ARCHES, LINTELS & BALCONY

ARCHES
An arch is a structure constructed of wedge shaped units (brick or stone), jointed together
with mortar and spanning an opening to support the weight of the wall above it with other
super imposed loads.

TERMS USED:

1. Intrados: This is the inner curve of an arch.

2. Soffit: It is the inner surface of an arch.
3. Extrados: This is the outer curve of an arch.
4. Voussoirs: The wedge shaped units of masonry which constitute an arch.
5. Crown: The highest part of Extrados.
6. Key: The wedge shaped unit fixed at the crown of the arch.
7. Spandril: The curved triangular space formed between extrados and horizontal line through
the crown.
8. Skew back: The inclined surface on the abutment from which the arch springs.
9. Springing Points: These are the points from which the arch springs.
10. Springing Line: It is an imaginary line joining the springing points of either end.
11. Springer: It is the first voussoir at springing level or immediately adjacent to the skewback.
12. Abutment: This is the end support of an arch.
13. Pier: This is an intermediate support between 2 arches or an arcade.
14. Arcade: It is a row of arches in continuation.
15. Haunch: The lower half of the arch between the crown and skewback.
16. Ring: The circular course forming an arch.
17. Center or Striking point: The geometrical center from which the extrados, arch rings and
intrados are described.
18. Span: It is the clear horizontal distance between the supports.
19. Rise: It is the clear vertical distance between highest point on intrados to the springing line.
20. Depth or Height: Perpendicular distance between intrados and extrados.
21. Thickness: It is the breadth of the soffit or the horizontal distance measured perpendicular
to the front and back faces of an arch.

CLASSIFICATION OF ARCHES

BASED ON SHAPE:
1. Flat Arch: A flat arch has usually the angle formed by skewbacks as 60º with horizontal
thus forming an equilateral triangle with intrados as the base.

The intrados is flat but given a slight rise of about 10-15mm per meter width to
accommodate small settlements. The extrados is horizontal and flat. They are used for
light loads, and for spans up to 1.5m.
2. Segmental Arch: This is the common type of arch used in buildings.

The center of arch lies below the springing line. The thrust transferred to the abutment
is in inclined direction.

3. Semi-circular Arch: This is a modification of the segmental arch in which the center lies
on the springing line. The shape of the arch curve is a semi-circle.

The thrust transmitted to the abutments is perfectly in vertical direction since the
skewback is horizontal.

4. Horse-Shoe Arch: The arch has a shape of an horse shoe, incorporating more than a
semi-circle.
5. Pointed Arch: It consists of two arches of a circle meeting at the apex. The triangle
formed in the inner portion may be equilateral or isosceles. They are known as Gothic
arch and lancet arch respectively.

6. Relieving Arch: The arch is constructed either on a flat arch or a wooden support or
lintel to provide greater strength. This type of arch enables replacement of decayed
lintel without disturbing the stability of the structure.
7. Stilted Arch: It consists of a semi-circular arch with 2 vertical portions at the springing.
The center of arch lies on the horizontal line through the tops of vertical portions.

BASED ON NUMBER OF CENTERS

1. One Centered Arch: Segmental arches, semicircular arches, flat arches etc all come
under this category. Sometimes a perfectly circular arch, known as bull’s eye arch is
provided for circular windows.

2. Two-Centered Arch: Pointed arches come under this category

3. Three-Centered Arch: Elliptical Arches come under this category.

4. Four-Centered Arch: It has 4 centers. Tudor arch is a good example.

5. Five-Centered Arch: These type of arches having 5 centers give a good semi-elliptical
shape.
 BASED ON MATERIAL AND WORKMANSHIP
1. Stone Arches: Depending upon workmanship, stone arches are of two types
(i)RUBBLE ARCHESs: These arches are comparatively weak and used for inferior
work. These are made of rubble stones which are hammer dressed, roughly to
shape and glued together using cement as the mortar. They are used for spans of
1m. They are also used as relieving arches over wooden lintels.

(ii)ASHLAR ARCHES: In this the stones are cut to proper shape of the voussoirs
and are fully dressed, set in lime or cement mortar.
This method can be used also to make flat arches, in which the joints are
either joggled or rebated as shown.

2. Brick Arches: Brick arches can be classified as follows depending upon

workmanship and the quality of bricks used
(i)ROUGH BRICK ARCHES: This type of arch is constructed with ordinary bricks
without cutting them to the shape of voussoirs. To provide the wedge shape to the
arch the joints are made wedge shaped. Due to this the beauty of the arch is spoiled,
so these are not used when the brick work is exposed.
(ii) AXED BRICK ARCHES: In this the bricks are cut wedge shaped with the help of
brick axe. Due to this the joint thickness is uniform along the radial line. However
appearance is not very pleasant as bricks cut to wedge shape are not properly
dressed.

(iii) GUAGED BRICK ARCHES: In this the bricks are prepared to exact size and shape
of voussoir by cutting it by means of wire saw. The surface of the bricks is finely
dressed with a file. Only soft bricks called rubber bricks are used. The joints formed
are fine, think and truly radial. Lime Putty is used as the mortar.
 3. Concrete Arches: Concrete Arches of two types
(i)PRECAST CONCRETE BLOCK ARCHES: Such arches are made from precast
concrete blocks, each block being cast in the mould to exact shape and size of the
voussoirs. Joints are made of cement mortar and are thin. However casting the
blocks is costly and hence it becomes economical only when number of arches is
large.

(ii) MONOLITHIC CONCRETE ARCHES: These arches are constructed from cast-in-
situ concrete, either plain or reinforced as per requirement. These are ssuitable
for larger span. Form work is used for casting the arch, and is removed only when
concrete has sufficiently hardened and gained strength. Curing is done for 2 to 4
weeks.

STABILITY OF AN ARCH
An arch transmits the super-imposed loads to the side of the walls through friction between
the surfaces of voussoirs and the cohesion of mortar. Every element of the arch remains in
compression. An arch may therefore fail in the following ways:
• Crushing of the masonary: Crushing will occur when compressive stresses in the arch
exceed the compressive strength of the brick masonry. If compressive stresses are too
large, the arch must be redesigned with a shorter span or a greater arch depth.
• Sliding of voussoir: Sliding of the voussoirs will happen depending on the angle of
skewback (measured from horizontal) and the vertical load carried by the arch. This
wont happen if the courses of stone are laid perfectly parallel to the abutments, which
in a regular arch causes them to lie perpendicular to its faces. It can also be prevented
by providing voussoirs of variable heights i.e less height near crown and more near the
abutments
• Uneven Settlement of abutment/pier: The uneven settlement of the abutment may
cause secondary stresses in the arch. Hence the abutment, which has to ultimately bear
all the loads transferred to it through the arch, should be strong enough. Also the arch
should be symmetrical so that unequal settlements of the two abutments is minimized
• Rotation of some joint about an edge: Rotation occurs when tension develops in the
arch. Tension can be reduced by increasing the depth or rise of the arch. It can also be
prevented by keeping the line of resistance is kept between the extrados and the
intrados. Also the line of thrust should be made to cross the joint away from the edge to
prevent the formation of hinges.