Steel cladding and sheeting - Steel technology for constructions envelopes

Sheet metal has been used in construction for thousands of years. They were used by the Romans for the bronze tiles on Agrippa's Pantheon in Rome, and by medieval builders who sometimes used tin shingles.

Following the development of the iron and steel industry, industrial architecture in the 19th century used sheet iron, then steel, as an alternative to traditional roofing materials.

At first, these components were very basic in terms of thickness and surface finish, whether galvanized, hand-painted or tarred.

These experiments led manufacturers to develop ribbed envelopes, the forerunners of steel tubs. Their shape is the fruit of a slow evolution that saw the development, in turn, of :

• laminating ;

• galvanizing ;

• pre-painting ;

• profiling.

For these various metropolitan applications, unlike sheet metal roofing, the steel façades covered in the [C 2 541] article developed more slowly after a contrasting evolution in the way buildings were enclosed.

After the advent of corrugated sheet metal in the XIX ^e century, taller trapezoidal profiles appeared in the USA in the 1940s. They offered greater rigidity and better interlocking of the tanks, drainage and improved watertightness of the walls.

Since then, numerous profile shapes have been developed, so that today there are a number of steel sections designed for use in roofing and/or cladding.

Modifications over the years have mostly consisted of technical improvements, with the addition of deck stiffeners or increased rib heights for greater inertia.

The creation of new profile models has developed to meet the aesthetic expectations of architects, but also to add new features such as photovoltaic panels.