THE MANAGEMENT OF MASONRY ARCH BRIDGES

It is a primary obligation for all infrastructure operators to maintain their networks in a safe condition. As far as the structures on the networks such as bridges are concerned, clearly those assessed to be substandard or unsafe at any point in time require to be dealt with as soon as possible. However, the assessment of the structural adequacy of an exiting structure is always a very difficult task. For masonry arch bridges, this is particularly difficult as some of the important parameters, such as lateral resistance from the surrounding fill, are fundamentally imprecise. In view of this, the paper recommends that a flexible approach is adopted when taking management decisions for such bridges. Masonry arch bridges form a major part of the national bridge stock. The majority of these are on the railway and local road networks. From the early 1980's, the Department of Transport and others have sponsored and carried out substantial research activities, including full-scale collapse tests and development of analytical methods, to study the behaviour of masonry arch bridges. It is now beginning to emerge that the failure criteria for such bridges have to be considered at two levels - ultimate strength and serviceability condition. The paper provides an overview examination, in the light of earlier and recent research work, of the implications of the assessment methods in respect of the ultimate capacity of masonry arch bridges and the effects of repeated loading. The paper then recommends a rational yet flexible management procedure; it also suggests future research needs for such bridges, including NDT and other monitoring methods. For the covering abstract see ITRD E123713.

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  • Corporate Authors:

    ENGINEERING TECHNICS PRESS

    46 CLUNY GARDENS
    EDINBURGH,   United Kingdom  EH10 6BN
  • Authors:
    • DAS, C P
  • Publication Date: 2001

Language

  • English

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00985508
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
  • ISBN: 0-947644-45-8
  • Files: ITRD
  • Created Date: Feb 4 2005 12:00AM