What is the typical service life of a steel space frame?

Under ideal condition, the service life of steel structure space frame can reach 50 - 80 years. This is estimated based on the performance of steel itself and reasonable design structure. If the steel structure space frame is carefully designed, with full consideration of load, stress distribution and other factors, and used in normal environment, theoretically it can have a long service life.


space frame


Environmental factors

1.Corrosive environment: If the steel space frame is in a highly corrosive environment such as coastal area, near chemical factories, etc., the salt in the air and chemical gases (such as sulphur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, etc.) will accelerate the corrosion of the steel. In this environment, the service life of the space frame may be shortened to 20 - 30 years. For example, for steel structure net racks at the seashore, as the chlorine ions in seawater will have serious corrosive effect on the steel, obvious rust stains may appear in a few years' time.

2.Temperature change: the strength of steel will be reduced when exposed to high temperature for a long time. For example, in high-temperature environments such as metallurgical factories, steel space frame may experience a decline in material properties due to long-term high-temperature effects. On the contrary, in cold areas, if the steel mesh frame is subjected to frequent low temperatures and freeze-thaw cycles, it will also have unfavourable effects. For example, in some northern cold regions, when the snow melts and then freezes, it will make the space frame structure subject to additional loads, while repeated freezing and thawing will lead to the peeling of the coating on the steel surface, accelerating the corrosion of the steel, thus shortening the service life of the space frame.

Load factors

1.Overloading situation: If in the course of use, the steel structure space frame is often subjected to forces exceeding the design load, for example, large equipment exceeding the design bearing capacity is placed on the space frame in an industrial plant, or activities exceeding the expected number of people are organised in a gymnasium, the stress of the space frame structure will be increased. Long-term overloading will lead to fatigue damage to the steel, thus shortening the service life of the space frame, which may make the space frame that can originally be used for 50 years only be used for 30 - 40 years under overloading.

2.Influence of dynamic loads: Frequent dynamic loads, such as vibration of machines and equipment, vehicles travelling on the grid structure building, etc., will also have adverse influence on the steel structure grid. These dynamic loads will make the bars and nodes of the grid frame subject to alternating stresses, which will easily trigger fatigue damage. For example, in a warehousing and logistics centre close to a railway line, the vibration generated by the passing of a train will be transmitted to the steel space frame, and after years of action, it may lead to cracks in certain parts of the space frame and reduce its service life.

Maintenance factors

1. Anti-corrosion maintenance situation: regular anti-corrosion maintenance is crucial to the service life of steel structure net rack. If anticorrosion treatment can be carried out on the rods and nodes of the space frame in accordance with the specified time intervals (e.g. a comprehensive anticorrosion treatment every 3 - 5 years) and with suitable anticorrosion coatings and construction techniques, the corrosion rate of the steel can be effectively slowed down and the service life of the space frame can be prolonged. On the contrary, if the anti-corrosion maintenance is not carried out for a long time, the corrosion of steel will keep increasing, and serious structural problems may occur in 10 - 15 years.

2. Node maintenance: the nodes of steel structure space frame are the key parts of force, it is very important to check and maintain the bolts (for bolted ball space frame) or welding (for welded ball space frame) of the nodes regularly. If problems such as loose bolts or cracks in welded nodes are found, they can be repaired in time, which can ensure the integrity and stability of the space frame structure, and is conducive to prolonging the service life. Otherwise, the damage of the nodes may lead to local or even overall destruction of the space frame, greatly shortening its service life.

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