Structural Steel Shapes Steel Foundations
Structural shapes are steel construction materials, formed to a specific shape or cross-section. The shape and dimensions of structural steel shapes along with their chemical composition, mechanical properties, storage, markings, etc. are regulated and standardized in most industrialized countries.
Many sections are made by hot or cold rolling continuously cast blooms or rounds having the appropriate cross-section for the shape to be produced. However, they can also be rolled from near-net continuous cast shapes, which saves time, energy, and costs by minimizing the processing needed to get it to its final shape.
Finally, other structural shapes are made by welding together flat or bent plates (for example, the largest circular hollow sections are made from flat plate bent into a circle and seam-welded).
Some common structural shapes in the U.S. include I-beam, wide flange (WF), H-sections, Z-shape, angles, structural channel (C-beam), and T-shaped cross-sections.
