We found that in earthquake-prone countries, such as Japan, the proportion of steel structure buildings is increasing year by year. People have found a better building to deal with earthquakes – steel structure buildings.
Studies have shown that steel buildings have the best integrity after an earthquake. Therefore, in steel structure buildings, in Australia and Japan, 50% of dwellings are made of steel structure, in the United States, it is 20%.
So why is the earthquake resistance of steel structure buildings better? Mainly divided into building materials and structures.
Construction Steel Properties
1. High Compressive Strength and Tensile Strength of Steel
Steel refers to an iron-carbon alloy with a carbon content between 0.0218% and 2.11%. Steel is an alloy material composed of different elements, the main elements are iron, carbon, silicon, manganese, sulfur, phosphorus, tungsten, vanadium, nickel, molybdenum. The role of these elements is basically to increase the strength, toughness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance of steel. Therefore, the toughness of steel is better, suitable for bearing impact and dynamic load, and has good seismic performance. Steel is composed of a variety of elements, with a uniform internal structure and higher structural reliability.
Worldsteel research shows that steel buildings are more ductile and can dissipate the energy of seismic waves, undergo plastic deformation during earthquakes without completely destroying the structure.
2. Steel Has Light Weight And Low Inertia
Steel has a small “bulk density-to-strength ratio”, which is lighter than that of wood and reinforced concrete structures. According to the law of inertia, a building with a smaller mass is less affected by seismic waves during an earthquake. Moreover, the steel structure building components have high safety and wealth, and the section utilization rate is high, which can reduce the structural weight by 40%-50%, and can greatly reduce the construction cost.
Steel Building Structure
1. Steel Structure Connection Method
There are three ways to connect steel structures: welding, riveting, and bolting. Welding is the most common application; high-strength bolted connections have developed rapidly in recent years and are used more and more; rivet connections have been basically replaced by welding and high-strength bolted connections, which are rarely used.
Welding is the heat generated by the arc, so that the electrode and the weldment are partially melted, and then cooled and condensed into a weld, thereby connecting the weldment into one. Welding does not weaken the section of the component, and the rigidity of the connection is large.
2. Building Structure Reinforcement
The reinforcement method of building exterior structure is mainly used for high-rise steel structure buildings. The main reinforcement methods are: frame beam reinforcement, frame column reinforcement, and frame other structure reinforcement. By sticking steel or carbon cloth, increasing the cross section of the beam, and reinforcing the bottom of the beam of the frame structure, the bearing capacity of the component can be improved.
Based on the above advantages of steel structure building materials and structures, steel structures are becoming more and more popular. In addition to the above advantages, steel structure buildings also have the advantages of short construction period, saving resources, and reducing construction waste. Keep following us to bring you more steel structure expertise.