Noida Twin Towers Demolition: Know all about explosion, how 100-mtr-tall high rises were flattened in 15 secs

Taller than the famous Qutub Minar in the national capital, the now infamous Supertech twin towers in Noida Sector 93A became dust and debris in a Rs 20 crore demolition job. The are touted as the highest structures ever demolished in the history of India. 

To undertake this mammoth task is no less than an engineering marvel. The high rise buildings, a little over 100-metres in height, were razed using ‘Waterfall Implosion’ technique to bring them down literally like a house of cards. The entire demolition job took 24 seconds. 

Explosives used in the demolition job

The explosives were used for demolition include detonators, emulsions and shock tubes, with explosive material in the form of gel or powder, project officials revealed to the media. Amounting to some 3,700 kilograms, these explosives have been drilled into the building via 9,640 holes measuring 2.634 millimetre, exact to the last decimal digit. This proves the high precision factor of the job. 

The explosives used are “not very strong in nature”. However, they are able to break concrete when used in large quantities. “These explosives are sold in a regulated manner and strictly after permission from various government agencies," an official was quoted to have said.

The process: How long will the explosion take and how the towers will come crumbling down?

The massive event was short-lived, taking less than half a minute for both the explosions and the ensuing razing of the building, courtesy a slight shift in the centre of gravity.  

In the demolition process, explosives went off in a series of blasts from the bottom floor to the top. In a matter of seconds, the buildings turned into dust and debris falling on the ground, in accordance with how Utkarsh Mehta, part of the demolition firm Edifice Engineering which is tasked with the project, explained before the demolition.

These buildings did not just crumble in any direction. The project team planned for the towers to come down in the south-west direction, away from the nearby buildings and towards the open area, as Mehta had added explaining the process.

With the controlled implosion technique, debris estimated between 55,000 tonnes and 80,000 tonnes created a lot of dust. The demolition team estimates this dust will dissipate soon into the air.

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