Question about structural beams, and columns ;) Options

[forester]

the structural beams of the wtc and all buildings are designed to be able to hold up the weight of all the beams above them.

at the wtc towers, after the planes hit, many of the beams were severed. this puts a lot more of the weight of the building on the undamaged beams.

question 1: how many beams MUST stay intact for the buildings to stay up?

question 2: if the section of the towers above the impact does collapse due to the beams in the damaged section nolonger being able to carry the above weight, can the beams below the damaged section literally catch the fall of the collapsing section and keep the building up? i took physics many years ago but im sure their is an equation to figure out the weight or kinetic energy of a mass after it falls several feet.

if the section above the plane damage did indeed collapse, the undamaged section below it would have had to be able to hold up all the weight above it multiplied by its velocity...i assume. considering this, is it logical to expect the undamaged floors to be able to hold this weight? is there any precident for this?

[Roark]

There were only structural beams in the core area. The main floors were supported by floor trusses.

I suppose you mean the columns?

It is a major mistake to look at a single structural element without considering how that element interacts with the other structural elements.

For instance, the exterior columns were stabilized and prevented from buckling by the floor assemblies.

If the floors started to sag or fail, then the exterior columns would be subject to buckling failure.

[dMz]

There were only structural beams in the core area. The main floors were supported by floor trusses.

Ummm, so the ~240+ perimeter beams weren't "structural beams" then???? You might want to check that with the steel specs and with the "safety factors" that I recently asked you about back over in the Debate section, there Chuckles.

So the main floors were only supported by floor trusses then? LOL! What was on the ends of those floor trusses then, Chuckles?

(IMG:http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum/style_emoticons/default/lame.gif)

Admins: could you please merge Roark's recent drivel with the appropriate thread in the Debate section? Also, can someone please look up this joker's IP address and run a Whois request?

This post has been edited by dMole: May 22 2008, 09:16 AM

[Roark]

Ummm, so the ~240+ perimeter beams weren't "structural beams" then????

No, they were columns. Do try to keep up. Columns are vertical, beams are hrizontal.

You might want to check that with the steel specs and with the "safety factors" that I recently asked you about back over in the Debate section, there Chuckles.

Well since you seem to be the expert in strucutral engineering, how about if you tell me if those "safety factors" changed as a result of the damage to the building by impact and fire? Please provide the calculations to support your case.

So the main floors were only supported by floor trusses then? LOL! What was on the ends of those floor trusses then, Chuckles?

Don't play silly games, you know what I mean. The loads in the tenant areas of the floors were carried by the trusses to the perimeter and the core. (and that is the last time I will respond to your baiting attempts and thinly veiled ad hom attacks)

[dMz]

No, they were columns. Do try to keep up. Columns are vertical, beams are hrizontal.

@ R.oark-

So why aren't these called "I-columns" then?

http://www.saginawpipe.com/steel_i_beams.htm?kc=A8NGc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-beam

If you'll notice, I didn't make the OP- do try to keep up. There appears to be fairly common usage of "beam" to describe a large length (often either 20 or 40 feet long to fit on a semi-truck flatbed, IIRC) of structural steel. Here are a few more words that you might have a problem with- angle, channel, tube, pipe, rod, shaft, rebar, pin, bolt, rivet...

For the record, you are free to use any words however you see fit [Personally- I'm thinking of 2 that start with "a" right now...] (IMG:http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

This post has been edited by dMole: May 23 2008, 01:32 PM