Permanence　　Steel frames that are properly maintained（维护）will last indefinitely（长期地）. Research on some of the newer steels indicates that under certain conditions no painting（涂漆）maintenance whatsoever （一点也不）will be required.

    持久性　　适当维护的钢框架将会长期地维持下去。对一些较新钢材的研究显示在某些条件下，一点也不需要涂漆的维护。
    Ductility　　The property of a material by which it can withstand extensive（大量的）deformation without failure under high tensile stresses is said to be its ductility. When a mild（低碳）or low-carbon structural steel member is being tested in tension（受拉测试）, a considerable（相当大的）reduction in cross section and a large amount elongation will occur at the point of failure before the actual fracture occurs. A material that does not have this property is generally unacceptable and is probably hard and brittle and might break if subjected to a sudden shock（冲击）.

    延性　　材料在高的拉应力下能承受大的变形而不破坏的性能被称为是延性。当一根低碳结构钢构件正在进行受拉测试时，在实际的断裂发生之前，在破坏点处将会发生横断面的大大缩小以及产生很大的伸长。不具有这种性能的材料通常是不被接受的，并且该材料可能是坚硬和脆性的，如果承受一个突然的冲击，可能会断裂。
    　　In structural members under normal（正常的）loads, high stress concentrations develop（形成）at various points. The ductile nature of the usual（普通的）structural steels enables them to yield locally at those points, thus preventing premature（过早的）failures. A further（另一个）advantage of ductile structures is that when overloaded their large deflections give visible （明显的）evidence of impending failure（即将破坏的迹象）(sometimes jokingly referred to as “running time” “逃跑时间”).

             在正常荷载下的结构构件中，在不同的点上会形成高应力集中。普通结构钢延性的特点使它们在这些点上局部地屈服，这样阻止了过早的破坏。延性结构的另一个优势是当超载时，它们的大变形显示出明显的即将破坏的迹象（有时候戏称为“逃跑时间”）。
    In Fracture Toughness　　Structural steels are tough（坚韧的）; that is, they have both strength and ductility. A steel member loaded until it has large deformations will still be able to withstand large forces. This is a very important characteristic because it means that steel members can be subjected to large deformations during fabrication and erection（安装）without fracture – thus allowing them to be bent, hammered, sheared（剪切）, and have holes punched（冲孔）in them without visible damage. The ability of a material to absorb energy in large amounts is called toughness”).

    断裂韧性　　结构钢是坚韧的；也就是说，它们既有强度又有延性。一根钢构件加荷至大变形时将仍然能够承受大的力。这是非常重要的特性，因为这意味着钢构件在制作和安装期间能承受大的变形而不断裂—这就允许它们被弯曲、锤击、剪切以及在上面冲孔而没有明显的损害。材料吸收大量能量的能力称为韧性。
    Additions to Existing Structures　　Steel structures are quite well（相当）suited to having additions made to them. New bays（节间）or even entire（整个）new wings（翼）can be added to existing steel frame buildings, and steel bridges may often be widened.

    在对已有结构的添加　　钢结构相当适合对其自身进行添加。新的节间、甚至整个新的翼能被添加到已有的钢框架建筑上，因此钢桥常常可以被加宽。
    Miscellaneous　　Several other important advantages of structural steel are: (a) ability to be fastened together by several simple connection devices（方法） including welds and bolts; (b) adaptation to prefabrication（预制）; (c) speed of erection; (d) ability to be rolled into a wide variety of （各种各样的） sizes and shapes; (e) fatigue strength; (f) possible reuse（再利用）after a structure is disassembled（分解）, and (g) scrap value（残余价值）, even though not reusable（可再利用的）in its existing form. Steel is the ultimate recyclable（可循环的）material.

    其它　　结构钢其它的一些重要优点是：（a）能够通过一些简单的连接方法包括焊缝和螺栓将其连接起来；（b）适合预制；（c）安装速度；（d）能够轧制成各种各样的尺寸和形状；（e）疲劳强度；（f）在结构被分解后可能的再利用；以及（g）残余价值，即使不能以其已有的形式被再利用。钢材是最终可循环的材料。
Disadvantages of Steel as a Structural Material
钢材作为结构材料的缺点
In general, steel has the following disadvantages.

通常，钢材具有下列缺点。
Maintenance Costs　　Most steels are susceptible to（易受..影响）corrosion（锈蚀）when freely（直接地） exposed to air and water and must therefore be periodically（定时地）painted. The use of weathering（风化）steels, in suitable design applications, tends to eliminate（避免）this cost.