Arch bridge analysis

[shakildor]

Hello everybody,
can anyone tell me about where to look for structural analysis of two hinged arch in deatil?
Shakil

 

[JStephen]

You're posting in the FEA forum, so FEA would be one logical approach. You might check in Structural Engineering Handbook or Formulas For Stress and Strain. Don't expect to find a design "in detail" in either case. Arch bridges are not real common, so I expect there would be a lot of variations in the details.

 

[Qshake]

Typically an arch bridge would have been designed some time ago. And it is possible that your working on a rating or condition analysis of some sort. If that is true then I would direct you to a reference from Hool and Kinne on Arch bridges. You'll likely to find this at the university library or at a book store that deals with out of print publications.

Other contemporary authors would include Xanthakos' Theory of Bridge Design but even there the treatment is short as this is not a contemporary bridge.

There are likely some other texts but you'll have to go to the bridge engineering forum or the structural engineering other topics forum to find them.

Regards,
Qshake

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[shakildor]

Dear Qshake and J Sthepen,
Thanks for response....actually in the hilly countries liek Nepal, from where I am, arch bridge is still a better option where we have to bridge deep gorges and river valleys.

Actually I am looking for the theoritical aspect of structural analysis of a two hinged arch structure....

Shakil

 

[Qshake]

So what you are thinking of perhaps is the steel, open spandrel arch bridge or even a concrete open spandrel arch.

You can find the theory of two hinged arches in just about any civil engineering structural analysis textbook. For special application you'll want to check out the Structural Steel Designers Handbook for more information on arch theory and open spandrel bridges.

The Structural Engineer's Handbook (Gaylord and Gaylord) is also a nice reference especially with concrete open spandrel arches.

Beyond that you're on your own..Of course a nice general finite element program would be nice. Generally speaking it should be able to model beam elements. More specifically it should be able to model curved beam elements and plates (in the case of concrete open spandrels or for modeling the bridge deck).

Good Luck.

Regards,
Qshake

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