1. Shape characteristics
U-shaped steel: The cross-section is arc-shaped, the flange is relatively flat, the web is relatively thick, and there is no curling and flange stiffening plate; the scientific name is cold-bent channel steel.
C-shaped steel: The arc design makes it have better stability and load-bearing capacity in buildings and mechanical structures, with curling and flange stiffening plates; the scientific name is cold-bent inner curling channel steel
2. Production process
U-shaped steel: It is produced by hot rolling process, needs to be heated and pressed at high temperature, and has high welding process requirements.
C-shaped steel: It adopts hot rolling cold bending process, and is continuously processed by high-frequency welding unit, with thin wall and light weight
3. Application field
U-shaped steel: It is not a force control component, mainly used for mine tunnel support, mountain tunnel, bridge, sky and ground keel, small and medium-sized photovoltaic power stations or simplified photovoltaic power generation projects, distributed photovoltaic system construction and other projects that require high-strength support and have certain requirements on cost and construction difficulty, because of its strong pressure resistance, simple construction, high flexibility and convenient installation.
C-shaped steel: It is a load-bearing control component, widely used in steel structure buildings (such as factories, bridges), machinery manufacturing, vehicle manufacturing, villas with light steel keel systems (often used as beams and columns), large photovoltaic power stations or high-standard photovoltaic power generation projects, etc., with the characteristics of both lightweight and high stiffness.
4. Materials and costs
U-shaped steel: Due to the large cross-sectional size and thick material thickness, the unit weight cost is high
C-shaped steel: Thin wall and optimized cross-section, 30% of materials can be saved at the same strength, and the overall cost is lower.
5. Other differences
Bearing capacity: U-shaped steel has a larger cross-section and thicker wall, so it has a stronger bearing capacity; C-shaped steel can also meet the needs of light structures through optimized design.
Corrosion resistance: U-shaped steel has a higher surface treatment requirement, while C-shaped steel has a slightly inferior corrosion resistance due to different production processes.
Calculation of effective cross-sectional area: Because C-shaped steel has flange stiffening plates and U-shaped steel does not, there are differences in calculating their effective cross-sectional areas.
