2 U.S. Reports Seek to Counter Conspiracy Theories About 9/11
By Jim Dwyer Published: September 2, 2006 New York Times
Professor Jones also argues that the molten steel found in the rubble was evidence of demolition explosives because an ordinary airplane fire would not generate enough heat. He cited photographs of construction equipment removing debris that appeared to be red.
In rebuttal, Mr. Blanchard of Protec said that if there had been any molten steel in the rubble, it would have permanently damaged any excavation equipment encountering it. “As a fundamental point, if an excavator or grapple ever dug into a pile of molten steel heated to excess of 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, it would completely lose its ability to function,” Mr. Blanchard wrote. “At a minimum, the hydraulics would immediately fail and its moving parts would bond together or seize up.”
Dr. Judy Wood, at page 266 of her book, Where Did the Towers Go? agrees with the wording of Jim Dwyer that the photo image of construction equipment showed debris that "appeared to be red." She notes that "an optical camera, not a thermal imaging camera, captures the color, not the temperature of the objects in the photograph." At page 267, Dr. Wood observes that, "The molten steel story appears on the evidence to be exactly that—a story. Certainly, it is a very different thing from the abundant recorded and observable evidence of glowing metal. We saw the chart that shows the maximum temperatures at which hydraulic systems can be operated. That chart supports what NYT reporter Jim Dwyer said. ... The crucial facts, however, support Dwyer—namely, that high temperatures would have permanentl damaged if not destroyer hydraulic equipment. The facts are well-established and available in mechanical engineering handbooks as well as on the internet."
Hydraulic fluid temperatures above 82°C (180ºF) damage most seal compounds and accelerate oil degradation. A single overtemperature event of sufficient magnitude can permanently damage all the seals in an entire hydraulic system, resulting in numerous leaks. The by-products of thermal degradation of the oil (soft particles) can cause reliability problems such as valve-spool stiction and filter clogging
