Just wondering. Some say 500 (Farenheit, I kno i spelt that wrong...) other say 1,000. Anyone have definent answers?
2007-11-27 09:37:37 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
Could the measurements be given in Fahrenheit please.
2007-11-27 09:46:56 · update #1
The load is the world trade center twin towers. I want to hear the facts from a neutral point of view.
2007-11-27 11:46:00 · update #2
The critical temperature for steel starts at 900°C for pure iron, then, as more carbon is added, the temperature falls to a minimum 724°C for eutectic steel (steel with only .83% by weight of carbon in it). As 2.1 % carbon (by mass) is approached, the critical temperature climbs back up, to 1130°C.
Hope that helps.
Good luck
2007-11-27 09:44:07 · answer #1 · answered by Dragon Prince 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The first two answers are on the right track. The answer is "it depends". What do you mean about "support"? What type of steel are you talking about? The mechanical strength of steel (or any other metal alloy) can be varied over a range based on the composition, the temperature, and the processing. There are hundreds of steel alloys, from plain carbon and mild steels to high strength low alloy to stainless steels to tool steels. As far as losing it's ability to support, at very low loads, steels can support some load up to the melting temperature but that would be very weak and for short times. The mechanical behavior of steel is different if you are talking about constant loads vs shock loads vs alternating loads and different if you are talking about in air or in water or in salt water or in a chlorine atmosphere. Engineers have to design metal components based on the gory details of what the operating environment will be and the consequences of failure. Things that keep an airplane in the air or a ship floating or a bridge from falling down require different factors of safety compared to a paperclip or a bolt that holds the horn on a car. There is a good reason that engineers have to study for a long time before they can design successful structures in the real world.
As a very rough rule of thumb, metals will fail from creep when the operating temperature is approximately half the absolute melting point (absolute temperature in degrees Rankine or degrees kelvin (K).
Sorry that I can not give a more definite answer.
2007-11-27 10:25:25 · answer #2 · answered by Gary H 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You have a theory about 911 or something?
Anyways the temperature it takes to cause a building to collapse can very depending on the load on the steel I guess. It might also have to take into account the amount of time the steel is exposed to that temperature and also depending if the other supports are still in place.
2007-11-27 09:47:35 · answer #3 · answered by Scientistical Academix 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The other significant factor is the load or stress on the structure. The higher the load or stress the lower the temperature at which the steel will fail.
2007-11-27 11:25:02 · answer #4 · answered by oil field trash 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
At 1000 Deg F, steel will have lost 80 to 90% of it's strength, or of it's ability to support a strucrural load.
The strength of structural steel begins to deteriorate at temperatures above 650 Deg F.
2007-11-27 17:05:47 · answer #5 · answered by gatorbait 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋