Universal columns are the most often used section for structural steel purposes. Due to their section shape, they are often called “I-sections” or “H-sections”. Unlike a universal beam, the UC’s width is roughly equal to their depth. For example, a 152 UC 23 is 152 mm wide and 152 mm deep. The last number (23 in this example) is the weight per metre in kilograms. It is therefore easy to work out what is the total weight of a UC by simply multiplying its weight per metre by the total length in metres. You may find two numbers before the UC abbreviation, eg. 152 x 152 UC 23, however in most cases one of them is omitted as they are both the same. Universal columns are mainly used for columns, however their small depth compared to universal beams make them ideal load bearing members when height is limited (which is quite often the case in residential projects).
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