ThrowAway wrote:LoopStationZebra wrote: In fact, earthquake-prone areas always see a lot of ripped welds.
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You wouldn't believe how shitty "passing" welds can be. Most smaw rods have a tensile strength between 60-70k lbs. But theres a lot of factors that weaken this. If the base metals are allowed to get to hot it weakens the metals. If its too cool than the welds dont penetrate. If the machine is old or malfunctioning then the amps fluctuate. All these things plus many more can cause the welds to rip. You could be right though.
Fwiw, I've always understood that welds can be stronger than the steel, don't know where I heard that...
I kind of wish I had read the 9/11 report, but I just can't believe it could be actually well researched and true, so I didn't.
On the flip side of the argument, I think the viscoelastic supports aka big rubbery antisway washers may have not withstood the heat and may have even caught fire. That would leave the floors with only a portion of their support. Add the weight of some collapsed floors on top of a poorly supported lower floor, and you could see how it might happen on it's own.
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then on the flip flip side, if this stuff he found was not some kind of thermite, what was it and where did it come from?