16 episodes

The 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River was an engineering mystery and a human tragedy - 46 people died. Why did a suspension bridge built to last a century not make 40 years? Built in 1928, it was a slimmer version of similar bridges built in nearby Pittsburgh. The slimming down was deemed to be safe because of the use of a tougher steel and ‘silver coloured anticorrosion paint’. The tracks in this album look at the factors which led to the catastrophic failure of one of the eyebars which supported the deck, and the subsequent forensic investigation which led to the creation of the National Bridge Inspection Standards to inspect the 1 million bridges of the USA. This material forms part of the course T357, Structural integrity: designing against failure.

Structural Integrity: Silver Bridge - for iPod/iPhone The Open University

    • Education

The 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River was an engineering mystery and a human tragedy - 46 people died. Why did a suspension bridge built to last a century not make 40 years? Built in 1928, it was a slimmer version of similar bridges built in nearby Pittsburgh. The slimming down was deemed to be safe because of the use of a tougher steel and ‘silver coloured anticorrosion paint’. The tracks in this album look at the factors which led to the catastrophic failure of one of the eyebars which supported the deck, and the subsequent forensic investigation which led to the creation of the National Bridge Inspection Standards to inspect the 1 million bridges of the USA. This material forms part of the course T357, Structural integrity: designing against failure.

    Structural Integrity: Silver Bridge

    Structural Integrity: Silver Bridge

    A short introduction to this album.

    • 1 min
    Transcript -- Structural Integrity: Silver Bridge

    Transcript -- Structural Integrity: Silver Bridge

    A short introduction to this album.

    • video
    The Silver Bridge Disaster

    The Silver Bridge Disaster

    How the Silver Bridge and the Hi-Carpenter Bridge differed from other suspension bridges in one crucial aspect.

    • 5 min
    Transcript -- The Silver Bridge Disaster

    Transcript -- The Silver Bridge Disaster

    How the Silver Bridge and the Hi-Carpenter Bridge differed from other suspension bridges in one crucial aspect.

    • video
    The Three Sisters Bridges

    The Three Sisters Bridges

    Why it's safer to incorporate more eyebars than are actually needed, to bear the weight of the bridge.

    • 2 min
    Transcript -- The Three Sisters Bridges

    Transcript -- The Three Sisters Bridges

    Why it's safer to incorporate more eyebars than are actually needed, to bear the weight of the bridge.

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