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…
The Open University
Transcript -- A short introduction to this album.
How the Silver Bridge and the Hi-Carpenter Bridge differed from other suspension bridges in one crucial aspect.
Transcript -- How the Silver Bridge and the Hi-Carpenter Bridge differed from other suspension bridges in one crucial aspect.
Why it's safer to incorporate more eyebars than are actually needed, to bear the weight of the bridge.
Transcript -- Why it's safer to incorporate more eyebars than are actually needed, to bear the weight of the bridge.
How the use of a new high-strength steel led to mistaken assumptions about safety.
Transcript -- How the use of a new high-strength steel led to mistaken assumptions about safety.
How an investigation identified where the failure had occurred. A recovered eyebar is examined up close.
Transcript -- How an investigation identified where the failure had occurred. A recovered eyebar is examined up close.
How increasing traffic and freezing temperatures triggered the failure. An eye-witness account of the collapse.
Transcript -- How increasing traffic and freezing temperatures triggered the failure. An eye-witness account of the collapse.
How an undetected 3mm crack formed over 39 years weakened the eyebar, and a forensic deconstruction of what happened during the accident.
Transcript -- How an undetected 3mm crack formed over 39 years weakened the eyebar, and a forensic deconstruction of what happened during the accident.
Transcript -- The legacy of the Silver Bridge Disaster.
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