When you consider building a steel building, the construction cost is an essential factor. Therefore, optimizing the amount of steel in steel structure building design is significant for saving costs. However, optimizing the amount of steel is not to reduce the amount of steel without limit but to optimize the amount of steel as much as possible through reasonable design and technical means on the premise of ensuring the safety of the building. This achieves cost savings while providing structural security and stability to the building. Therefore, when considering the steel structure building design, a comprehensive analysis must be carried out to ensure that the cost and quality of the building can be reasonably controlled and guaranteed.
1. Steel Structure Building Design: Reasonable length and width
When processing a steel structure building design, it is essential to consider the optimal length and width. Typically, buildings should be longer than they are wide to reduce the amount of steel needed in both the steel frame and bracing system.
This design principle is based on the fact that steel structure loads typically come as vertical and horizontal loads. Vertical loads come from the building’s weight and loads, while horizontal loads are from wind and earthquakes. Therefore, to minimize the amount of steel needed, it is essential to reduce these loads.
Increasing the building’s length reduces the horizontal load on each column. As the building gets longer, the horizontal load is spread over more columns, requiring each column to carry less load. This means that the longer the building, the less steel is needed for the bracing system.
Additionally, increasing the building length reduces the distance between columns, resulting in fewer columns and less steel used in the bracing system. By following the principle that the length should be greater than the width when designing a steel structure building, we can minimize the use of steel, improving the building’s economic and environmental sustainability.
2. The span of the steel structure building
The steel structure building design is influenced by various factors, such as their production processes and intended use. Therefore, an appropriate span is crucial to meet the building’s production process and functional requirements. Determining a reasonable span based on the building’s height is recommended. Increasing the span while keeping the column height and load constant can save space, lower foundation costs, and improve overall benefits without significantly increasing the steel consumption of the steel frame. Based on design and experience, multi-span steel frames with a swing column in the middle are ideal when the span exceeds 48 meters, and the eaves are 12 meters high. This design can save more than 40% of the steel consumption compared to a single-span steel frame. When designing portal steel frames, selecting an economic span based on the requirements is essential as not blindly pursuing a large span.
In steel structure building design, the column distance is a critical parameter affecting the structure’s stability and economy. According to engineering experience, we can conclude that the most economical column spacing under standard load is 7-9m. This is because when the column distance exceeds 9m, the steel required for roof purlins and wall beams will increase significantly, increasing the overall cost of the entire structure. Furthermore, the standard load means the live roof load is 0.3 KN/m2, and the essential wind pressure is 0.5 KN/m2. Therefore, when the load is large, we need to reduce the column spacing accordingly to achieve an economical, Reasonable design to ensure the structure’s stability and safety.
3. Steel structure building design: Column spacing
For notable industrial buildings, such as workshops, it is usually necessary to consider using large equipment such as gantry cranes. In this case, the economic column spacing should be reduced accordingly to ensure the stability and load-bearing capacity of the building structure. Generally speaking, for a workshop with a gantry crane above 10 tons, the economic column spacing should be 6-7m, which can not only ensure the stability of the structure but also reduce the cost of the entire building. Of course, in the actual design, we also need to comprehensively consider other factors, such as building use, terrain conditions, building materials, etc., to determine the optimal column spacing and structural form to achieve the optimal design effect.
4. Roof Slope
The roof slope needs to be determined according to the structure of the roof panel, the length of the roof drainage slope and the height of the column structure, etc., generally 1/10~1/30. Different roof slopes greatly influence the amount of steel used in steel structure building design. For single-span steel frames, increasing the roof slope can reduce the weight of the rigid structure, so the more significant the slope, the more steel is saved. For multi-span frames, a large slope will increase the length of the inner column, but a large slope will increase the steel consumption of the structure.
5. The layout of the bracing system
To ensure optimal structural stability, it is imperative that column bracing aligns with the roof bracing on the same span. However, in instances where wall braces are impossible to install due to the presence of a door, column bracing may be placed on an adjacent span. It is critical to note that the spacing between braces should not exceed five spans, and in the absence of a crane, the distance should be between 30-45m, while with a crane, the maximum spacing should generally not exceed 60m.
6. Choose a professional steel structure manufacturer
It cannot be overstated that selecting a proficient and accomplished steel structure manufacturer is critical in construction. It is imperative to avoid disreputable manufacturers prioritizing their profits over quality and recklessly cutting corners to reduce costs, thereby incurring significant losses. Regrettably, some manufacturers engage in deceitful practices, falsely declaring the amount of steel utilized to boost profits. The paramount consideration in any construction project must always be safety. Seasoned and proficient steel structure manufacturers will offer superior solutions, prudently optimize the amount of steel used while prioritizing safety, and thusly save costs while enhancing the cost performance of buildings.
As a steel structure manufacturer with a decade of experience, we possess the expertise to optimize steel usage in numerous intricate aspects. To avoid overwhelming you with exhaustive details, we refrain from listing them here. Instead, we urge you to contact us for a comprehensive consultation. Our professionals will work tirelessly to provide you with the most sensible design scheme and quotation that aligns with your needs.
