ABSTRACT

Apart from certain, rather specialized types of structure, e.g. transmission towers, cranes, plant supports, etc., steelwork does not normally exist in isolation - despite a far too frequent but altogether misguided tendency for it to be designed as if it had no real interaction with anything else. However, one area in which the potential benefits of properly considering the combination of the steel frame with other structural elements is appreciated is in so-called composite construction. In this case the combination is between steel and reinforced concrete, although to some extent the concept is merely an extension of the more basic idea of reinforced concrete. The principal difference is that steel sections capable of carrying significant load in their own right are used in composite construction; in conventional reinforced concrete the reinforcement is, of course, not really capable of functioning on its own as a structural element.