Stone Arch Bridges

Tag: Forces

  • Damage to Pudden Bridge

    Patching Damaged Masonry Part 1: The Concepts

    Patching damaged sections of masonry is possible without dismantling large sections of the structure. The key is understanding how the forces in the structure interact to allow a damaged structure to stand.

  • Andes Bridge

    The Forces of a Low-Rise Arch

    Low-rise arches present unique stability problems related to the high horizontal thrust coupled with a very low tolerance for shifting or settlement of the abutments. That said, low-rise arches can be built to be stable structures.

  • Thompson Bridge

    Which Arch Shape to Use?

    There are many arch shapes to choose from when building a stone arch bridge. In this post we look at some of the options, and examine the advantages and disadvantages of each shape.

  • DIY stone arch culvert

    What Determines Arch Thickness?

    The thickness of an arch is an important criteria to stone bridge design. It is helpful to understand how exactly the arch thickness is determined, and why the span-to-arch thickness ratio is a nonlinear relationship.

  • Damage to Clements Bridge

    Retaining Walls: Failure and Repairs

    The retaining walls (spandrels and approaches) in a stone arch bridge are prone to failure thanks to their relatively thin width. However, there are several things that can be done to repair and prevent these failures.

  • Pawhuska Stone Bridge

    Retaining Walls: A Weak Point of Stone Bridges

    Stone bridges use retaining walls as part of the structure to hold the roadway. These walls are a decided weakness, due to their relatively thin width. In this post we investigate these walls and related design possibilities.

  • Front Circle Crack

    The Key to Successful Repair: Understanding Failures

    When repairing a stone arch bridge it is important to understand what caused the original failure. Merely patching or rebuilding failed components does not necessarily take care of underlying problems, which can in turn cause further maintenance issues.

  • DIY Arch

    Efficiently Designed Stone Culverts

    Building stone arch culverts can be difficult to do without using a disproportionately large amount of material. In this post several ways the efficiency of design can be increased are discussed.

  • Augusta/Towanda Township Line Culvert

    Gothic Arches

    The Gothic arch, despite being commonly associated with cathedrals, can still be found in stone arch bridges. Surprisingly, it is one of the easiest arches to build.