One of the reasons why metals are preferred over other materials is because of their strong resistance to damaging agents. Despite this, picking which metal works best against a problem is of utmost necessity. Not all metals are tough or have equal capacity.
The thing that makes a metal have strength
In terms of resistance, the chemical composition of metal or alloys plays a vital role. Some components react quickly, while others are inactive or can hold up to a particular limit before they deteriorate or break.
Oxidation resistance – Corrosion results from oxidation; a metal’s atom combines with oxygen. It is also known as metal oxide—it can also be an iron or magnesium oxide, depending on the metal type. The thing is, oxygen is also present in moisture.
Corrosion can cause rust when the iron in steel gets in contact with water and air. Thus, picking a metal that doesn’t react with oxygen is excellent. The alternative is to combine or make strong metals an additive to weak ones like iron.
Some pure metals that can withstand oxidations are aluminum, silver, and gold. The latter is the top pure metal that doesn’t corrode. Metal alloys such as bronze, brass, and galvanized steel are also suitable.
High impact strength resistance – High impact strength can happen naturally, accidentally, and intentionally in a metal—for example, a burglar hammering a door lock to steal. Thus, better invest in a metal-made lock or door that can resist high impact strength.
The pure metals that have impact strength resistance are titanium, chromium, and tungsten. In terms of alloys, the tough ones include
titanium aluminide, stainless steel, and carbon steel.
Regarding qualities, the high-impact resistant metals are too hard to be compressed, break into pieces, deform, and have enormous strength limits. The measure for these is pounds per square inch (PSI) and the Mohs hardness scale.
Heat or fire resistance – In a research conducted by Darchem Engineering, steel can remain robust up to 700ºF (370 ºC). Note that when steel reaches its temperature capacity limit, it will start to experience thermal expansion or thermally enhanced oxidation. Depending on the severity, it may lose its capacity to bear a load afterward.
Structural steel can stand as much as 1200 ºF(650 ºC) before it starts losing its strength to bear a load. Stainless steel can take up to 2500 ºF (1400 ºC) before deteriorating. It’s primarily fireproof because of its chromium content (10 to 20%). Moreover, stainless steel is chemically inactive even exposed to oxidation from flames.
Remember, these are only about steel. Other metals may have different levels of fire resistance. Aluminum’s strength decreases when the temperature rises to 200ºF (100 ºC). However, it’s a good heat conductor and for being corrosion-resistant.
In choosing a steel-made building
In many cases now, steel-made buildings emerge as the ideal protectors because of their metal alloy’s resistance capacity. For example, a house made of metal has more chances of surviving when a wildfire happens. It is also good in a place near a body of water or usually experiences rain.
Since steel has iron, which makes it weak against corrosion, it needs protection. For this reason, coating it with zinc or galvanization is recommended. Zinc can protect steel for quite some time from oxidation. An alternative to galvanization is galvalume. Its mixture is composed of aluminum, silicon, and zinc.
