Structural steel tube applications in life

As a rule, a structural steel shape is a profile, formed with a specific cross section and following certain standards for chemical composition and mechanical properties. Seamless pipe and welded steel pipe are two common types of hollow structural sections in use in the current steel pipe market. Structural steel shapes, sizes, composition, strengths, storage practices, etc., are regulated by standards in most industrialized countries. And each project is judged on its use of structural steel from both an architectural and structural engineering perspective.

Structural steel tubes have been widely used as one kind of building materials in the construction industry for many years due to its strength and stability in use. For example, the flat square surfaces of rectangular steelpipe can ease construction, and they are sometimes preferred for architectural aesthetics in the exposed environments today. Furthermore, structural steel pipe is considered an environment friendly building material in construction industry. Also, some structural steel members, such as I-beams, have high second moments of area, which allow them to be very stiff in respect to their cross-sectional area. In addition, hollow structural sections offer advantages of corrosion protection in applications. Some hollow sections have rounded corners resulting in a better protection than that with sharp corners. This is especially true for the joints in circular hollow sections where there is a smooth transition from one section to another. Meanwhile, this better protection increases the protection period of coatings against corrosion. With regard to steel pipe price in the market, cold formed structural steel tube are relatively high than the hot finished ones. Besides, from the aesthetic viewpoint, cold formed structural steel pipe has a smooth surface, while hot finished sections can be pitted, which can be considered an issue for architecturally exposed structural steel for certain applications.

Compared to other traditional construction materials, structural steel frame is stronger because it was further enhanced by steel reinforcing process. The increase in its standard strength is greater than the total strength of other competing highly strong materials. Today, some steel pipe manufacturers are trying to make customized shapes as per the specific requirements of clients in the world. For example, the elliptical hollow sections have become more popular for architectural designs. Of course, you can often find that some other shapes of structural steel pipes have been used in a variety of infrastructure construction around us.