Steel for Civil Construction

Abstract

Steel began to be used intensively in civil construction in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. By the end of this century, steel was commonly used as reinforcing material in concrete structures, increasing resistance to levels that the fragile Portland cement could not support by itself. The use of steel as a structural material in civil construction led to a deep change in the limits of the project. For a layperson, the major difference between constructions of the twentieth century and the constructions dating from any other time is their volume. The former are larger and taller, with longer arches and spans. This radical change is a consequence of steel’s introduction into construction and of its unique properties. In this chapter we will try to briefly describe the main characteristics of this material, particularly the ones that are important when we think of steels as civil construction materials.