I. What is steel H beam?
H-section steel is an economical type of high-efficiency profile, with better sectional area distribution and more favorable strength-to-weight ratio. Its name comes from its H-shaped cross section.
As all parts of H-shaped steel are arranged at right angles, it is widely used for its advantages of strong bending resistance, easy construction, cost saving and light weight in all directions.
The shape of H section steel is similar to the capital letter H in the Latin alphabet, which is also called universal steel beam, wide flange I beam or parallel flange I beam.
The H-shaped steel cross section typically consists of two parts, the web and the flange edge.
II. Types of Steel H Beam
There are several specifications for H beams, classified as follows:
(1) Based on the width of the flange, H beams are divided into wide flange H beams, medium flange H beams and narrow flange H beams.
The flange width (B) of the wide flange and medium flange H beams is greater than or equal to the web height (H). Narrow flange H beams have a flange width (B) that is approximately half the web height (H).
(2) Based on the intended use, H beams are divided into H beams, columns, piles and H beams with extremely thick flanges.
Parallel leg channel steel and parallel flange T-shaped steel are also considered H beams. Narrow flange H beams are typically used as beams, while wide flange H beams are used as columns.
(3) Based on the production method, H beams are divided into welded H beams and rolled H beams.
(4) Based on size, H beams are divided into large, medium and small. Large H-beams have a web height (h) of more than 700 mm, medium H-beams have a web height of 300-700 mm, and small H-beams have a web height of less than 300 mm.
In the late 1990s, the world's largest H-beam had a web height of 1200 mm and a flange width of 530 mm.
Internationally, H beam standards are divided into the British system and the metric system. The British system is used in countries such as the US and the UK, while China, Japan, Germany and Russia use the metric system.
Although the measurement units used in the two systems are different, H beam specifications are mainly expressed in four dimensions: web height (h), flange width (b), web thickness (d) and flange thickness
