As we know that steel product has been commonly used for major construction project due to the ease of application and its characteristics of high strength. It can be bond well with concrete and together create a very strong structure base for the buildings.
I beam, also called H beam, Universal beam, W-beam, which is mainly made of structural steel, but some are made of carbon structural steel or aluminum. We have named them based on their unique design of I or H shaped, it includes two horizontal elements which is known as ‘flanges’ used to resist most of the bending moment, the two flanges are connected by the vertical element which is known as ‘web’ used to resist shear forces. The structure and design of the I beam make it able to support a variety of loads and therefore it is widely used in the construction industry and civil engineering as forming columns and beams, bridge, building framing, or other structural purposes. The use of I beam can reduce the necessity of installing numerous support structures, help to make the structure more stable, and also save money and time to every builder.
There are many types of I beam available in the market, vary in weights, flange widths, web thicknesses, section depths, or other specifications. We classify the beam by their material and dimensions. For example an 11x20 I beam means it has 11-inch depth and 20 pounds per foot Weight. It is important to choose the right type to your project, you must consider several factors such as the level of deflection, tension, vibration, buckling, or other external elements. We may select junior beams which will be enough to support lighter weights. the selection of beam depends on the project’s requirement & its application, Engineer is important when deciding which and where to use the beam in the structure.
We introduce two common types of steel beam here which are S-shaped I beam and Wide flange H beam:
S-shaped I beam is a rolled section that has tapered flanges with a narrow flange and a slope on the inside surface (generally 1:6), which make the flanges thicker in the inner side. The cross-section of I beam has a better tensile resistance and direct pressure hearing. However, it more easily to be twisted as the section size is too narrow. Although a thicker I beam is available in the market, the design and structure of I beam have considered weaker torsion resistance than H beam. I beam is the preferred choice for structural steel buildings,
Whereas a wide flange H beam has a wider flange and thicker web, the two flanges are almost in the same size/thickness and there is no inclination inside the flange. This makes the welding of H beam is easier than I beam. The cross-section characteristic of H beam is also better than I Beam as a more optimized section area distribution and more reasonable on strength-to-weight ration in comparison with I beam. H beam is stronger and heavier than I beam, it can handle more weight and also making more weights to the building material. Unlike I beam which is made by only one piece of metal, H beam is welded by three pieces of metal together into one piece. H beam is ideal to be installed the bridge, platform, residential and commercial buildings.
In term of the design, we can see that H beam have longer, heavier and wide flanges than the I beam, but both of them can be used interchangeably and widely applied in various structural steelmakers as support beams for the construction projects.
MecHero supply a wide range of steel product such as beam, steel pipe, steel plate, steel bar and many more. Please do not hesitate to contact us at 011-7001 7687 or submit enquiry from our website. Our steel specialists are ready to give you a professional service.