Steel structure is considered as a “green” material because it can be infinitely recycled and is 100% recyclable without loss of quality. Furthermore, steel structure is the most important engineering & construction material in our modern world.
Structural steel in its various forms and alloys offer different properties to meet a wide range of applications, from stainless steel structure, carbon steel structure to alloy steel structure, tool steel structure. Structural steel fabrication is one of the most used item these days.
Steel applications can be divided into seven primary market sectors. According to the World Steel Association (WSA), here are the percentages of steel fabrication output dedicated to them:
Buildings and infrastructure, 51%
Mechanical equipment, 15%
Automotive, 12%
Metal products, 11%
Other transport, 5%
Domestic appliances, 3%
Electrical equipment, 3%
Total crude steel production in 2020 amounted to 1.86 billion tons, compared with 1.87 billion tons in 2019. Thanks for the as rising output in Iran, Turkey and China almost fully offset losses in most other major steel-producing countries, the total crude steel output in 2020 just slipped 0.9% year over year.
Buildings and Infrastructure
More than 50% of the steel produced annually is used in building and infrastructure industry such as bridges, infrastructure (bridges), industrial construction (steel buildings), commercial and civil construction (steel structure, high-rise buildings, towers).
According to the WSA, reinforcing bars is the type of steel structure which is most used in this sector with 44$; the second of the steel type used is sheet steel including roof sheet, wall sheet and ceilings (31%) and the third one is structural steel section (25%). Thanks for its easily form transformation and attractive finishing, steel structure is the ideal materials for modern architecture.
In infrastructure, structural steel is used in many applications including rail track, train station, airports and harbors, tunnels and gas stations… The WSA says approximately 60% of steel use in this area is as rebar, a ridged steel bar placed inside reinforced concrete.
Steel structure is also widely used in utility infrastructure, including for fuels, water, and, electricity. The WSA states that half of the steel used for utility infrastructure is in the form of underground pipes for water or natural gas.
Mechanical Equipment
This second-greatest use of steel includes (among many other things) steel spare parts that make car parts, cranes, and hand tools such as hammers and shovels. It also includes the rolling mills that are used to shape steel into various shapes and thicknesses.
Steel can be designed into various forms through steel fabrication process. It gives better shape and edge than iron which is used to make tools.
Automotive
Steel is highly used in the automobile industry. Different types of steel components are used in a car body, doors, engine, suspension, and interior. The average 50% of a car is made of steel.
On average, almost 2,000 pounds, or 900 kilograms, of steel is used to make a car, according to the WSA. About a third of that is used in the body structure and exterior, including the doors. Another 23% is in the drive train, and 12% is in the suspension.
Advanced high-strength steels, which are made using complex processes and are lighter in weight than traditional steels, account for about 60% of a modern car’s body structures.
Metal Products
Steel boxes are used for packaging and protecting goods from air, water, and light exposure. It is also contained in various consumer products such as furniture, packaging for food and drinks, and razors
Other Transport
Steel fabrication process produce steel spare parts which are used in trains and train cars, ships, and parts of planes. Stainless steels are also used to produce offshore platforms and pipelines.
Hulls of large ships are almost all made of steel, and steel ships carry 90% of global cargo, the WSA says. Steel is important for sea transportation in one other way: almost all of the world’s approximately 17 million shipping containers are made of steel.
Besides the cars, steel fabrications shows up in trains, bearings, axels, wheels, and motors. In airplanes, steel is crucial for engines and landing gear.
Domestic Appliances
Most of the household appliances like TV, washing machines, ovens, dishwashers and refrigerators are made of steel including their motors. According to the American Iron and Steel Association, a front-loading washer generally contains 84.2 pounds of steel, while a top-bottom refrigerator-freezer contains 79 pounds.
Electrical Equipment
Steel applications in the production and distribution of electricity is the last major steel market sector. Steel is the part to make transformers, which have a magnetic steel core; electric motors, pylons, generators; pylons; and steel-reinforced cables.
Source: the World Steel Association
