Assessment of Structural Steel from the World Trade Center Towers, Part I: Recovery and Identification of Critical Structural Elements

摘要

The National Institute of Standards and Technology conducted a 3-year, USD16 million investigation of the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster in response to the events of September 11, 2001. A primary goal of the WTC investigation was to explore the building materials and the construction and technical conditions that contributed to the outcome of the tragedy. This is one of a series of papers that describe various facets of the investigation involving the recovery and identification of the structural components and the evaluation of the steel with regard to damage and degradation as a result of the events of the day. This paper covers unique aspects of the recovery of the structural elements and the subsequent identification of their original as-built locations within the towers. A total of 236 pieces of WTC steel were cataloged, including several exterior and core columns from the impact and fire floors of WTC 1 and WTC 2.