These properties resulted in increased usage of steel in construction, but initial development of these steel structures followed construction practices employed with cast iron and wrought iron elements. Structural steel provided high strength with great ductility and consistent material behavior. This occurred because of improvements in the Bessemer process that permitted economical production of large quantities of steel required for building and bridge construction. During the 1890s, cast and wrought iron columns disappeared from common usage, and structural steel became the construction material of choice. Prior to about 1890, cast and wrought iron components were used as columns and other elements in some civil engineering structures, but these structural elements generally had variable resistance, somewhat unpredictable failures, and limited ductility when compared to modern steel structures. Steel has been used as a construction material for civil engineering systems since the late 19th century.

Advanced steel structures