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Originally Posted by host
WTC 7 exposed structure and debris pile:
The way WTC 7 was constructed, I don't see how it collapsed so quickly,or how even a neat, 20 stories tall, one or two windows wide, shallow verticle gouge out of the south face, could have caused or contributed to the failure pictured here:
If you're considering that the verticle structural columns were subjected to demolition crew cutting torches before the photos were taken, I don't think that they were. A fire crew is still on the scene, and although that, in and of itself proves nothing, it contributes to my observation that the area below the coumns has not been cleared for access, there would be no rescue/recovery operation near there, it is early in the demolition removal operation, and working in that area, with hopes in the first two weeks of finding trapped victimes near WTC 1 & 2, it woild not have made sense to expend resources to cut and remove heavy steel, in that area.
WTC 7 seems to have been built of strong stuff that failed simultaneously, for as yet to be determined reasons.....
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host, I still want to dig into the info you posted above to see what differences it makes in the information I've seen so far - as I said last post though it's a bit hectic this week, so might take me a bit
Also host, I see red Xs in place of the pics in that last post, could you repost (or in the event it's a problem on my end) suggest how I can view them? (I can see the pics in your previous posts, just the last one is the problem)
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Originally Posted by willravel
Scout, assuming that is a gash, that means that the columns were still just fine, in fact they were carrying less weight. Why would that have weakened the building's structural integrity?
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The information I found so far (as I said I need to go through host's info first) is that a main interior column/truss system failed, causing internal collapse first, and the facade to collapse last. I would offer that the gash and scooped out section only indicate that the building was hit by debris that may have provided a mechanism for starting the fires - that they were *not* the reason for structural failure. The reason I have been focusing first on the damage is that it is (to me anyway
) the easier question to answer regarding the damage descriptions in the NIST report.
The fire intensity I suspect will be the most difficult to answer, so I will dig into the collapse mechanic first.