Structural Integrity: Silver Bridge - for iPad/Mac/PC

The Open University

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.

  • 1 minute 9 seconds
    Structural Integrity: Silver Bridge
    A short introduction to this album.
    11 February 2010, 3:11 am
  • Transcript -- Structural Integrity: Silver Bridge
    Transcript -- A short introduction to this album.
    11 February 2010, 3:11 am
  • 5 minutes 48 seconds
    The Silver Bridge Disaster
    How the Silver Bridge and the Hi-Carpenter Bridge differed from other suspension bridges in one crucial aspect.
    11 May 2009, 1:28 am
  • Transcript -- The Silver Bridge Disaster
    Transcript -- How the Silver Bridge and the Hi-Carpenter Bridge differed from other suspension bridges in one crucial aspect.
    11 May 2009, 1:28 am
  • 2 minutes 55 seconds
    The Three Sisters Bridges
    Why it's safer to incorporate more eyebars than are actually needed, to bear the weight of the bridge.
    11 May 2009, 1:27 am
  • Transcript -- The Three Sisters Bridges
    Transcript -- Why it's safer to incorporate more eyebars than are actually needed, to bear the weight of the bridge.
    11 May 2009, 1:27 am
  • 2 minutes 1 second
    A New Wonder Material - or Not?
    How the use of a new high-strength steel led to mistaken assumptions about safety.
    11 May 2009, 1:26 am
  • Transcript -- A New Wonder Material - or Not?
    Transcript -- How the use of a new high-strength steel led to mistaken assumptions about safety.
    11 May 2009, 1:26 am
  • 2 minutes 27 seconds
    The Weakest Link
    How an investigation identified where the failure had occurred. A recovered eyebar is examined up close.
    11 May 2009, 1:25 am
  • Transcript -- The Weakest Link
    Transcript -- How an investigation identified where the failure had occurred. A recovered eyebar is examined up close.
    11 May 2009, 1:25 am
  • 3 minutes 2 seconds
    Trigger Factors
    How increasing traffic and freezing temperatures triggered the failure. An eye-witness account of the collapse.
    11 May 2009, 1:24 am
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