Steel in construction
Steel is one of those basic materials that are used in construction, due to its durability and strength. Commercial steel does not corrode unlike other materials.
The early use of iron ore by humans can be traced back as far as around 4000 years BC when in early civilisation people from around Asia and Africa started using iron ore to make tools for agricultural purposes, In early 1400 BC people learned to strengthen the iron ore by heating it with charcoal in a simple furnace by 300 BC crude steel was invented by combining iron ore with other types of materials and reheating it. Crude steel is a type of steel that is stronger than iron. Although it wasn’t until the eighth century that cast iron and wrought iron were introduced to the field of civil engineering. The earliest known application of steel on record was on a suspension bridge in China.
By the fifteenth century Britain had started manufacturing large quantities of iron and the improvements made on the furnaces used accelerated the development of the iron industry in England.
You may be thinking; “iron is a little to brittle to be used on its own “this is true. Iron is the basic element in steel; therefore Steel is iron with a controlled level of carbon. Steel is produced by adding iron ore pallets and limestone to alloy. The modern steel making process began with the invention of the air blown converter in 1856.
One of the first modern uses of steel in construction was in train stations, once iron and steel were profitably used in stations it started being used in other buildings such as churches, private buildings and clubs.
Over the last couple of decades steel has been the go to material for any construction job.
