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How Structural Steel is Made

July 23, 2021

Structural steel is the most reliable building material in modern times. Since its invention, it has only become more accessible over time, and its versatility has expanded its capabilities and allows fabricators, contractors, and builders to work wonders with it.

 

It is no surprise that structural steel is the backbone of most structures. With that said, not much is known by the public about the steel industry, despite how ubiquitous its products are. Indeed, the industry’s capabilities and contributions are almost taken for granted.

 

In today’s blog, we will be explaining how structural steel is made.

 

Hopefully, this gives consumers some idea of the work that has to go into the product, and why this product ends up being so reliable.

 

Since the beginning of the invention of steel, the material has been created by heating up iron and adding other substances to create steel and help it achieve additional beneficial properties. Today, the basic principle of the process remains, but much more efficient technologies are used.

 

For instance, technology is used to reduce the carbon levels in the iron. The process should not remove the carbon entirely, because structural steel requires some carbon content for its strength and ductility reduction. Here are the key steps taken:

 

  1. Refine the iron: The iron is crushed so that it can be refined and sorted. This process sets apart different grades of iron so that only the best ones can be used.
  2. Heat the iron: Once crushed, the iron ore can be loaded into a blast furnace and heated. The heat helps to remove impurities and melt the iron.
  3. Mix the iron: The molten iron is removed from the furnace and mixed with other substances to create different kinds of steel.
  4. Mold the steel: Finally, the steel mixture can be molded into different shapes such as beams, channels, tubes, and more. These products are what is used in building projects. Different components come together to form sturdy structures that serve as the skeleton for buildings.