Design, Construction and Maintenance of Structural and Life Safety Systems. Federal Building and Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center.
Design, Construction and Maintenance of Structural and
Life Safety Systems. Federal Building and Fire Safety
Investigation of the World Trade Center.
(8965 K)
Lew, H. S.; Bukowski, R. W.; Carino, N. J.
NIST NCSTAR 1-1; 270 p. September 2005.
Keywords:
World Trade Center; high rise buildings; building
collapse; disasters; terrorists; terrorism; building
design; building construction; maintenance; life safety;
building codes; egress; elevators (lifts); fire load;
regulations; standards; damage; structural design;
inspection; fire safety; codes; fuel systems; stability;
stress (mechanics); wind effects; aircraft impact;
concretes; steels; floors; structural members; wind
tunnels; manuals; architecture
Abstract:
The collapse of World Irade Center (WTC) 1, 2, and 7
resulted from structural damage from direct and indirect
effects of aircraft impact and the ensuing fires. Thus,
for collapse analyses of these buildings, knowledge of
the physical state of the structural and fire safety
systems prior to the aircraft impact is essential. To
obtain information for the collapse analysis of the
buildings, National Institute of Standards and
Technology reviewed design and construction documents,
correspondence, and memoranda related to the building
projects; interviewed individuals involved in the
design, construction, and maintenance of the buildings;
obtained information from regulatory and emergency
services agencies of New York City; and reviewed books
and published journal and magazine articles related to
the WTC building projects. Information obtained from
various sources are synthesized and summarized in this
report. Specifically, this report presents (I)
provisions used to design and construct the structural,
fire protection and egress systems of the buildings; (2)
tests performed to support the design of these systems;
(3) criteria that governed the design of the structural
and fire protection systems; (4) methods used to
proportion structural members and other components of
the buildings; (5) innovative features, technologies and
materials that are incorporated in design and
construction of the structural and fire protection
systems; (6) details of deviations to the contract
documents granted by Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey; (7) fabrication and inspection requirements at
the fabrication yard; and (8) inspection protocols
during construction. This report also documents the fuel
system for the diesel generators that supplied emergency
power to many of the tenants in WTC 7. Findings from the
synthesis of the information collected and resulting
issues are presented.
