Concrete vs. steel

2014-05-06T18:33:01Z

LondonPartyWallSurveyor: Created page with " Both Concrete and steel framed structures are not stars within environmental concern thus one cannot win over another in this respect, there is high energy use within the manuf..."

Both Concrete and steel framed structures are not stars within environmental concern thus one cannot win over another in this respect, there is high energy use within the manufacture of concrete and steel.

Concrete can prove to be advantageous to an environmental effect as waste materials can be included within the mix such as GGBS (ground, granulated blast furnace slag) and PFA; while a move is being made into the potentialities of using recycled concrete, issues like moisture content and variability dictate that it is still an economically unviable approach.

Steel while having a high lead time is well known within the construction industry for its fast erection time which could be advantageous where poor site conditions are encountered; however, steel needs subsequent fire protection where as within concrete this is inherent. Efficiency within the realms of concrete construction is being ascertained under hybrid solutions and formwork innovation. The use of precast in standard concrete construction can help to significantly reduce build time particularly where vertical elements are considered to be the major limitation with regards to speed. Innovations in formwork are responsible for an increase in efficiency within concrete construction in the past; self climbing forms move this to greater effect and are continually improving speed and efficiency. Sacrificial probes can be integrated within the concrete to provide strength determination at an early age and as such will further improve methodology within concrete construction.

Steel being fast to erect can have the direct implication that the building can be occupied sooner this combined with reduced labour costs (through dryness of form) in comparison with concrete. Concrete is somewhat seen to have an advantage over steel in respect of the materials inherent fire protection. However, when the prefabrication process is fully realised thin film intumescent coatings can be applied offsite. The construction of a steel framework is comparatively lightweight as much as sixty percent less than an alternative reinforced concrete frame solution implying a cheaper foundation system. Modification to a building can be facilitated by a simple removal of a structural steel member which could prove useful within value engineering.

Relevant Literature:-
*Barry’s Advanced Construction of Buildings; Blackwell publishing; Robin Barry, Stephen Emmit, Christopher Gorse; ISBN 1-4051-1054-6
*Steel Construction Institute; Steel Designers Manual 6th Edition 2003
*BRE - Innovation in concrete frame construction
*SCI publication 160 - Structural fire design: off-site applied thin film intumescent coatings 2<sup>nd</sup> edition

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Concrete vs. steel