No matter what kind of building, a load-bearing skeleton supporting the entire building quality is required during the construction process. Steel structure building is a structure composed of steel materials on the mainframe, which is one of the types of building structure. Steel structure buildings are mainly composed of steel beams, steel columns, steel trusses, and other components made of section steel and steel plates. The components or parts are usually connected by welds, bolts, or rivets(Types Of Connections In Steel Structures).

Steel structure buildings meet the needs of modern buildings. It is possible to construct some large-span, heavy-load structural buildings, which are not available in concrete houses. Because the steel structure is lightweight, high-strength, quick build, and short construction. It is widely used in warehouses, workshops, garages, large factories, gyms, super high-rise buildings and other fields.

Steel Structure Details

Steel Structure Detail for Port Frame Structure:

Portal Frame

The portal frame can divide into single-span, double-span, multi-span.

Steel structure buildings

1. The single-span steel structure

The single-span steel structure factory building is a factory building with two supporting points in the horizontal direction of the factory building. It is scientifically divided according to the specific actual area. Due to the large area of ​​the factory building, the division and use functions should take into account the distribution of people flow, ventilation, and fire-fighting channels. Reserved.

2. The double-span steel structure

The double-span steel structure workshop is a workshop with three supporting points in the horizontal direction. Generally, the workshop area is large. In the use of the workshop, the ground is very important, because there is a lot of wear and tear every day, so we should choose durable materials as much as possible.

3. The multi-span steel structure

The floors of multi-span steel structure workshops are generally not very high. Its lighting design is similar to common scientific research laboratory buildings, etc., and mostly uses fluorescent lighting schemes.

The production plants of machinery processing, metallurgy, textile, and other industries are generally single-story industrial buildings, and according to the needs of production, they are more multi-span single-story industrial plants, that is, multi-span plants arranged next to each other in parallel. The needs can be the same or different.

The span and height of the workshop are the main factors considered in the lighting design of the workshop. In addition, according to the continuity of industrial production and the needs of product transportation between work sections, most industrial plants are equipped with cranes, which can have a light lifting weight of 3 to 5 tons, and a large crane can reach hundreds of tons.

Therefore, factory lighting is usually realized by lamps installed on the roof truss. The top of the factory building is usually high, and most of them are steel structure frames. When decorating, fire protection, ventilation, and central air conditioning must be designed first, because these are the necessary hardware facilities in the decoration of the factory.

The steel frame spacing

From the perspective of structural design only, the amount of steel used for steel frames generally decreases with increasing spacing, but the amount of steel used for crane beams and secondary structures (purlins, wall beams, supports, etc.) varies with the spacing of steel frames.

The steel frame spacing of portal steel frame houses usually adopts 6m, 7.5m, 9m, 12m, etc. In engineering practice, the steel frame spacing is usually determined by the use requirements; for single-tier portal steel frame structures without bridge cranes, steel spacing between the frames should be 7.5-9m (because the maximum height of the cross-section of the thin steel purlin should not exceed 250mm).

Types of Prefab Steel Farm Building

Column Distance

There are many influencing factors that determine the column distance and suitable spacing of the steel frame. For example, the number of foundations of portal steel structure buildings will affect the column distance. The number of concrete foundations has a greater impact on the overall project cost.

Generally speaking, a 9m column distance will greatly reduce the number of foundation works than a 6m column distance. It also impacts the construction period. The number of components will be reduced if the column spacing is large, which is beneficial to reduce transportation costs.

And it also reduces the number of hoisting works and shortens the construction period. The reduction in the number of concrete foundations will also help shorten the construction period and help the owner to use it as soon as possible.

Determination of a reasonable span

The span of steel structure buildings generally follows the common practice of general building modulus. The multiples of three meters are 18 meters, 21 meters, etc., but if there are special needs, it is also possible to set the modulus size, but the upper components are purchased. It’s not a common component, it needs to be customized.

In steel structure projects, the span between two adjacent longitudinal positioning axes is noted by the design icon. A large-span steel structure refers to a span above (24m). The positioning axis should coincide with the main grid axis. The distance between the positioning lines should conform to the modulus size to determine the position and elevation of structures or components.

Steel Structure Detail-Roof slope

Roof slope frame structure: A building roof with a slope greater than or equal to 10° and less than 75°. The slope of the sloping roof varies greatly.

The rules for roofs are as follows:

  • The roof with a single slope span greater than 9m should be used for structural slope finding, and the slope should not be less than 3%.
  • When looking for slopes with materials, light materials or insulation layers can be used to find slopes, and the slope should be 2%.
  • The longitudinal slope of the gutter and eaves shall not be less than 1%, and the water drop at the bottom of the gutter shall not exceed 200mm; the drainage of the gutter and eaves shall not flow through deformation joints and firewalls.

Steel Structure Detail-Brace rod

The steel structure support is generally inclined connecting members, the most common ones are herringbone and cross shapes, and the cross-sectional form can be steel pipe, H-shaped steel, angle steel, etc., and the function is to enhance the stability of the structure.

The brace rod generally refers to the round steel that draws the purlin,  we can also call it thick steel bar. It is also to enhance the stability of the purlin so that the purlin is not easy to lose stability under a certain external force. The cross-sectional form of the purlin generally has H-shaped steel, C-shaped, Z-shaped, etc., and its function is to reduce the span of the roof panel and fix the roof panel.

Learn more about: Bracing System In Steel Structure

The Characteristics of Steel Structure:

1. High material strength

Although the bulk density of steel is larger, its strength is much higher. Compared with other building materials, the ratio of bulk density to yield point of steel is the smallest.

2. Lightweight

The steel content of the main structure of a steel structure building is usually around 25KG/-80KG, and the weight of the color-profiled steel plate is less than 10KG. The self-weight of the steel structure house is only 1/8-1/3 of the concrete structure, which can greatly reduce the cost of the foundation.

3. Safe and reliable

The steel is texture, isotropy, large elastic modulus, good plasticity, and toughness. It is calculated according to this steel structure house. Accurate and reliable.

4. Industrialized production

It can be mass-produced in batches with high manufacturing accuracy. The construction method of factory manufacturing and site installation can greatly shorten the construction period and improve economic benefits.

5. Beautiful

The enclosure of the steel structure BUILDING is made of color-profiled steel plates, and the service life is 30 years without fading and corrosion. Due to the diversity of the color steel plate, the lines of the building are clear, the look is comfortable, and it is easier to shape.

6. Reuse

The mainframe of the steel structure building is connected by high-strength bolts, and the enclosure plate is connected by self-tapping screws. It is convenient to dismantle.

7. Good seismic performance

As the main load-bearing component of a steel structure building is steel structure, its toughness and elasticity are relatively large. The shear and torsion resistance of purlins and the support between columns and beams greatly enhance the stability of the overall structure.

8. Wide application range

Steel structure buildings are suitable for all kinds of industrial plants, warehouses, supermarkets, high-rise buildings, etc.

Further Reading: Steel Structure Installation & Design

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About Author: K-HOME

K-home Steel Structure Co., Ltd covers an area of ​​120,000 square meters. We are engaged in the design, project budget, fabrication, and installation of PEB steel structures and sandwich panels with second-grade general contracting qualifications. Our products cover light steel structures, PEB buildingslow-cost prefab housescontainer houses, C/Z steel, various models of color steel plate, PU sandwich panels, eps sandwich panels, rock wool sandwich panels, cold room panels, purification plates, and other construction materials.