Is Steel Stronger Than Concrete | Steel and Concrete Construction Costs | Steel Vs Concrete | How Strong Is Concrete | Concrete Vs Steel Building Cost

Is Steel Stronger Than Concrete?

Steel has more lightweight and higher strength than concrete. And also steel built a heavy strong structure to concrete with less quantity of material.

The tensile strength of steel is higher than concrete, so it avoids the risk of collapse of the structure. Concrete is a brittle material, so it easily collapses under tensions, where steel is a ductile material that can resist the tensile load.

Steel has more density per unit area than concrete, so we can say it has more durability than concrete.

Steel and Concrete Construction Costs

Steel Construction Costs

The steel construction cost is less than from concrete construction. As compared to concrete to steel construction, the quantity of raw materials needed for steel is a little bit less, so the construction of the steel structure is more economical.

Concrete Construction Costs

Concrete construction cost is more than from steel construction. As compared to steel to concrete construction, the quantity of concrete is needed more, so it is expensive, from steel construction.

Example cost of concrete construction – for M20 (1:2:4).

• Cement 8 bags 8×300=2400
• Sand 16 cft 16×40=640
• Aggregate 32cft 32×60=1920.

Then the price of one cubic meter of concrete is 4960 Rs. For what the construction cost of concrete is more from steel construction.

Steel Vs Concrete

• Steel is an excellent material under tensile load, but it is not good under compressive load.
  On the other hand, concrete is a very good material under compressive load but not good under tensile load.
• The density per unit area of steel is more than from the concrete.
• Where the density of concrete per unit area is less than from the steel.
• Compare concrete to steel; steel should be more careful to resist corrosion if steel comes in contact with water; it should be
  corroded.
• Where concrete is naturally protected from corrosion because the element that is used to make concrete, are cement, sand, and
• aggregate that gate naturally, but it should be noted that if the reinforcement inside the concrete is exposed, then it should be
  easily corroded.
• The steel used in the structure’s been 100 percent recycling material, where concrete is a non-recycling material.
• In structural elements, steel is widely used in construction because steel is a flexible material. So with it, we can make endless
  applications. On the other hand, concrete is a rigid material, but it has little flexibility and makes application; it has certain
  boundaries.
• The density of steel is 7850 cubic meters, and the thickness of concrete is 2800 to 3300 cubic meters.
• Concrete is a naturally fired resisted material because it is prepared by cement, sand, gravel, and water that all are a natural
  material. Where steel is a fire-resistant material, but up to a certain limit of temperature, it tends to deform. So some ingredients
  should be added manually to prevent this property of steel.
• Steel is a ductile element where concrete is a brittle element.
• Steel is a good conductor of electricity, but concrete does not conduct electricity.

How Strong Is Concrete?

How strong is concrete, it depends upon the strength of cement paste. The strength increased with cement content and reduced with air and water content. It’s called the water-cement ratio.

There are three types of concrete

• Ordinary Concrete
• Standard Concrete
• High strength Concrete

The strength of concrete depends on the group of concrete. As like:

1. Ordinary Concrete

The compressive strength of 150 mm cube at 28 days in N/mm2

• M10- 10
• M15- 15
• M20- 20

2. Standard Concrete

The compressive strength of 150 mm cube at 28 days in N/mm2

• M25- 25
• M30- 30
• M35- 35
• M40- 40
• M45- 45

3. High Strength Concrete

The compressive strength of 150 mm cube at 28 days in N/mm²

• M65- 65
• M70- 70
• M75- 75
• M95- 95
• M100- 100
• For the upper statements, we can say that the strength of concrete depends on the grade of concrete.
• The strength of the concrete depends upon the size of the aggregate. The large size of aggregate makes lower the total surface area for which the water requirements for the concrete have been lower, and the workability of the concrete should be increased.
• The concrete is so much stronger when a compressive load working on it but when a tensile load is acting upon it, that’s should be a collapse.
• Some time few admixtures are added to increase the workability and strength of the concrete.
• At the end of the point, it is clear that concrete is slightly less strong than steel.

Concrete and Steel

Concrete

The mixture of cement, sand, aggregate, and water in a proper ratio to make a structure is called concrete. There are various types of grades of concrete – M20, M30, M40, etc.

Where ‘ M ‘ is a mixture, and 20 is the compressive strength after 28 days.

• Many different types of tests should be done in concrete. That’s are –Slump tests
• Compressive strength tests
• Water permeability tests
• Rapid Chloride ion penetration tests
• Initial surface absorption tests
• Water absorption tests.
• Slump test- This test is to determine the workability of concrete.
• Compressive strength test- This test is to determine the compressive strength of concrete.
• Water permeability test- This test is done to determine the durability of concrete.
• Rapid chloride ion penetration test- This test is also done to determine the durability of concrete.
• Initial surface absorption test-to determining the resisting power from weathering action and chemical attack this test is also done.
• Water absorption test- this test is also done to determine the durability of concrete by curing after 28 days or 24 hours. In this test,
  the size of the cube sample is 150 mm.

Steel

• What Is Steel Frame Construction (1)
• Steel is an alloy of iron, carbon, magnesium, and silicon.
• Nowadays, steel is widely used in construction engineering.
• Different types of steel are mild steel, structural steel, and rebar steel.
• Different steel grades are Fe-450, Fe-500, Fe-550, and Fe-600 TMT grade of steel are generally available for construction.
• Fe-600 is the toughest and takes more tensile load.
• The density of steel is 7850 cubic meters.
• For the long structural construction, Fe-600 TMT is generally used.

Steel and Concrete Construction

In civil engineering construction steel and concrete, both are used in the same structure and named as a composite structure.

The main advantage of using both components in a single structure is we can get a total capacity of both materials instead of using a separate one.

We generally use concrete and steel in a single structure because concrete is perfect in compression, but steel is decent in tension and as well as compression also. So, we use this.

Some examples of concrete-steel construction are-

• Composite Slab
• Composite Beam
• Composite Column etc.

Concrete Vs Steel Building Cost

The price of concrete is almost reliable because those industries are stable. That’s why concrete ingredients are not so much expensive and easily available in any part of our country.

Steel is an extremely powerful material among all of the building material. The strength-to-weight ratio of steel is much more than any other material, that’s why the amount of steel is less than others. For this reason, the building cost is lower than concrete.

Concrete construction requires skilled labours and responsible contractors & concrete needs curing process. So, it’s also a lengthy process this the construction cost of concrete is higher.

In steel construction, all the building components are almost prefabricated, so, it requires less time and less labour. That’s why the construction cost is lower.

In concrete building, it easily maintains temperature problems, but it requires every year maintenance cost. On the other hand, steel building has not such problems, and maintenance cost is also lower.

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Steel Is Stronger Than Concrete

The compressive strength of concrete is more than the steel, to handle tension forces steel bars are used in the concrete because of the weakness of concrete.

The wall made of concrete alone is much stronger than the mass of steel. The strength of the weight of steel is higher than other construction materials.

Steel and Concrete

The concrete structure is more durable. The durability of steel structure is adversely affected by weather condition and rusting. Earthquake resistance.

The concrete structure is brittle so they are less earthquake resistance. Steel Structure can withstand an earthquake more effectively than a concrete structure.

Steel for Concrete

Concrete is a conventionally used material for construction while steel is now gaining momentum for its flexibility and reduced construction time.

Steel, while having a high lead time, is known for its fast erection on site. However, steel needs fire protection whereas within concrete this is inherent.

Steel Vs Concrete

Structural Steel: Structural steel is extremely strong, stiff, tough, and ductile; making it one of the leading materials used in commercial and industrial building construction.

Concrete: Concrete is a composite material consisting of cement, sand, gravel and water.

How Strong Is Concrete

Conventional concrete has strengths of 7,000 psi or less; concrete with strengths between 7,000 and 14,500 psi is considered high-strength concrete.

Steel and Concrete Construction

Steel–concrete composite elements use concrete’s compressive strength alongside steel’s resistance to tension, and when tied
together this results in a highly efficient and lightweight unit that is commonly used for structures such as multi-storey buildings and bridges.

Concrete Vs Steel Building Cost

Steel is cost-effective than concrete, but one should consider different aspects of construction, including security and strength too.

In terms of costs, structural steel is cheaper than reinforced concrete. The price of construction material has increased and affected concrete more than steel.

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