In the construction industry, many small materials and components are used. These may seem minor, but play a crucial role in providing and/ or maintaining the strength and stability of a built structure. An angle iron is one such element that is widely used. Keep reading to understand what it is, its properties, manufacturing process, pros and cons, measurements and applications in the building industry.
What is an Angle Iron?
Angle iron or L-Bar is a metal that has a cross-sectional area in the shape of the letter L. It is one of the widely used components in construction, manufacturing, and transportation. The iron angle is known for its strength, easy manufacturing process, and its low price. It is available in both equal-leg and unequally-legged angle arrangements, with the former having legs of the same length while the latter has two legs of different lengths which can make it easier to use in certain structural applications.
Angle iron can have production in various grades which can provide a range of strengths, corrosion resistances and durability. Fabricated as a simple and functional shape, an angle iron offers resistance to bending, twisting and changes in shape when forces are applied on it. This is the reason why angle iron is a very cheap metal for structural and industrial purposes. The use of angle iron is also very common for the making of frames of houses, its supports, braces, and other parts in the assembly of frameworks.
Properties of Angle Iron
Angle iron is known to have extremely valuable mechanical properties, including strength, durability, and adaptability. The bulk properties of angle iron greatly depend on the material used to fabricate it. Below is a brief discussion of some properties that are of value:
- Strength: Angle iron is often employed to support heavy loads. The L-shape increases the overall strength and creates a structure that resists change due to compressive and tensile forces. One excellent property is its effective strength-to-weight ratio, allowing it to carry maximum loads with minimum material weight.
- Durability: The durability of the material is influenced by the grade of iron or steel. If stainless steel is used, the angle iron would be much better able to resist corrosion, wear and rust, including hazardous marine exposure, or even the exposure to chemical toxicity.
- Weldability: Mild steel angle iron has great weldability. This is why it is so popular amongst all industries that want to weld, fabricate, etc., like construction and the manufacturing industry.
- Corrosion Resistance: Although mild steel angle iron is prone to rust, there are galvanised and even stainless steel angles that have corrosion resistance. Galvanisation coats the steel with zinc, which is a protective barrier from moisture and most of the damaging corrosion.
- Fatigue Resistance: Angle iron has a design that can resist fatigue failure, especially when the product is going through repeated cycles of stress. This means it is the first choice for structures that undergo dynamic loading, like bridges or industrial machines.
These attributes of angle iron make it an excellent option for both structural and non-structural applications where the builder needs strength, affordability, and ease of fabrication.
How Angle Iron is Manufactured
Making angle iron involves multiple steps in the manufacturing process:
- Material Selection: First, the correct metal alloy is selected. This is dependent on the properties you want such as strength, corrosion and weldability.
- Heating: The metal is heated to a malleable state, allowing it to be easier to form into shape. This is a process called hot rolling, which allows the individual pieces of metal to be moulded into the desired forms.
- Rolling/Forming: The heated metal is pushed through rollers to achieve the L-shape. The rolls are made up of multiple pieces and often an angle iron part might be made up of multiple passes through the rolling mill to get the correct dimensions and finish.
- Cutting and Finishing: After the piece is dimensioned and finished, the angle iron is cut to the required length. There might also be a finishing step for the angle iron, such as galvanising, paint, and/or powder coats to protect it from corrosion.
- Quality Control: Finally, the finished product goes through thorough quality checks to ensure it meets the necessary specifications for usage.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Angle Iron
Benefits
- Strength-to-Weight Ratio: Angle iron offers a high strength-to-weight ratio, which means it can carry much larger loads with a lesser weight than other structural materials like concrete.
- Versatility: Angle iron can be used in a variety of applications, such as for common and simple framing as well as intricate architectural designs. The L-shape of the angle allows it to be used as a bracket, as well as with horizontal and vertical layouts.
- Ease of Fabrication: Fabricating angle iron is quite easy. Angle iron can be cut, welded, drilled and machined, allowing for a variety of sizes and shape options to cater to all designer demands. Angle iron allows for customised fabrications in residential and industrial projects.
- Cost-Effective: Angle iron is less expensive than I-beams, channels and webs in general, and in most cases it is produced more easily and is more commonly available.
Disadvantages
- Limited torsional rigidity: Although angle iron is outstanding for vertical and horizontal loads, it does not provide torsional rigidity equal to other more complicated shapes, such as hollow sections and I-beams. Because of this, angle iron is less useful in application scenarios where torsion is high.
- Potential for corrosion: Unprotected angle iron has potential to rust. Sure, it will not happen overnight, but prolonged exposure to a wet environment will lead to it. Coatings or treatments like zinc coatings (that produce steel) are required to prevent this issue.
- Poor Aesthetics: Angle iron has an industrial look to it and if your application requires a more aesthetic approach, angle iron may not be an option that will work.
- Material defects: Material defects (like cracks or inclusions) can occur with angle iron, although it is rare. Sourcing from reputable manufacturers can help eliminate this possibility. For critical applications, extremely high standards for quality should be employed to establish material integrity.
Applications of Angle Iron
Angle iron is used in numerous applications due to its structural properties and versatility. Here are some of the common uses:
- Construction: In construction, angle iron is widely used for framing, as well as supports and braces of structures. Angle iron is utilised in construction owing to its resistance to bending in applications where heavy loads are involved, such as reinforcement for walls and columns, bridge construction, and supporting frames for heavy equipment.
- Manufacturing: Angle iron plays an important role in manufacturing by building structural frames, workbenches and conveyor systems. In manufacturing plants, angle iron is used to build the support structures for machinery and systems that are under heavy loads in a heavily-used and sometimes hazardous environment.
- Automotive and Transportation: Angle iron is used in the construction of trailers, vehicle frames and other vehicle-related components. In the auto industry, angle iron is used where it is under stress or strain without developing significant deformation.
- Furniture: In the furniture industry, angle iron is used in the construction of shelves, workbenches and shelving storage racks in addition to furniture frames. It is strong enough to create very heavy duty and durable furniture with a high level of support.
How to Measure an Angle Iron
It is vital for the correct measurement of angle iron because it will help to determine what angle iron to use. The following are the important measurements:
- Leg Lengths: The two legs of angle iron are the two primary measurements. With equal-leg angles, the legs are the same length. With unequal-leg angles, the legs are different lengths. The leg length is a measurement in mm or inches and is the total length from the corner to the end of the leg.
- Thickness: Thickness is the thickness of the overall material, which gives a good understanding of how much load the angle iron can support. The thicker the angle iron, the more weight it can support, but it also weighs more and is more difficult to fabricate.
- Length: Length is the measurement from one end of the angle iron to the other, typically in feet, inches or millimeters. Length is important to check that the angle iron will fit in the area designated for it in the project.
- Weight: You can work out the weight of angle iron based on the material’s density and the dimensions. The weight provides information about what it can support and the handling aspects.
How to Choose the Right Angle Iron for Your Project
Choosing the proper angle iron involves the consideration of several important factors:
- Load Requirement Considerations: Select the angle iron based on what loads, in weight and type, it will carry. For more robust load bearing applications, use a thicker and stronger angle iron such as HSLA steel or stainless steel to achieve higher load ratings.
- Considerations for the Environment: Think about the environment in which the angle iron will be used. If in a corrosive environment like coastal regions, then stainless steel or galvanised steel would be better choices.
- Considerations for Fabrication: If the angle iron will need to be welded, then it is beneficial to select a type of iron or steel that can be welded easily, and mild steel might be most useful. If more strength is required, then HSLA steel may be more suitable.
- Consideration for Dimensions and Shape: Check whether the leg length, thickness, and overall size conforms to your design. Sometimes, an unequal-leg will represent a better solution since different load strengths are needed in different directions.
Conclusion
Angle iron is a basic material in many industries, with excellent tensile strength, versatility, and price. By having an understanding of angle iron properties and applications, and how to determine the right angle iron for your requirement, you can ensure that your project is executed with appropriate materials which will last long.
Apoorva H P Achar