Metal heating experiment

Sunstealer said:
You have to be more specific. If I put an aluminium alloy can in a fire it will oxidise heavily and because of it's thickness will not hold its shape. So you'll end up with ash.

Now if you put a Kg lump of the same alloy in a crucible with a lid, put that in a furnace and heat it, it will melt over a temperature range until it's liquid.

What's your point?
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Well the conditions in the towers would more closely match those of the 1 Kg block. perhaps even closer would be to put the 1 Kg block in a cast iron pot with a lid and put that in an open campfire for 30-60 minutes and then see what has become of the aluminum. Probably not enough heat to melt the block completely but certainly enough to melt some of it.


I have also used aluminum foil on a BBQ to do hamburgers. It results in less burning of the meat BUT if you don't watch closely and have the heat up high, some of the foil burns away and can recondense on the top of the meat(yummy)
 
ImANiceGuy said:
It tells me you once found a burnt car in the woods.

Am I missing something?
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Yes. You missed "the aluminum engine had melted and dripped on to the ground due to the heat of the fire." The car and the woods don't answer the OP, but "the aluminum engine had melted and dripped on to the ground due to the heat of the fire." does. You managed to miss the most and only important meaning of the post you quoted, which is "the aluminum engine had melted and dripped on to the ground due to the heat of the fire.".

I posted the missed quote "the aluminum engine had melted and dripped on to the ground due to the heat of the fire." four times to make it easier for you to spot it now.

Oh what the heck, let me quote a fifth time, this time with hilights: The something that you missed is "the aluminum engine had melted and dripped on to the ground due to the heat of the fire."
 
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rjh01 said:
I always thought that car engines were made of iron.
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Most have steel blocks with aluminum heads (hence why when you overheat most cars you usually blow the head gasket). Intake, alternator case, starter nose, and many other parts are made from aluminum under the hood. Aluminum blocks have been more popular lately as well.

I was talking to my friend who is an autobody guy, and I forget which SUV (The F150 SVT has one), but apparently some front skid plates are made of boron (IIRC). He said they make quite a mess when they burn.
 
Rover V8 engines are developed from a Packard design dating back to the 50s. They have an Alloy Block.
Quite a few small modern car engines are all alloy with steel liners in the cylinders.
 
Justin39640 said:
Most have steel blocks with aluminum heads (hence why when you overheat most cars you usually blow the head gasket). Intake, alternator case, starter nose, and many other parts are made from aluminum under the hood. Aluminum blocks have been more popular lately as well.

I was talking to my friend who is an autobody guy, and I forget which SUV (The F150 SVT has one), but apparently some front skid plates are made of boron (IIRC). He said they make quite a mess when they burn.
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Yes, the 2010 F150's use boron steel for part of the body, and some of the frame. Lighter than regular steel, (like 30% lighter) but something like 60% stronger. So do some of the 2010 model Focuses and Fusions. ALL of the 2011 Fiestas do to. And your friend is right. They do make a HELL of a mess.
 
Why do people start threads and then not respond to a single post in them?
 
Quad4_72 said:
Why do people start threads and then not respond to a single post in them?
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You have just set an ambush that would wipe out an approaching enemy infantry patrol.

They have decided to send a column of main battle tanks instead.

What is your next move?
 
leftysergeant said:
You have just set an ambush that would wipe out an approaching enemy infantry patrol.

They have decided to send a column of main battle tanks instead.

What is your next move?
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Oystein said:
Yes. You missed "the aluminum engine had melted and dripped on to the ground due to the heat of the fire." The car and the woods don't answer the OP, but "the aluminum engine had melted and dripped on to the ground due to the heat of the fire." does. You managed to miss the most and only important meaning of the post you quoted, which is "the aluminum engine had melted and dripped on to the ground due to the heat of the fire.".

I posted the missed quote "the aluminum engine had melted and dripped on to the ground due to the heat of the fire." four times to make it easier for you to spot it now.

Oh what the heck, let me quote a fifth time, this time with hilights: The something that you missed is "the aluminum engine had melted and dripped on to the ground due to the heat of the fire."
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It doesn't really answer the Q, since I was asking about what it looks like when its at the temperatures of the WTC fires, not after it has puddled and coold. What I'm trying to find out is at what temperature does aluminum glow yellow hot, intense enough to be seen in daylight?
 
ElMondoHummus said:
Oh. That one. While it's never been definitively proven what the molten flow is, there's a very compelling argument made by an Italian blogger that it could be lead or some other metal from enterprise class (i.e. large) uninterruptible power supplies:
http://undicisettembre.blogspot.com/2007/06/ups-on-81st-floor-of-wtc2.html

I think the reality is that it would be a mix of compounds and element - not just metals too - because there would be a mix of items in almost any given spot in the interior of the towers. But again, the proposal at the link given is a quite compelling one.
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Hmm. So then how about trying to melt a mix of common low-melt metals that were available, and get it up the high point of the fire temperature and seeing what color it pours at, in similar lighting conditions?
 
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Thunder said:
we once found a burned-out car in the woods. the aluminum engine had melted and dripped on to the ground due to the heat of the fire.

what does that tell u?
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that your woods need to be cleaned more often-
 
Dash80 said:
My Dad heated up the middle of a thick steel rod to a temperature a lot less than inside the wtc, I was able to bend it with my own hands.
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Wow, very convincing and full of data. Like exactly what temperature and what type of steel did he have. There are many different grades of steel. I guess someone in Sheffield like you should know that.
 
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