A Beginner's Guide to the Steel Construction Manual, 16^th ed

Chapter 1 - Introduction

© 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2017, 2023 T. Bartlett Quimby

Section 1.2

History

Last Revised: 05/30/2023

It is important that the engineer have a historical perspective on the materials that he/she will be using.   This understanding, particularly on the local history of the region(s) they practice, will significantly assist them in applying materials effectively in their designs.  The development the building codes that dictate the application of materials is heavily influenced by the history of the success and/or failures of structures containing that material.  Understanding that history will help you to appreciate the requirements that you are subjected to when using a particular material.  This will keep you from making the same mistakes of those that have preceded you.

Most published textbooks have a better treatment of the history of steel engineering than is presented here.  Eventually, we will add more.  If there is someone out there who would like to contribute, please contact me!

A few historical events that are significant to the engineering designing with structural steel are:

• 250 BC: Iron/metal beams used in construction in India.  May have been first use of metal members in construction.
• 1777-1779:  Cast iron used to construct a bridge in England.
• 1780 the process of rolling various shapes begins, particularly with wrought iron.
• 1777-1840:  Cast iron used for bridges.
• 1820:  The rolling process used for making rails.
• 1840:  Wrought iron begins to replace cast iron in bridge construction.
• 1855:  Bessemer process introduced.
• 1870:  The Bessemer converter introduced.
• 1870:  The rolling of I shapes begins.
• 1890:  Steel replaces wrought iron as the dominate metallic building material.
• Early 1900s:  Formation of building codes begins, formalizing design process and requirements.  Principle design philosophy is based on the concept of allowable stresses (ASD).
• mid 1950s:  The concrete industry pioneers the strength based design philosophy.
• Early 1970s:  First strength based design specification introduced by the concrete industry.
• 1986:  AISC introduces the strength based Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) specification.
• 1989:  AISC releases what was supposed to be the last ASD (Allowable Stress Design) specification.
• 2006:  AISC releases a combined LRFD/ASD (Allowable Strength Design) specification that incorporates a method for using ASD level loads with the same specification used for LRFD.

As of August 2017, the on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia, has some interesting information about the history of steel.  You should read it.  They have some particularly interesting references at the bottom of the page.  You can find a number of good sources on steel history by searching the internet.

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