Structural analysis of old stone arch bridges

1989 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 789-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. K. McNeely ◽  
G. C. Archer ◽  
K. N. Smith

The use of stone arches for bridge construction has generally ceased, but since these structures still exist in modern road systems, their structural integrity is of current concern. This paper presents an analysis technique suited for the thick jointed heritage stone arch bridges found in Canada. The effect of increased mortar joint size on structural response is investigated. The response of a section to eccentric thrust is postulated and the effective section properties are derived. Structural behaviour proceeds from a fixed arch to a two-hinge, a three-hinge, and finally a five-hinge failure mode for a symmetrical arch with midspan loading. A typical load–deflection curve is developed, suitably adjusted for secondary effects due to changes in geometry and material nonlinearity. Stone arch bridges in Canada were constructed with thick mortar joints, which exhibit significant deterioration of stiffness with load eccentricity and, therefore, significant secondary effects; as thickness increases, ultimate strength decreases. A suitable limit states prediction for the load capacity of old stone arches is proposed. Key words: arch, bridge, heritage, limit states, stone, structural analysis.

Author(s):  
Paolo Monti ◽  
Caterina Molinari ◽  
Massimiliano Bocciarelli ◽  
Alberto Corigliano ◽  
Stefano Mariani

Several trunklines cross either areas which in the recent past were war theatre or dumping areas used for burying weapons after the last war. The presence of unexploded mines, bombs or torpedoes on the seabed constitutes a potential hazard for the structural integrity of submarine pipelines. Before laying, it is therefore necessary to remove the unexploded charges within a corridor including the route. Risk still remains during the pipeline life, since annual surveys can show evidences of unexploded mines or torpedoes dragged by fishing gears till the protruding pipeline. Consequently, the structural integrity assessment of a submarine pipeline subjected to underwater explosions is of the utmost importance. The aforementioned assessment involves several aspects: the characterization of shock wave and gas bubble pulsation in water; the definition of loading conditions on the pipeline; the characterisation of the strain-rate properties of the steel; the local and global structural analysis; the pipe verification criteria. Aim of this study is to describe how the aforementioned aspects can be managed. Analytical and numerical approaches concerning the assessment of the structural response of the pipeline are presented, and criteria for Serviceability and Accidental Limit States are proposed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-44
Author(s):  
El Mehdi Echebba ◽  
Hasnae Boubel ◽  
Oumnia Elmrabet ◽  
Mohamed Rougui

Abstract In this paper, an evaluation was tried for the impact of structural design on structural response. Several situations are foreseen as the possibilities of changing the distribution of the structural elements (sails, columns, etc.), the width of the structure and the number of floors indicates the adapted type of bracing for a given structure by referring only to its Geometric dimensions. This was done by studying the effect of the technical design of the building on the natural frequency of the structure with the study of the influence of the distribution of the structural elements on the seismic response of the building, taking into account of the requirements of the Moroccan earthquake regulations 2000/2011 and using the ANSYS APDL and Robot Structural Analysis software.


1978 ◽  
Vol 192 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-92
Author(s):  
B. B. Hundy ◽  
S. Broadstock

The use of aluminium alloy instead of steel for the structural components of a 32 ton articulated lorry has been examined. The probable manufacturing difficulties have been assessed and shown to be minimal. The savings in weight possible by using aluminium have been calculated from a structural analysis of the cab, tractor chassis and trailer and from this and an assessment of the manufacturing processes the extra cost of manufacturing in aluminium has been determined. A typical case study shows that this extra cost can be easily recovered by utilising the increased load capacity of the vehicle during the first few years of its life.


1970 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 679-700
Author(s):  
J. WOLFE

The oral apparatus of Tetrahymena pyriformis was isolated using a non-ionic detergent to disrupt the cell membrane. The mouth consists largely of basal bodies and microfilaments. Each basal body is attached to the mouth by a basal plate which is integrated into the meshwork of microfilaments that confers upon the oral apparatus its structural integrity. Each basal body is composed of 9 triplet microtubules. Two of the 3 tubules, subfibres ‘A’ and ‘B’ are composed of filamentous rows of globules with a spacing of 4.5nm. The third tubule, subfibre ‘C’, is only one-third the length of the basal body.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan José Jorquera-Lucerga ◽  
Juan Manuel GARCÍA-GUERRERO

<p>In tied-arch bridges, the way the arch and the deck are connected may become crucial. The deck is usually suspended from hangers made out of steel pinned cables capable of resisting axial forces only. However, a proper structural response, (both in-plane and out-of-plane) may be ensured by fixing and stiffening the hangers in order to resist, additionally, shear forces and bending moments. This paper studies the effect of different pinned and stiffened hanger arrangements on the structural behavior of the tied-arch footbridges, with the intention of providing designers with useful tools at the early steps of design. As a major conclusion, regarding the in-plane behavior, hangers composed of cables (either with vertical, Nielsen-Löhse or network arrangements) are recommended due to its low cost and ease of erection. Alternatively, longitudinally stiffened hangers, fixed at both ends, can be used. Regarding the out-of-plane behavior, and in addition to three-dimensional arrangements of cables, of limited effectiveness, transversally stiffened hangers fixed at both ends are the most efficient arrangement. A configuration almost as efficient can be achieved by locating a hinge at the end corresponding to the most flexible structural element (normally the arch). Its efficiency is further improved if the cross-section tapers from the fixed end to the pinned end.</p>


Author(s):  
Torgeir Moan

Based on relevant accident experiences with oil and gas platforms, a brief overview of structural integrity management of offshore structures is given; including an account of adequate design criteria, inspection, repair and maintenance as well as quality assurance and control of the engineering processes. The focus is on developing research based design standards for Accidental Collapse Limit States to ensure robustness or damage tolerance in view damage caused by accidental loads due to operational errors and to some extent abnormal structural damage due to fabrication errors. Moreover, it is suggested to provide robustness in cases where the structural performance is sensitive to uncertain parameters. The use of risk assessment to aid decisions in lieu of uncertainties affecting the performance of novel and existing offshore structures, is briefly addressed.


1988 ◽  
Vol 1 (21) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
C. David Anglin ◽  
William F. Baird ◽  
Etienne P.D. Mansard ◽  
R. Douglas Scott ◽  
David J. Turcke

There is a general lack of knowledge regarding the nature and magnitude of loads acting on armour units used for the protection of rubblemound coastal structures. Thus, a comprehensive design procedure incorporating both the hydraulic stability and the structural integrity of the armour units does not exist. This paper presents the results of a detailed parametric study of the structural response of armour units to wave-induced loading in a physical breakwater model. The effect of the following design parameters is investigated: breakwater slope, armour unit location, wave period and wave height. This research has made a number of significant contributions towards the development of a comprehensive design procedure for concrete armour units. It has identified a linear relationship between the wave-induced stress in the armour units and the incident wave height. In addition, it has shown that the conditional probability of waveinduced stress given wave height can be estimated by a log-normal distribution. Finally, a preliminary design chart has been developed which incorporates both the structural integrity and the hydraulic stability of the armour units.


Author(s):  
Antoine Rouhan ◽  
Franck Schoefs

The study of the impact of through cracks on structural integrity of jacket platforms still a challenge. The detection of such cracks is of great importance and a miss, or a spurious indication can lead to maintenance costs overrun. In the context of risk-based inspection and monitoring of such structures, a global methodology is proposed. The detection of large cracks is first addressed. A probabilistic model is proposed, taking into account the in situ inspections performances and the probability of crack presence. This is achieved by the use of the detection theory. Second, a finite element that is able to represent the structural behaviour of through cracked tubular nodes is proposed and a global structural integrity measure is suggested. Finally, inspection results are introduced in order to compute the expected platform structural integrity. It is illustrated by considering FMD inspections results of a tripod structure. Effects of false alarms can then be underlined.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (13) ◽  
pp. 1617-1637
Author(s):  
Mohammad Naghavi Zadeh ◽  
Iman Dayyani ◽  
Mehdi Yasaee

A novel cellular mechanical metamaterial called Fish Cells that exhibits zero Poisson’s ratio in both orthogonal in-plane directions is proposed. Homogenization study on the Fish Cells tessellation is conducted and substantially zero Poisson’s ratio behavior in a homogenized tessellation is shown by numerical analysis. Experimental investigations are performed to validate the zero Poisson’s ratio feature of the metamaterial and obtain force–displacement response of the metamaterial in elastic and plastic zone. A detailed discussion about the effect of the numerical model approach and joints on the structural response of the metamaterial is presented. Morphing skin is a potential application for Fish Cells metamaterial because of the integration benefits of zero Poisson’s ratio design. The structural integrity of the Fish Cells is investigated by studying the stiffness augmentation under tension and in presence of constraints on transverse edges. Finally, geometrical enhancements for improved integrity of the Fish Cells are presented that result in substantially zero stiffness augmentation required for morphing skins.


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