6Structural Steel Frames
Structural steel frames are a popular choice for tall buildings. The advantages of the structural steel frame are the speed of erection of the ready‐prepared steel members and the accuracy of setting out and connections that is a tradition in engineering works. Accurate placing of steel members, with small tolerances, facilitates the fixing of cladding materials and curtain walls. With the use of sprayed‐on or dry lining materials to encase steel members to provide protection against damage by fire, a structural steel frame may be more economical than a reinforced concrete structural frame, because of speed of erection and economy in material and construction labour costs. Steel components can also be reclaimed, reused and recycled when the building is deconstructed at the end of its life.
6.1 Functional requirements
The functional requirements of a structural frame are:
- Strength and stability
- Durability and freedom from maintenance
- Fire safety
Strength and stability
The requirements from the Building Regulations are that buildings be constructed so that the loadbearing elements, foundations, walls, floors and roofs have adequate strength and stability to support the dead loads of the construction and anticipated imposed loads on roofs, floors and walls, without such undue deflection or deformation as might adversely affect the strength and stability of parts or the whole of the building. The strength of the loadbearing elements of the structure ...
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