Israel and 9/11 - An Introduction

[Jeffrey Orling]

Actually the connections are not bolts for the box columns... they were plates welded spanning the joint... plates of not more than 1/2" thick steel with filet welds. The splice connections were intended to hold the columns in alignment one atop the other until the bracing was secured restraining their lateral motion... keeping them *in column".

After the splices were in place short beam stubs were welded onto the faces of the columns with filet welds again. These were usually a small section of the H beam brace which was bolted between two angles welded to the column face. Then an H section was inserted between stubs and the web connected with splice plates on either side which were bolted and again had filet welds around the perimeter of the plates. The fluted decking rested on the bracing and the concrete was poured to form the floor slab in side the core for corridors and bathrooms etc. Much of the core had no slabs because it was for mechanical shafts and elevators.

it should be noted that the bracing for rows 500, 600, 900 and 1000 were not installed between the columns but attached to the adjacent sides. The bracing for rows 500 and 1000 was also the support for the floor trusses which ran around the entire core. This allowed for mechanical rises between the columns of rows 500 and 1000