Thermite Timeline for Demolition of Structures

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In 1972 Pyronol.RTM. was patented

Google Patents 3695951

"A suitable container may be of the one described in co-application Der. No. 74,434 filed Sept 22, 1970, entitled "Incendiary Torch" by Horace H. Helms, Jr. Alexander G. . . . The material is sealed into said container, which in this case is a torch, is ignited . . . When the pressure inside the container exceeds the strength of the diaphragm the diaphragm fractures and the expanding gases will force the molten material through the nozzle. . . . Alternatively one may add a material to the instant composition which will decompose into a gas or vaporize into a gas when exposed to the heat . . . such as powdered polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) or other solid materials."

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In 1989 a patent was given for a device used to demolish submerged platforms.

Google Patents 4799829

“The cutting of the piling is performed by a series of tubes radially deployed in the cutter on a common plane. Each tube is filled with what is, in essence, a solid fuel similar to thermite or magnesium. Thus, the cut is performed through the use of a series of solid fuel torches. The preferred solid fuel is **Pyronol.RTM**.. Pyronol.RTM. is manufactured by Goex, Inc. and the material itself is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,951. Pyronol.RTM., once ignited, will attain temperatures between **six and twelve thousand degrees Fahrenheit**. These temperatures are sufficient to burn through steel and concrete.”

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In 1992, it was standard military procedure to use thermite to bring down vertical steel structures.

United States Military Field Manual FM 5-250; Explosives and Demolitions, June 1992:

3-6 Steel Cutting Charges.

(d) Nickel-molybdenum steel. This type of steel cannot be cut easily by conventional steel cutting charges. The jet from a shaped charge will penetrate it, but cutting requires multiple charges or linear-shaped charges. Nickel-molybdenum steel shafts can be cut with a diamond charge. However, the saddle charge will not cut nickel-molybdenum shafts. Therefore, use some method other that explosives to cut nickel-molybdenum steel, such as thermite or acetylene or electrical cutting tools.

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