Did the PPG blasts melt through the air conditioning duct wall?
This is substantially correct. The PPG blast is extremely hot, and will melt through the plastic coating and the metal lining inside the tube. The entire energy of a PPG will not come through the tube (unless by some coincidence the exact same area is hit twice or three times), and I believe that this was propoerly portrayed in the sequence. Even if it isn’t the entire energy blast, it will hurt like hell and de-mobilize an individual meat packet (person) for the bad guys to come get later. It did take a *very* long time to burn through the bulkhead door to allow them access to the hallway, and said door did mildly glow in the affected areas prior to melting through. The station hull is even more heat resistant.
