ARCH BRIDGES

GENERAL

an arch = a member shaped and supported in a way that intermediate transverse loads are transmitted to the supports primarily by axial compressive forces in the arch

spans up to 550m a classical arch consists of a curved rib springing from abutments an arch rib can be hingeless or have 1-3 hinges the spandrel can be either solid/filled or open (consisting of columns) if diagonals are added into an open spandrel it becomes a braced spandrel arch tied arch: in the simplest case, Langer girder for eased construction a curved arch can be simplified into a combination of straight members (extreme case: rigid frame)

continuously curved rib is ideal when the load is distributed continuously along its length

in reality for example in open spandrel, the ribs dead load is continuous, but the decks dead load and live load are applied to the arch as a series of point loads

an arch rib can be replaced by a truss, which gives us a cantilever arch alternatively a Langer girder can be hanged between cantilever trusses

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

an arch is intended to reduce bending moments in the superstructure economical in material compared with an equivalent straight, simply supported girder or truss, providing o o horizontal reaction to the arch rib if there are external reactions, arch is reasonable only if the site is suitable, for instance a valley

arches are considered to be esthetically very pleasing conventional curved rib may have high fabrication and erection costs

the structure of most arches encroaches on the space bounded by abutments and the deck o o restricts clearance for passage beneath the arch risk of collision wit the rib

MATERIAL

due to the compressive forces, concrete is favorable the rib can be prestressed by the coexisting thrust and may consist of lightly reinforced, precast segments

for longer spans, concretes dead weight becomes an issue a tied structure benefits from the tension capacity of steel deck this capacity may suggest the use of steel for the complete structure for structures that arent self tied the only advantage in using steel is steels dead weight compared to concretes, and this is an benefit mainly for the longer spans

DESIGN

the problem is how to obtain correct estimate of the initial behavior of an arch loaded with dead and live load

accurate estimates of buckling behavior avoiding excessive reductions in allowable stress the effects of initial imperfections in the arch shape may become significant the deck and the rib are moment resistant, moment distribution may occur in regions where the spandrel columns are short, for instance near the crown detailing, for example pin-ended columns

a free standing rib may buckle normal to its plane arch below the deck: bracing between the ribs arch rises above the deck: bracing interferes with traffic and must be interrupted, consequence: out-of-plane buckling

which is better: abutments or self-tied structure? depends which is more economical, what is the desired clearance, which is easier to erect etc.

ERECTION

use of falsework cantilevering from the abutments special procedures (e.g. suspension cables)

ANALYSIS line of pressure = the line whose tangent at any point is the line of action of the resultant of all forces acting to left (or right) of that point determined by the reactions and the loads an arch, whose centroidal axis coincides with the line of pressure drawn for the correct reactions, has zero design bending moment bending moment in the rib is related to the displacement of its centroid from the line of pressure the funicular polygon represents the ideal shape for the arch calculations can be made by using various methods (force method, deflection theory etc.)

The Lupu bridge, Shanghai http://en.structurae.de/files/photos/576/135_3571_img.jpg http://www.onlineweblibrary.com/news/chibridge2.jpg span: 550m arch rib in the form of steel box girder erected by barges and suspension cables experts and the local government disagreed on the design o expert opinion was that another design would cost less and produce the same result o the local government simply said that they already had the other kinds of bridges in Shanghai so they want an arch o also the government wanted to be able to claim a world record for being the longest arch bridge at the time

The Chenab bridge, India main span: 485m height from the river bed to formation: 359m the highest bridge deck above ground

http://img318.imageshack.us/img318/5521/chenabbridgetahersn1jy8.jpg