Arch bridges : proceedings of the First International Conference on Arch Bridges, held at Bolton, UK on 3-6 September 1995

672 Pages·1995·40.96 MB·English

by  C. Melbourne (ed.)

Arch bridges
Proceedings of the First International Conference on
Arch Bridges held at Bolton, UK on 3-6 September 1995
Edited by Professor C. Melbourne
Thomas Telford
This volume contains the papers presented at the First International Conference
on Arch Bridges, held at the Bolton Institute, UK, on 3-6 September 1995
Organising committee: Professor C. Melbourne and S. M. Pilkington
Technical committee: Dr C. Abdunur (France), Dr M. Begimgil (Turkey),
Dr T. E. Boothby (USA), Dr P. Das (UK), Professor A. Fontana (Italy),
S. W. Garrity (UK), Professor A. W. Hendry (UK), Professor B. Hobbs (UK),
A. Kennedy (UK), Professor C. Melbourne (UK), E. O'Connor (Eire),
J. Page (UK), Professor P. Roca (Spain), H. Tao (China),
Dr P. Walker (Australia)
Published by Thomas Telford Services Ltd, Thomas Telford House, 1 Heron Quay, London E14 4JD
First published 1995
Distributors for Thomas Telford books are
USA: American Society of Civil Engineers. Publications Sales Department, 345 East 47th Street, New
York, NY 10017-2398
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Australia: DA Books and Journals, 648 Whitehorse Road, Mitcham 3132, Victoria
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-7277-2048-1
© The Authors unless otherwise stated, 1995
All rights, including translation reserved. Except for fair copying, no part of this publication may be repro-
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photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher: Books, Publications
Division, Thomas Telford Services Ltd, Thomas Telford House, 1 Heron Quay, London E14 4JD.
This book is published on the understanding that the authors are solely responsible for the statements made
and opinions expressed in it and that its publication does not necessarily imply that such statements and/or
opinions are or reflect the views or opinions of the organizers or publishers.
To my wife Barbara and our children, Claire, Robin and Peter
Clive Melbourne
Preface
In the twentieth century bridge engineers have seen many changes. Loading regimes
have altered to reflect advances in transportation systems; materials available to the
engineer have developed with improved steels, concrete and composites, and our
understanding of structural behaviour and methods of analysis has improved. All these
have presented opportunities for innovation and have led to increasingly sophisticated
solutions to the basic problem of providing a bridge over an obstacle.
Since antiquity the use of arch bridges has offered a universally acceptable solution. A
president of the Royal Academy is reported to have said: "People always buy pictures
with arches in them; they like looking through an arch." In recent times, in the West,
relatively few arch bridges have been built using 'traditional' materials. Reinforced
concrete and steel arch bridges have been used but usually in more spectacular locations.
The last ten to fifteen years have seen, in the UK, a growing realisation that masonry
arch bridges (or their modern equivalent) offer longevity, cost effectiveness and an
environmentally acceptable solution.
The papers in this volume are those presented at the First International Arch Bridge
Conference held at Bolton in September 1995. They record current knowledge about
all aspects of arch bridge construction, design, analysis, repair and maintenance and
bring together the experiences of bridge owners, designers, contractors and academics
from more than ten countries.
I wish to offer my sincere thanks to all who helped to make the Conference a success,
in particular my conference secretary, Mrs Sheila Pilkington.
Professor Clive Melbourne
Contents
General
The aesthetics of load-bearing masonry arch bridges.
J. WALLSGROVE 3
An overview of masonry arch bridges in the USA.
T.E. BOOTHBY and C. K. ROISE 11
The assessment of masonry arch bridges. P.C. DAS 21
Loaded ribs or complex systems — a personal view of our ability to
model arch bridge behaviour. W.J. HARVEY 29
The management of a new county's bridge stock — Humberside
twenty years on. B. TINGLE and M. HEELBECK 37
Metal arches
Chippingham Street footbridge/cycleway, Sheffield, UK.
J.L.TAYLOR 49
Research studies into the effects of transient loading on the Tyne
Bridge, D.M. LILLEY 55
Victorian iron arch bridges. T. SWAILES and J.o. MARSH 65
Commercial Street Bridge, Sheffield, UK. M. WILSON and
H.JONES 75
Spanning the Grand Canyon — Navajo Bridge over the Colorado
River, J.A. CANNON and R.D. TURTON 87
Reinforced concrete arches
The evolution of Maillart's arch bridges — a prototype for the
coming years, E. SIVIERO and s. CASUCCI 99
Wisconsin Avenue Viaduct. S.P. WANDERS, MA. MADAY,
C. REDFIELD and J. STRASKY 109
Arch bridge at Dodan Nallah. M. TANDON 119
Analysis
A modern evaluation of the historical theories about masonry or
stone arches, A. SINOPOLI, M. CORRADI and F. FOCE 131
The response of masonry parapets to accidental vehicle impact.
M. GILBERT, B. HOBBS and T. MOLYNEAUX 143
Element stiffness matrix of space curved bars. M. ARICI,
N. MIRAGLIA and v. RUISI 155
Collapse load analysis of masonry arch bridges.
Y.C. LOO 167
Structural analysis of the Bozdogan (Valens) Aqueduct in Istanbul.
M. YORULMAZ and o.c. gELiK 175
The application of cylindrical shell theory to masonry arch bridges.
R.M. ROMAYA 181
The analysis of skew arches using shell theory. H.w. CHANDLER and
CM. CHANDLER 195
Effect of skew on the strength of masonry arch bridges.
B.S. CHOO and N.G. GONG 205
Thrust line solutions for masonry arches derived from finite
element models, E.A.W. MAUNDER 215
Analysis of multi-ring brickwork arch bridges. M. GILBERT and
C. MELBOURNE 225
The behaviour of open spandrel masonry arch bridges.
c. MELBOURNE and H. TAO 239
Computer analysis
Stone arch bridge analysis by the DDA method, M.Y. MA,
A.D. PAN, M. LUAN and J.M. GEBARA 247
Computer vision for masonry vault testing. R. DRAPER,
K. SOAR, N. TAYLOR and T. PRIDMORE 257
Semi-automatic approaches for masonry arch assessment.
A. KUMAR 267
Computer modelling of the construction and load testing of a
masonry arch bridge. P. MANN and M. GUNN 277
Experimental/load tests
Load tests to collapse on masonry arch bridges. J. PAGE 289
Load tests for assessment of in-service arch bridges. J. PAGE 299
The behaviour of skewed brickwork arch bridges.
C. MELBOURNE and J. A. HODGSON 309
Behaviour of restrained 1.25m span model masonry arch bridge.
M. BEGIMGIL 321
Direct assessment and monitoring of stresses and mechanical
properties in masonry arch bridges, c. ABDUNUR 327
Installation of data acquisition equipment in Kimbolton Butts
Bridge, D.J. PRENTICE and D.A. PONNIAH 337
Assessment of masonry arch bridges by service load testing.
T.E. BOOTHBY, D. DOMALIK and V. DALAL 345
The influence of mortar properties on the system behaviour of
masonry arch bridges. K. S0YLAND, B. T. ROSSON and
T. E. BOOTHBY 355
Considerations in the small-scale modelling of masonry arch
bridges, M.C.R. DAVIES, T.G. HUGHES and P.R. TAUNTON 365
Changes in the dynamic characteristics of a masonry arch bridge
subjected to monotonic loading to failure. G. BROWN,
A.J. PRETLOVE, J.C.A. ELLICK, V. HOGG and B.S. CHOO 375
Flat arches
Analysis and design of flat arch bridges, M.E. RAISS and
M.F.L. HUI 387
The load test to collapse a 5m span brickwork flat arch barrel.
C. MELBOURNE, M. BEGIMGIL and L. WEEKES 397
Flat arch action. P. JACKSON 407
Snap-through buckling analysis of shallow masonry arches.
X.J. WANG and W.J. HARVEY 417
Finite element analysis of flat arches, D.M. PENG, C.A. FAIRFIELD and
A. SIBBALD 427
Assessment
Performance criteria in arch bridge assessment, D. HALDEN 439
Load carrying capacity of masonry arch bridges. P. FACCIO,
P. FORABOSCHI and E. SIVIERO 449
Non-destructive testing for arch bridge assessment.
A. BENSALEM, C.A. FAIRFIELD and A. SIBBALD 459
Assessment of spandrel walls, D.R. THOMPSON 469
The assessment of a multi-span masonry arch bridge.
T.G. HUGHES 479
The behaviour of multi-span masonry arch bridges.
C. MELBOURNE, M. GILBERT and M. WAGSTAFF 489
Repair and maintenance
Repair and strengthening of masonry arch bridges. S.K. SUMON and
N. RICKETTS 501
The load test to collapse of a 5m span brickwork arch bridge with
tied spandrel walls, c. MELBOURNE, M. BEGIMGIL and
M. GILBERT 509
Research project into the upgrading of un-reinforced masonry
parapets. w.G. MIDDLETON 519
Determination of the serviceability limit state for masonry arch
bridges. B.s. CHOO and v. HOGG 529
Remote monitoring and analysis of a multi-arch masonry bridge
with wide cracks. G. FAUCHOUX 537
Analysis of three medieval Spanish masonry bridges, p. ROCA and
c. MOLINS 547
Retro-reinforcement — a proposed repair system for masonry arch
bridges, s.w. GARRITY 557
Strengthening and repair of listed masonry arch bridges, w. DAY 567
Relative strength of repaired arch bridges. B.s. CHOO,
C.H. PEASTON and N.G. GONG 579
Widening and restoration of large masonry viaducts (including
Newton Cap Viaduct). J.s. SHELLEY 589
Renovation of masonry bridges, P.J. WELCH 601
Fernhill Heath Bridge, P.J. WADE 611
New masonry/mass concrete arches
Lightweight stone arch bridges in Hunan, China.
G. HU, L. XU, G. SHANG, S. CHENG, B. WANG and W. CHOU 627
The INC A system for the construction of new arch bridges.
R.S. ROCKE and R.J. BRIDLE 635
The Nucon Arch — plain precast concrete arch systems.
A. WAKEMAN 645
Prestressed masonry arches — a new approach.
D.J. EASTERBROOK, G. SHAW, C. SOUTHCOMBE and G. GILL 653
Development of a precast arch system, R.J.H. SMITH 663
Mass concrete arches, c. MELBOURNE and L. WEEKES 673
Contractor Design and Design Build Finance and Operate — the
increasing use of manufactured arches, D.P. McKiTTRiCK and G.J. HALL 683
Index of authors 692
General
THE AESTHETICS OF LOADBEARING MASONRY ARCH BRIDGES
JON WALLSGROVE
Principal Architect/Planner, Highways Agency, UK
1 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY
1.1 There have been about 200 books and articles on bridge aesthetics published since the
early 19th century, according to a bibliography produced by Cardiff University, but the
surprising thing is that almost none of them concern themselves with the appearance of
masonry bridges. The latest technology always seems to be of interest - suspension bridges,
steel bridges, concrete bridges, railway bridges, motorway bridges - this is hardly surprising,
but the virtual absence of written information on the aesthetics of masonry arches is
surprising. Perhaps they were just too ordinary at the time, or perhaps the appearance could
not be separated from the structure. The rules of thumb by which they were built covered
both structural stability and appearance.
1.2 The fundamental form of masonry bridges, both stone and brick, was surprisingly
constant throughout the civilised world from Roman times through Byzantium and the Islamic
world and into medieval europe, where the church kept the secrets of masonry bridges alive.
In fact church building and bridge building were closely connected, with the same masons
building both and travelling round Europe with the skills and secrets. St Benezet who built
the bridge at Avignon is well known, and the Pope was head of the bridge building faculty
of monks, and is thus still known as the Pontifex Maximus (Pontif) or chief bridge builder.
It is interesting to note that in areas of strong nonconformist religion there were few masonry
arches in the 18th century and early 19th century. The USA is surprisingly short of early
masonry arches. This perhaps also accounts for the number of dramatic bridges could
"Devil's Bridge", in that anything not buildable by the local church masons must have been
built by the devil rather than the Romans, medieval monks or Moorish engineers.
1.3 The Age of Enlightenment and the scientific approach to bridge design started with
the Italian Renaissance of the 15th century, which gave us the chain arch bridge and the
segmental arch. But it became established in France in the 18th century with Hubert
Gautier's Traite des Ponts published in 1716 and the formation of the Ecole des Ponts et
Chaussees in 1747, which gave us balanced thrust arches.
1.4 This also led later to the separation of appearance from constructional necessity. In
the 19th and 20th centuries the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussees advocated that the principles
of masonry arch appearance should apply even if the structure underneath was not masonry.
This Beaux Arts view, which was so in conflict with Modernism, probably hastened the
separation of engineers from training in aesthetics, and promoted the idea of bridges being
solely about pure engineering, and the false argument that "the appearance will look after
itself if the structure is functional". Hitler's fondness for masonry arches on early autobahns
probably aided their rejection postwar.
Arch bridges. Thomas Telford, London, 1995