Segmental arches are arches with an arc less than a 180-degree Roman arch. They seem to have been popular primarily in the 1700s and 1800s, although they were occasionally built in medieval times — rarely even by the Romans. What is a Segmental Arch Bridge? The term "segmental arch" is rather a loose; technically anything less than a 180-degree segment of a circle is a segmental arch. However, historically many bridges have been built that while technically segmental arches are so … [Read more...] about Segmental Arches
Roman arch
On Roman Arches
The Roman arch, consisting of one half of a circle, is the typical rounded arch often seen with stone bridges. The Roman arch need not have a thick abutment to resist a horizontal thrust; rather, they start (“spring”) on a flat, horizontal plane. This makes them very easy to build, which is always an advantage in construction. However, whereas a flat arch can be made with almost any rise-over-run ratio, a Roman arch will always have a rise equal to one half of the span. This can rapidly lead … [Read more...] about On Roman Arches