3 ms·

I'm assuming Corten steel would never be used structurally nowadays? I know it's sometimes used as a fancy cladding material, but I'm assuming thats all?

• pvaldes 5y ago
  Poor maintenance, bad decisions to remove part of the bridge support instead add another strip or just weld it again and ... salt in the roads that maybe end in the water or drip from the road above. Corten steel is very durable, add salt and this is a different question.
• D13Fd 5y ago
  Corten steel is often used structurally, even in recent structures, because the idea is that the rust forms a protective layer. As long as water is not allowed to pool, it shouldn't rust through. Some pictures of Corten steel structures: https://www.corten.com/what-is-corten-steel.html https://www.corten.com/what-is-corten-steel.html I'm familiar with the structures shown in that link. The U.S. Steel Tower seemed to be holding up well when I worked there, although looking out some windows you could see slightly worrying depressions in the steel beams where water had pooled over the years, and the steel had rusted away a bit (leading to more pooling). The Delaware footbridge was constructed much more recently and still looks new - no signs of wear that I've noticed walking across it. If Corten steel is not durable enough for structural use, we're in trouble. It's used quite a bit, at least in the northeast.