Structural Steel

Structural steel is a category of steel used for making construction materials in a variety of shapes.

Most structural steel shapes, such as I-beams, have high second moments of area, which means they are very stiff in respect to their cross-sectional area and thus can support a high load without excessive sagging.

Common structural shapes

The shapes available are described in many published standards around the world, and a number of special and proprietary cross-sections are also available.

1. I-Beam (I-section - in the UK this includes Universal Beams (UB) and Universal Columns (UC); in Europe it includes IPE, HE, HL, HD and other sections; in the USA it includes Wide Flange (WF or W-Shape) and H sections)
2. Z-shape (half flange in opposite directions)
3. HSS shape (structural hollow section, also known as SHS (structural hollow section) and includes square, rectangular, circular (pipe) and elliptical sections)
4. Angle (L-shaped section)
5. Structural channel or C-beam or C-section
6. T-piece (T-shaped section)
7. Rail section (asymmetric I-beam)
8. Rail
9. Vignoles rail
10. Flanged T-rail
11. Grooved rail
12. Bar, a long piece with a rectangular cross-section, but not so wide as to be called a plate.
13. Rod, a round or square section that is long relative to its width; see also rebar and dowel.
14. Plate, sheet metal thicker than 6 mm or 1?4 in.

While many sections are made by hot or cold rolling, others are made by welding flat or bent sheets together (for example, the largest circular hollow sections are made from flat sheets bent into a circle and seam welded).

The terms angle iron, channel iron and sheet iron were in common use before wrought iron was replaced by steel for commercial purposes. They have survived after the era of commercial wrought iron and are still sometimes heard informally to refer to steel angle iron, channel iron and sheet iron, although they are misnomers (compare "tin foil", still sometimes used informally to refer to aluminium foil). In formal writing for metalworking contexts, accurate terms such as angle stock, channel stock and sheet are used.