AUGUSTHUS-NELSON, LEVINGSHAN1; SWIFT, GARETH2

1) Dr, University of Salford, School of Computing, Science and Engineering, l.augusthusnelson@salford.ac.uk

2) Dr, University of Salford, School of Computing, Science and Engineering, g.m.swift@salford.ac.uk

In order to assess the stability of damaged arch structures, the residual capacity of damaged arch bridges needs to be established. This paper reports on two full-scale masonry arches, back-filled with crushed limestone, that were tested up to failure under a monotonic quasi-static load. One arch was subjected to one million passes of 50 kN cyclic load, representing a period of service loading, prior to monotonic loading to failure. Once the ultimate load carrying capacity of the two arches was established, both arches were reshaped and tested to establish the residual load carrying capacity, giving an indication of the residual strength of the damaged arches. A brief account of the test procedures is given and preliminary results are presented. It is observed that the peak load carrying capacity of the damaged arches was only around 20 percent less than the load capacity of the virgin arches. Furthermore, the residual strength of the same arch for both load tests approaches the same value. The significance of cyclic loading in terms of initial stiffness is also observed.

Keywords: Masonry arch, residual capacity, physical modelling, damaged arch