CM 452: Construction of Metal Structures Practice Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering project team roles, manufacturing processes, production terms, structural forms, and framing details for metal structures using content from CM 452.

Client

The project team member who engages the Architect, approves the project scheme for Time, Cost, Quality, Function, and Aesthetics, and pays for the entire project.

Architect

A team member who produces general layouts and visualizations of the structure for the client, including approximate costs for various schemes.

Consulting Structural Engineer

The person responsible for detailed structural analysis, preparing 'framing plans,' selecting standard steel members, and checking erection arrangements and connections.

Steel Fabricator

A specialist who prepares 'shop details' for connections and either supplies only or supplies and erects steel based on cost per tonne.

Main Contractor

Coordinates the construction works, potentially relying on subcontractors or fabricators, and is often responsible for providing foundation bases with holding down bolts.

Cold-Formed Steel (CFS)

A framing system used since 1850 that offers the builder a strong, dimensionally stable, and easy-to-work alternative to traditional materials.

Ferrous Metals

All forms of iron and steel whose chemical composition and internal structure are accurately controlled during manufacture to provide highly certain mechanical properties.

Rolling

A production process consisting of compressing and shaping an ingot into a useful shape by squeezing it through a succession of rollers.

Extrusion

A process of forcing a billet of hot plastic steel through a die to produce a common length of material with a reduced cross-section in the shape of the die.

Drawing

Pulling steel through a small die to form a wire or rod; typically finished by cold drawing from a hot-rolled rod.

Forging

Deforming steel by pressure or blows into a desired shape, usually heated to a semi-solid state at a temperature over $1090^{\circ}C$.

Normalizing

Heating steel to a temperature of about $815^{\circ}C$ or higher and cooling several hundred degrees slowly in air to increase uniformity of structure.

Annealing

Heating steel to a temperature slightly lower than for normalizing and cooling it very slowly, usually in a furnace, to improve properties.

Quenching

Cooling steel very rapidly in oil, water, or brine from about $815^{\circ}C$ to increase hardness and strength while reducing ductility and toughness.

Tempering

Reheating quenched steel to a temperature of $150\text{ to } 650^{\circ}C$ and cooling in air to reduce residual stresses and increase ductility.

Blast Furnace

A continuously operating furnace where iron ore, coke, and limestone are heated to about $815^{\circ}C$ to produce pig iron.

Iron Ore

A natural oxide of iron found mixed with rock or soil called 'gangue.'

Coke

A fuel produced by heating coal to drive out impurities, which burns with greater heat than coal for use in a blast furnace.

Pig Iron

The immediate product of the blast furnace; it is very hard but weak and brittle, making it unsuitable for construction until further purification.

Cast Iron

A ferrous metal composed primarily of iron, carbon, and silicon, which is shaped by being cast in a mold.

Wrought Iron

A highly refined iron with slag deliberately incorporated but not in chemical union with the iron.

Steel

A chemical union of iron and carbon, where carbon constitutes less than $2\%$ by weight of the material.

Passive Fire Protection

Fire protection achieved by resisting construction to delay the spread of fire and maintain structural stability for safe evacuation.

Active Fire Protection

Automated systems such as sprinklers, smoke detectors, and heat sensors that provide early warnings in the event of a fire.

Solid Construction

A form of construction utilizing massive materials like brick or stone where thick walls provide support, enclosure, and natural fire resistance.

Skeletal Construction

A structure where loads are carried to the ground by strong materials (like steel) through beams and columns to isolated pad foundations.

Surface Construction

Structures like 'box frames' where the load-bearing membrane defines the space, encloses it, and provides support.

Universal Beams

Standard steel sections with tapered or parallel flanges, designated by serial size $\times$ mass in $kg/m$ run.

Joists

A range of small size beams with tapered flanges used for lintels and small frames around openings.

Universal Columns

Steel sections rolled with parallel flanges designated similarly to universal beams; they can also be designed to act as beams.

Channels

Steel members rolled with tapered flanges used for trimming, bracing, or as a substitute for joist sections.

Angles

Light framing and bracing sections with parallel flanges available in equal or unequal sizes.

Castellated Universal Section

An open web beam formed by flame cutting a standard beam along a zigzag line and welding the halves together to increase depth by $50\%$.

Slab or Bloom Base

A type of stanchion base connection using a steel base plate to distribute the column load over the concrete foundation.

Gusset Base

A base composed of members that reduce the thickness of the base plate and transmit high bending moments to the foundation.

Framing Plan

A drawing showing the floor-by-floor layout of steel members, individual sizes, and the reactions to be resisted at support points.

Shop Details

Large scale drawings prepared by the fabricator showing fixing, bolting, and welding positions for on-site assembly.

Column Schedule

A table identifying columns shown on framing plans with relevant information including serial sizes.

Holding Down Bolts

Fasteners set into foundations to secure stanchions; they require accurate alignment and sufficient projection for grout and leveling packs.