Arch bridge
timber, structural steel | |
Movable | No |
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Design effort | Low |
Falsework required | Yes |
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct (a long bridge) may be made from a series of arches, although other more economical structures are typically used today.
History
Possibly the oldest existing arch bridge is the
Although
Roman arch bridges were usually
Roman engineers were the first and until the
The Romans also introduced segmental arch bridges into bridge construction. The 330 m-long (1,080 ft)
In
The 14th century in particular saw bridge building reaching new heights. Span lengths of 40 m (130 ft), previously unheard of in the history of masonry arch construction, were now reached in places as diverse as Spain (Puente de San Martín), Italy (Castelvecchio Bridge) and France (Devil's bridge and Pont Grand) and with arch types as different as semi-circular, pointed and segmental arches. The bridge at Trezzo sull'Adda, destroyed in the 15th century, even featured a span length of 72 m (236 ft), not matched until 1796.[11]
Constructions such as the acclaimed
In China, the oldest existing arch bridge is the
In more modern times, stone and brick arches continued to be built by many civil engineers, including
Simple compression arch bridges
Advantages of simple materials
Stone, brick and other such materials are strong in
Traditional masonry arches are generally durable, and somewhat resistant to
Construction sequence
- Where the arches are founded in a watercourse bed (on piers or banks) the water is diverted so the gravel can first be excavated and replaced with a good footing (of strong material). From these, the foundation piers are erected/raised to the height of the intended base of the arches, a point known as the springing.
- Falsework centering(in British English: arch frame) is fabricated, typically from timbers and boards. Since each arch of a multi-arch bridge will impose a thrust upon its neighbors, it is necessary either that all arches of the bridge be raised at the same time, or that very wide piers be used. The thrust from the end arches is taken into the earth by substantial (vertical) footings at the canyon walls, or by large inclined planes forming in a sense ramps to the bridge, which may also be formed of arches.
- The several arches are (or single arch is) constructed over the centering. Once each basic arch barrel is constructed, the arches are (or arch is) stabilized with infill masonry above, which may be laid in horizontal running bondcourses (layers). These may form two outer walls, known as the spandrels, which are then infilled with appropriate loose material and rubble.
- The road is paved and parapet walls protectively confine traffic to the bridge.
Types of arch bridge
Corbel arch bridge
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Corbel arch built fromArkadiko bridge
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Corbel arch in the shape of an isosceles triangle, supporting the Greek Eleutherna Bridge
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A corbelled arch with the masonry untrimmed
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A corbel arch with the masonry cut into an arch shape
The corbel arch bridge is a masonry, or stone, bridge where each successively higher course (layer) cantilevers slightly more than the previous course.
Aqueducts and canal viaducts
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Roman Pont-Saint-Martin
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The three-story Romanaqueduct
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The Roman segmental arch Bridge at Limyra
In some locations it is necessary to span a wide gap at a relatively high elevation, such as when a canal or water supply must span a valley. Rather than building extremely large arches, or very tall supporting columns (difficult using stone), a series of arched structures are built one atop another, with wider structures at the base. Roman civil engineers developed the design and constructed highly refined structures using only simple materials, equipment, and mathematics. This type is still used in canal viaducts and roadways as it has a pleasing shape, particularly when spanning water, as the reflections of the arches form a visual impression of circles or ellipses.
Deck arch bridge
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Diagram of an open-spandrel deck arch bridge
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Grosvenor Bridge (Chester), a closed-spandrel arch bridge
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Alexander Hamilton Bridge, an open-spandrel arch bridge
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Galena Creek Bridge, a cathedral arch bridge
This type of bridge comprises an arch where the deck is completely above the arch. The area between the arch and the deck is known as the spandrel. If the spandrel is solid, usually the case in a masonry or stone arch bridge, the bridge is called a closed-spandrel deck arch bridge. If the deck is supported by a number of vertical columns rising from the arch, the bridge is known as an open-spandrel deck arch bridge. The Alexander Hamilton Bridge is an example of an open-spandrel arch bridge. Finally, if the arch supports the deck only at the top of the arch, the bridge is called a cathedral arch bridge.[16]
Through arch bridge
This type of bridge has an arch whose base is at or below the deck, but whose top rises above it, so the deck passes through the arch. The central part of the deck is supported by the arch via suspension cables or tie bars, as with a tied-arch bridge. The ends of the bridge may be supported from below, as with a deck arch bridge. Any part supported from arch below may have spandrels that are closed or open.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Bayonne Bridge are a through arch bridge which uses a truss type arch.
Tied-arch bridge
Also known as a bowstring arch, this type of arch bridge incorporates a tie between two opposite ends of the arch. The tie is usually the deck and is capable of withstanding the horizontal thrust forces which would normally be exerted on the abutments of an arch bridge.
The deck is suspended from the arch. The arch is in compression, in contrast to a suspension bridge where the catenary is in tension. A tied-arch bridge can also be a through arch bridge.
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The deck of theties the arch, while the side spans of the deck are supported.
Hinged arch bridge
An arch bridge with hinges incorporated to allow movement between structural elements. A single-hinged bridge has a hinge at the
Gallery
This section contains an unencyclopedic or excessive gallery of images. |
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Single-arch bridgeStari most in Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Pointed arch of thePuente del Diabloin Spain
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Alte Nahebrücke (c.1300) supports buildings on its piers
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Krämerbrücke (1325) – longest continuously inhabited bridge in Europe.
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Ponte Santa Trinita. First bridge with elliptic arches
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A masonry moon bridge showing the buttressing approach ramps that take the horizontal thrust of the arch
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Fredrikstad bridge in Fredrikstad, Norway
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TheColumbus, OHis the only inclined-arch suspension bridge in North America.
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TheGarabit Viaduct is a wrought iron truss arch bridge.
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TheElea, Province of Salerno, Campania, Italy (2005)
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Bridge in Český Krumlov, Czech Republic (2004)
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Union Arch Bridge carrying the Washington Aqueduct and MacArthur Boulevard (formerly named Conduit Road), Cabin John, Montgomery County, Maryland, U.S.A. (2008)
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Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. (2006)
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, U.S.A. (2007)
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Daxi River Bridge ofJinhua–Wenzhou High Speed Railway
Use of modern materials
Most modern arch bridges are made from reinforced concrete. This type of bridge is suitable where a temporary centring may be erected to support the forms, reinforcing steel, and uncured concrete. When the concrete is sufficiently set the forms and falseworks are then removed. It is also possible to construct a reinforced concrete arch from precast concrete, where the arch is built in two halves which are then leaned against each other.
Many modern bridges, made of steel or reinforced concrete, often bear some of their load by tension within their structure. This reduces or eliminates the horizontal thrust against the abutments and allows their construction on weaker ground. Structurally and analytically they are not
A modern evolution of the arch bridge is the long-span through arch bridge. This has been made possible by the use of light materials that are strong in tension such as steel and prestressed concrete.
See also
- Deck (bridge)
- List of arch bridges by length
- List of longest masonry arch bridge spans
- Natural arch
- Parabolic arch
- Roman bridge
- Skew arch
- Through arch bridge
- Tied arch bridge
- Truss arch bridge
Footnotes
- ^ Hellenic Ministry of Culture: Mycenaean bridge at Kazarma Archived 8 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Nakassis, Athanassios (2000): "The Bridges of Ancient Eleutherna", The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 95, pp. 353–365
- ^ Galliazzo 1995, p. 36; Boyd 1978, p. 91
- ^ Robertson, D.S.: Greek and Roman Architecture, 2nd edn., Cambridge 1943, p. 231:
"The Romans were the first builders in Europe, perhaps the first in the world, fully to appreciate the advantages of the arch, the vault and the dome."
- ISBN 0-521-39326-4
- ISBN 88-85066-66-6, cf. Indice
- ^ Beall, Christine (1988). "Designing the segmental arch" (PDF). ebuild.com. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ Temple, Robert. The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention. New York: Touchstone, 1986.
- ISBN 0-521-39326-4
- ^ Galliazzo 1995, pp. 92, 93 (fig. 39)
- ISBN 0-7277-3215-3, p. 49
- ISBN 0-521-29286-7. pp. 145–147.
- ISBN 978-0-8135-3510-4
- ISBN 978-0-486-24444-0
- ^ Simpson, Frederick Moore (1913), A history of architectural development, Longmans, Green, and Co., p. 25
- ^ Durski, Brad F. (Winter 2010). "Nevada's Galena Creek Bridge" (PDF). Aspire. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-203-08775-6.
References
- Boyd, Thomas D. (1978), "The Arch and the Vault in Greek Architecture", S2CID 194040597
- Galliazzo, Vittorio (1995), I ponti romani, vol. 1, Treviso: Edizioni Canova, ISBN 88-85066-66-6
- Galliazzo, Vittorio (1994), I ponti romani. Catalogo generale, vol. 2, Treviso: Edizioni Canova, ISBN 88-85066-66-6
- O’Connor, Colin (1993), Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, p. 129, ISBN 0-521-39326-4
- Proske, Dirk (2009), Safety of historical stone arch bridges, Springer, p. 336, ISBN 978-3-540-77616-1