Steel Construction vs Concrete Construction

Steel Construction vs Concrete Construction

            In recent years, several construction techniques and materials have been developed in order to construct buildings in a more efficient way. Steel and concrete are two of the mostly used materials in the construction industry.

The importance of these materials should be investigated deeply as the use of them may have both advantages and disadvantages both for the construction companies and the people who use these constructions. The advantages and disadvantages of usage of steel and concrete in constructions are mainly caused by the specific contents of these two materials. Concrete is a composite material that is created by mixing cement and water and used for various structural purposes. “Steel is malleable alloy of iron and carbon, usually containing substantial quantities of manganese” (Mills et al., 2005). Even though these two construction materials have certain advantages and disadvantages; they are favored in certain different situations.

Advantages of Concrete Construction

            James Mitchell Crow states that “Concrete is the single most widely used material in the world” (Crow, 2008). In daily life, people live, work, entertain or study in buildings that are mostly made of concrete. The durability of the structures depends on the durability of concrete and many factors affect the durability of concrete. Thus, increasing the durability of constructions is possible by reinforcing concrete or using steel in constructions which is a more durable construction material as (Corrosion Resistance, no date) states that steel is an inorganic material which makes it everlasting.

Advantages of Steel Construction

            This paper aims to compare the advantages and disadvantages of steel and concrete usage in construction and to prove that constructions that use steel are more durable, easier to use, safer, less time consuming, eco-friendlier and easy to transport whereas the disadvantages of concrete constructions are more than the advantages of it.

            To support the contents of this report, some books, articles and internet resources have been used. This report is limited to the comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of steel and concrete  constructions to prove that the disadvantages of concrete constructions overweigh its advantages and also the advantages of steel construction overweigh its disadvantages.

            In the first part of the report, the benefits and harms of concrete structures are examined. In the second part, steel construction is explained in terms of advantages and disadvantages. The conclusion explains why steel construction is more suitable, efficient and beneficial than the concrete constructions.