How to Extend the Service Life of Steel Structure Projects?

The application range of steel structure engineering is very wide: steel structure factories, steel warehouses, granaries, office buildings, shopping malls, bridges, cinemas, stadiums, farms, high-speed rail stations, aircraft hangars, etc., involving almost every field. The reason why steel structure engineering is widely used in various fields has its unique advantages.

The wide application of steel structure engineering is also related to its long enough service life. Normally, the service life of steel structure projects is at least 20 years. If maintained well, the service life of steel structure projects will be greatly extended. For example, the well-known Eiffel Tower is a very famous steel structure building that has been in use for more than 130 years and is still in normal use. China’s Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge is a steel structure bridge. It was built in 1955 and opened to traffic in 1957. It has been in use for more than 60 years and is still in normal use. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is 55 kilometers long. Construction started in 2009 and opened to traffic in 2018. Its design life is 120 years. It can be seen that the service life of steel structure buildings can be much longer than that of civil or concrete structures. So how to make steel structure projects more durable and extend their service life?

When we build a steel structure building, we certainly hope that it can last long enough and be durable. In fact, if the steel structure engineering design is reasonable, the installation is proper, and the rust prevention and maintenance work is done well, the service life can be longer, not just twenty or thirty years.

If you want steel structure projects to be more durable and last longer, you need to do the following:

1. Reasonable design, good stress-bearing structure, high-quality materials and stable structure.
2. After sufficient anti-corrosion and anti-rust treatment, good rust removal determines the service life of the protective paint to a certain extent. Of course, you still need to choose high-quality anti-corrosion paint for spraying. Since the steel structure itself is prone to corrosion, once rust occurs, its service life will be shortened. Therefore, whether the anti-corrosion is done well or not basically determines the service life of the steel structure project.
3. Take fire and waterproof measures. If the fire protection measures for steel structure projects are unreasonable, once a fire occurs, it may not be repairable, causing huge losses. If the waterproofing measures are not done well, it will cause great trouble and hidden dangers for later maintenance, and will also shorten the service life of the steel structure.
4. Perfect welding or bolting structure, regular inspection and maintenance, especially the connection parts, once problems are found, solve them in time.
5. Choose high-quality and experienced suppliers to get better protection.

If the steel structure project meets the above points during construction, it can basically ensure a long service life of the building.