Iron+&+Steel

**Cast Iron:** a brittle alloy with high carbon content.
Squeeze: cast iron is strong in compression. That is why early arch bridges were made of cast iron.

Stretch: it was easy for you to pull this cast-iron block apart. That is because cast iron is brittle--it snaps without warning.

**Steel**: **an alloy of iron and carbon that is hard, strong, and malleable.**
Squeeze: steel is stronger than any other material in compression. That is why engineers choose steel beams and columns to support most skyscrapers.



Stretch: steel is stronger than any other material in tension. That is why the cables in the Golden Gate Bridge are made of steel.


 * Concrete:** is a construction material composed mainly of aggregate, cement and water. This material is quite sturdy and is ideal for outdoor work. This is the element that gives strength to our homes, streets and many places in which we conduct our lives. Concrete has replaced brick and stone of the earlier tradition. Architecture depends not only on the aesthetic, but also on materials, including concrete, which is a material that gives shape and beauty to the structures.



**Wire:** is a thread of any metal. The main metals for the production of wire are iron, copper, brass, silver, aluminum, among others. The copper wire is used primarily for manufacturing electrical cables and the wire most used industrially is the one made ​​of steel and stainless steel. It often measured by its thickness in millimeters.

**Bricklaying:** is the art of constructing buildings or other works using, as appropriate, stone, brick, lime, gypsum, cement or other similar materials. The person performing building work is known as a mason. The bricklayer, for work, uses as tools a container which prepares the mortar mix. There are three types of bricklaying: simple masonry, reinforced brick and reinforced masonry.

**Mortar:** is a paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder such as cement or lime, and water. The first mortars were made of mud and clay. Mortar strength is always less than the concrete, since the mortar is not reinforced, i.e. not based reinforced rods as concrete.



**Column:** a tall vertical stone post which is used as a support for a roof or in classical buildings. It is an structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. Early columns were constructed of stone. The classic column consists of three elements: base, shaft and capital. Columns are the elements that support beams.

CHAT:      