Category: Steel

Steel has been a crucial part of the construction industry for a very long time. It is not surprising considering how versatile steel is as a metal and in strength. It can be used to make different types of products. Along with this, with the increasing amount of pressure that exists on creating products that are more sustainable, given the situation of environmental decay, steel becomes all the more prominent. Steel is a sustainable metal because there are ways to produce it efficiently, with a minimum amount of damage to the environment.

Along with this, steel also has the ability to be recycled indefinitely without it losing out on the properties of steel. For these reasons, steel has been an important player within the construction industry. However, these days reinforced steel or rebar has been gaining an increasing amount of popularity. The increasing cost of steel is one of the reasons for this shift away from one of the most popular metals in constructions. The modern infrastructure and community that has been created, no longer requires steel as much. The reliance on metals such as steel, aluminum and iron has reduced. Steel rebar has come a long way from when it was first designed and now, it has become an increasingly popular choice within a lot of industries.Reinforced steel or steel rebar is better than steel in a lot of ways.

Given the additional elements in it, there is a lot it can do and withstand, which is better compared to steel. For instance, it is non-corrosive. Steel rebar, unlike steel, can last up to a hundred years without losing its molecular integrity. It has the ability to withstand chemical attacks and moisture, which don’t have any impact on it. This is an important distinction to draw when compared to since moisture easily reacts with steel to cause rust.Reinforced steel is also lighter than regular steel.

This is especially important these days since light-weight and more efficient products are what dominate the market. Steel rebar is 1/4th the weight of regular steel, which helps because it eases contractors’ abilities to deliver their projects on time. Because of its light weight, workers can transport the product more easily and engineers are able to install it much more easily than they would with regular steel.Compared to a lot of other metals and also regular steel, reinforced steel has higher flexural strength. This implies that the maximum bending strength that reinforced steel has is higher than regular steel. This obviously makes it the more preferable option when it comes to making a choice between steel rebar and regular steel. Further, its rebar steel is non-conductive and thermally insulating.

It also, along with this has improved tensile strength, all of it which makes it a lot more ideal for working with concrete as opposed to using regular steel.Making use of reinforced steel as compared to regular steel also means lower costs for all projects. They reduce the cost of the workforce, decrease installation charges and reduce the need for maintenance (and therefore the amount spent on it). Reinforced steel also has the ability to outlive regular steel, which makes it a much better option in long term projects. Reinforced steel is also a lot more transparent to radio waves and other emission when compared to regular steel. In today’s day and age especially, this is a pertinent factor to consider when making a choice of buildings. All work spaces require buildings which can have easy transmissions and therefore better connectivity. This therefore, also makes reinforced steel a more ideal choice for such office buildings, when compared to regular steel.

It also has a much higher threshold of bearing high impacts. This makes it extremely helpful when unloading material. This is because damage to the reinforced steel is much lower than damage to regular steel, even when the same kind of load is being shared by both metals.Reinforces steel also has a climate wise advantage over regular steel. Reinforced steel is much more durable and reliable in harsher climates. In fact, it works as a good option for varying climate spaces, unlike regular steel which has a lower threshold to harsher climate. At Sunflag Steel, we provide you with the best quality products that are durable and sturdy in the long run.

Steel is made with a blend of iron and carbon. There are 3500 grades of steel, each having different physical, chemical, and environmental properties that are determined by the content of carbon, impurities, and alloys in them.The carbon content in steel can vary from 0.1% to 1.5% but the most commonly used steel grades usually have 0.1% -0.25% carbon. Other elements that are included in all kinds of steels are manganese, phosphorus, and sulfur. While manganese renders beneficial effects, phosphorus and sulfur are very essential to make the steel strong and durable. Based on their chemical composition, different grades of steel can be broadly categorized into 4 categories.

CARBON STEEL

Carbon steel comprises a large chunk of steel production i.e. almost 90 percent! It is characterized by a dull and matte appearance and can corrode very easily. Apart from carbon, other elements that are included in it are manganese, copper, and silicon. Carbon steel is further divided into 3 sub-categories:

• Low Carbon Steel – contains less than 0.3 % of carbon. It is the most common type of carbon steel.
• Medium Carbon Steel – contains 0.6% carbon and manganese. It is much stronger than low carbon steel.
• High Carbon Steel – contains more than 0.6% (up to 1.5%) of carbon. This is the strongest of the three but hard to work with.

ALLOY STEEL

Alloy steel is a mixture of several elements, for example – manganese, silicon, nickel, titanium, copper, chromium, and aluminum. These components are included in different proportions in the steel to control its properties such as hardenability, corrosion resistance, strength, formability, weldability, or ductility. This steel is relatively cheaper and is extensively used in mechanical applications, auto parts, generators, pipelines, etc.

STAINLESS STEEL

Stainless steel is most renowned for its corrosion-resistant property (200 times more resistant than mild steel). It is also extremely strong and has the ability to withstand very high temperatures.Due to these excellent characteristics, this shiny alloy is used in a plethora of applications such as making appliances, equipment, and utensils. Generally, stainless steel contains 10 to 20% chromium as the key alloying element with a low amount of carbon.With more than 100 grades, this category of steel is the most versatile of all and can be easily customized as per your particular requirements. According to their crystalline structure, stainless steels are divided into the following groups:

• Austenitic – The composition of austenitic steels is usually 18% chromium, 8% nickel, and less than 0.8% carbon. It does not possess any magnetic properties and is not heat-treatable. Austenitic steel is a huge part of the global steel industry and is used in various applications, including the manufacture of kitchen equipment and machinery.
• Ferritic – Ferritic steels are comparatively easier to work with. While they cannot be hardened by using heat treatment, their strength can be increased with the help of cold working. They are mainly composed of small amounts of nickel, 12 to 17 % of chromium, around 0.1% of carbon, and other alloying components like molybdenum, aluminum, or titanium.
• Martensitic – Containing about 11 to 17% chromium, less than 0.4% nickel, and 1.2 % carbon, martensitic steels are magnetic in nature and can be heat-treated. They are typically used in making knives, cutting tools, and medical equipment.

TOOL STEELS

As the name suggests, this carbon alloy steel is well-suited to make cutting and drilling tools. The key properties of this material include hardness, wear resistance, toughness, and resistance to softening at elevated temperatures.Tool steels are mainly made up of carbide-forming elements like tungsten, molybdenum, and vanadium in varying proportions. They also consist of cobalt and nickel that enhance their heat-resistant property and strength. Moreover, they are typically heat-treated to increase the hardness and used for stamping, shearing, and forming of plastics.Connect with us at Sunflag Steel to procure the best quality of steel for your requirements. Our experts will be happy to help you select the right products that are durable and last for a lifetime!

Spring steel is the most popular material used to manufacture different kinds of springs. It is usually characterized by a unique property known as high yield strength which refers to a material’s ability to tolerate considerable bending or twisting and return to its original shape without distorting. Hence, any product built from this material can withstand a high amount of continuous compression, bending, and twisting without losing its original form. This spectacular property of spring steel comes from its specific composition and hardening process of the steel alloy.With a medium to high carbon content, spring steels usually consist of 0.5 to 1.0 percent of carbon. Other alloys that are added to the mix are magnesium, chrome, vanadium, molybdenum, nickel, and silicon with silicon being a major ingredient in providing high yield strength. This steel is flexible enough that it can be easily bent up to its elastic limit and return to the original position without being deformed once the pressure or load is removed.Apart from a high yield strength, spring steels also feature great tensile strength and fatigue strength and have the capacity to be formed, shaped, and post heat treated. These properties make this steel appropriate for a number of industrial applications. The tensile strength is obtained by the final heat treatment.

APPLICATIONS OF SPRING STEEL

Due to its excellent set of characteristics, spring steel is also known as general use steel. It is mainly used to produce high-quality saw blades, lock picks, antennas, and scrapers. In a hardened and tempered condition, spring steel works exceptionally well in the production of flat springs that are very difficult to form. For small springs, steel is often supplied to spring manufacturers in a form that either does not require any kind of heat treatment or needs just a low temperature anneal to relieve forming strains. Even for helical and flat springs, steel is supplied in an annealed condition. Regular carbon steel is a good option to make small springs, whereas, for large springs, it is imperative to use alloy steels like chrome-vanadium or silicon-manganese steel to get a uniform structure throughout the cross-section. If the surface of the springs has any sort of decarburization or irregularities, the fatigue strength will be negatively affected. Thus, manufacturers must ensure that the surface of the springs is perfectly smooth for optimum efficiency and performance. Sunflag Steel is a leading spring steel manufacturer in India that has introduced a large number of quality products that are durable and sturdy and perfect to be used in several demanding situations.

Steel is a popular construction material, often used along with concrete to create sustainable and cost-effective buildings. It is a versatile, impressive, and long-lasting material, with a high strength-weight ratio. Along with this, steel can be used as an alternative to other unsuitable building materials to make the building more durable. .

Steel is used for a myriad projects,  which include construction of bridges, buildings, modern skyscraper architectures and even in airports and residential properties. Other than these, steel plays a pivotal role in our daily lives for its usage in household appliances, furniture, vehicles or even in construction tools.

Now, let’s look at some of the advantages of steel in construction and how they can be incorporated into the design of a building to overcome specific issues.

TOP REASONS WHY STEEL IN USED IN CONSTRUCTION

1. Strength, beauty, design freedom- Steel offers complete freedom to designers. It’s strength, endurance, beauty and malleability allow architects to develop and explore new ideas and products. It has the ability to bend to a certain radius and curves to build factory-finished products with exact specifications.
2. Faster, Efficient, Resourceful- Steel can be assembled quickly and efficiently in all seasons. It reduces 20%-40% of construction time as it takes lesser time in moulding into the desired shape.
3. Earthquake resistance- Earthquakes are unpredictable in terms of magnitude, frequency, and location. Steel, however, is a material of choice as it is inherently ductile and flexible. It can handle extreme loads rather than breaking and crumbling as it’s beam-to-column connection are designed principally to support gravity loads.
4. Environment Friendly- Steel structures are significantly lighter than concrete structures and require less extensive foundations as they reduce environmental stress. They are  easier to move around, reduce transportation cost and save a lot of fuel.
5. Energy Efficient- Steel is energy efficient, as it radiates heat very quickly from steel roofs, creating a more relaxed and cooler home environment in hot climate areas. During the cold season, double steel panel walls can help in insulation to hold the heat indoors.
6. Recyclable- Steel frames can be easily reused and circulated into the steel industry’s close looped recycling system. In this process, it is melted down and repurposed to save the material from getting wasted.
7. Fire Resistant- Steel frames are created, keeping in mind the fire protection requirements.  It’s a non-combustible material that preserves structural design in the event of a fire.
8. Fewer columns, more open space- Steel sections provide an elegant, cost-effective method to create large open-plan and column-free internal spaces. In single-storey buildings, rolled beams offer exact spans of over 50 metres. Trussed or lattice construction can extend this to 150 metres. Thus, by minimizing the number of columns, it makes it easier to subdivide and customize spaces.