(11-12-2014 12:22 PM)TrevorStreets Wrote:  

Hey Trever!

How about a zoom in close-up of the cantilever construction?

(11-18-2014 10:42 AM)bearcat72 Wrote:  

(11-12-2014 12:22 PM)TrevorStreets Wrote:  

Hey Trever!

How about a zoom in close-up of the cantilever construction?

Thanks for the zoom-in.

11/19/14


east...


west...

Here's a question for the engineers and architects out there: why is it necessary to spray a fire-proofing material on steel beams?

(11-24-2014 12:24 PM)colohank Wrote:  Here's a question for the engineers and architects out there: why is it necessary to spray a fire-proofing material on steel beams?

Steel weakens when at around 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, which in a serious fire is very easy to achieve. Without fireproofing, the steel will buckle and the entire thing could collapse.

As an example, in the case of the World Trade Centers, it was concluded that the impact of the airplanes blew away the fire proofing therefore allowing the bare steel the be exposed to extreme heat and causing the beams to collapse around the impacted floors and the building falls into itself. (Please if there are any truthers in this forum, just let this one example go as a way of explaining fireproofing steel.)

~University of Cincinnati, Mechanical Engineering Class of 2011

(11-24-2014 12:24 PM)colohank Wrote:  Here's a question for the engineers and architects out there: why is it necessary to spray a fire-proofing material on steel beams?

Because that's what the OHSA Structural Code Book says

Realistically, it's an added protective measure to help keep susbstantial structural rigidity in fire situations. While the steel is normally rated for much higher temps than any normal fire can produce, there are impurities in every material that could potentially cause a failure. Better to be safe than sorry type thing. Also helps to snuff out fires attempting to travel through the shaft walls by not giving anything for it to travel up.

Ah, so it's basically insulation. I was aware of the heat-induced structural failures at the World Trade Center, but figured that was due to the thousands of gallons of jet fuel that burned, something that wouldn't be a factor in most structural fires. Thanks, all, for the explanations.