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COLLAPSE OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS: THEORY, EXPECTATION AND REALITY
On Wednesday, October 10, 2001, a panel of Civil Engineering experts from Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering discussed the Theories, Expectations, and Realities of the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers and the enormity of the resulting damage to the New York City infrastructure. Professor Charles Dowding specializes in Geotechnical Engineering. Professors Zdenek Bazant and Raymond Krizek are members of the National Academy of Engineers who specialize in Structural and Geotechnical Engineering. Professor David Schulz, the Director of the Northwestern Infrastructure Technology Institute, is the former Budget Director for the City of Chicago.
The topics covered were:
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- Introduction, sequence, geometry (Dowding)
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- Failure Mechanisms: Floors & columns; alternate materials (Bazant)
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- Clean up, PATH subway collapse & foundation challenges (Krizek)
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- Urban security and future issues (Schulz)
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- Why the World Trade Towers Collapsed Completely (Bazant)
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Panel Video and Presentations
Related Articles Supporting Details of Bazant's Presentation
Why Did the World Trade Towers Collapse? ( PDF)[attached figure]
(Presentation by Zdenek Bazant)
Additional Links
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(A little known but important aspect of the disaster response.)
University of Sydney Department of Civil Engineering
(General information about the World Trade Center buildings, with some information about the structural system and informed speculation about why it collapsed. Includes diagrams, photographs, and related links)
1988 First Interstate Bank Skyscraper Fire
1988 First Interstate Bank Skyscraper Fire (2nd site)
LDEO Seismology Records
Great Buildings Online
Professor Dowding Discusses the World Trade Center Collapse on WGN-TV
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