roofs, main cables of
suspension bridges and suspenders.
Typical Tension Members (Steel Shapes)
Typical Tension Members (Steel Shapes)
Round and rectangular bars, including eye bars and upset bars
Cables composed of many small wires
Single and double angles
Rolled W and S sections
Structural tee
Built-up box sections
Types of Steel Structures
Compression Members
Primarily occur as:
•Column in buildings
•Chord Members in trusses and diagonal members in end
panels of trusses
•Stability is an important consideration in design and
behavior of compression members
◦ Area is generally spread out to maximize Radius of Gyration
Types of Steel Structures
Beam Members
◦Primarily loaded transverse to the longitudinal axis and resist
loading by flexure
◦Commonly W-shapes are used in most cases
◦For deeper beams I-shaped sections made by welding plates are
commonly used
◦For smaller loads and spans open-web joists are commonly used
◦Instability due to lateral torsional buckling is an important
consideration
Properties of Steel

Yield Stress
Tensile Strength
Modulus of Elasticity
Ductility
Toughness
Weldability
Shear Modulus
Yield Stress, Fy, is that unit of tensile stress at which the stress-
strain curve exhibits a well-defined increase in strain (deformation)
w/out an increase in stress.

Tensile Strength, Fu, is the largest unit stress that the material
achieves in a tension test.

Modulus of Elasticity, E, is the slope of initial straight-line portion of

the stress-strain diagram.

Ductility is the ability of the material to undergo large

deformations w/out fracture.
Toughness is the ability of the material to absorb energy.

Weldability is the ability of steel to be welded without

changing its basic mechanical properties.

Poisson’s Ratio is the ratio of the transverse strain to

longitudinal strain.

Shear Modulus is the ratio of the shearing stress to shearing

strain during the elastic behavior.
Types of Steel Shapes and Symbolic
Representation of Various Shapes
STEEL SECTIONS ARE USUALLY DESIGNATED BY SHAPES OF THEIR
CROSS SECTIONS. THE COMMON TYPES ARE W SECTION (WIDE
FLANGE), S-BEAM (AMERICAN STANDARD BEAM), AMERICAN
STANDARD CHANNELS, TEE SECTIONS AND ANGULAR SECTIONS.
W Shapes
American wide-flange I or H-shaped steel beams
are referred to as W shapes and are designated
by the letter W followed by their nominal depth
in millimeters, w/ their mass in kg/m as the last
designation.
Example: W 410 x 85 means that this W shape is
410 m deep and has a mass of 85 kg/m.
S Shapes
These shapes were formerly called I-beams and American
Standard Beams.
The difference between W and S-shapes are:
-The flange width of the S-shape is narrower than the W-shape.
-The inner face of the flange of the S-shape has a slope of about
16.7°.

M Shapes (also called HP shapes)

These are doubly symmetrical shapes w/c are not classified as W
or S shapes.
C Shapes
These are channel shapes formerly called American Standard Channels.
The inner face of the flange has the same slope as S Shapes.

MC Shapes
These are formerly called ship building of Miscellaneous Channels and are
not classified as C shapes

L Shapes
These are either equal or unequal leg angles. All angles have parallel
flange faces.
Example: L200 x 150 x 25, L represents shape of the section, 200 is the
length of one leg, 150 is the length of the other leg, and 25 is the thickness
of the angle.
Structural Tee or Split Tee
Structural Tee are obtained by splitting W, S or M shapes that each split section has
one half the area of the original shape.
Example: Nominal depth is 300mm and a mass of 119.3 kg/m obtained by splitting
W600x238.6 shape.

Others:
-Structural Tubing
-Pipe
-Plate
-Bar
Types of Steel Structures
Classical Skeleton Framing
Steel Truss
Rigid Frames
Arches
Domes
Cable Supported Roofs
Classical Skeleten framing
Classical system supported by beams, girders and columns
Beams: W or S shaps, Channel shapes for roof purlins.
Columns: generally W shapes
Steel trusses
Triangular rigid
Structure
Most common double
pitched roof trusses:
Fink & Pratt
Most Common Flat
trusses: Pratt & Warren
Steel trusses
No span limit
Open prefabricated
Used with wood or steel purlins to support the roof
Bracing: if resting on masonry walls
•Diagonal bracing in alternate bays
•Continuous struts (angles, channels)