Starting June 14, the civil construction industry in Chile will have to follow new standard procedures for the design of steel structures made from cold formed products.
The new set of procedures, NCh 427/2, fills a gap in the country’s standards for the sector, as steel structures made from welded and rolled beams already have their specific standards.
According to Juan Carlos Gutierrez, director of the Chilean Steel Institute (ICHA), the new standard covers a 40-year gap, offering now updated instructions for developers, designers, constructors and users of steel structures.
Structures engineers quoted by the Chilean steel institute have mentioned potential risks associated to previous lack of standards, as there were doubts arising from difficulties of finding the correct thickness, in case of extreme structures and their resistance to corrosion.