The light-weight steel structure is in principle very similar to the timber-framed structure —— as if the timber-framed members were replaced by sheets of steel. The steel profile used here is called a cold-formed profile, which means that the profile is formed at room temperature or of a given shape.
This is in sharp contrast to the thicker hot-rolled sections, whose shape is formed when molten steel is hot-melted. Cold-formed sections are formed by guiding the sheet metal through a series of rollers, each of which changes very little in shape, eventually turning the sheet steel into a C or s section.
The steel used here is coated with zinc (called zinc plating) or a mixture of zinc and aluminum to protect it from corrosion. The thickness of the coating can vary according to the environment. In general, the marine environment requires the most protection, and arid and arid areas require the least.
Like the wooden frame structure, the steel frame is first built and then covered with dry sheets on both sides to form a load-bearing wall. The steel structure construction follows the platform frame system of the residential buildings. The connection between components is connected by self-tapping and self-drilling screws.
This form of structure can also be used for unstructured architectures, such as internal partitions or external overlays. In fact, this form of architecture was originally developed for the internal separation of offices.