ABSTRACT
Arch bridges still form a large part of the bridge stock in German-speaking countries and in Europe. In general, they have a high loadbearing capacity for vertical loads. There is a long tradition in building bridges with bricks and stones. The first stone vaults were probably built about 5,000 years ago in Egypt or Mesopotamia. and nearly at the same time the first genuine vaults in China were built. Until now, in the German-speaking regions and throughout Europe, bridges out of stone or brick material still represent a significant proportion of the bridge infrastructure. About 200.000 to 500.000 arch- or vaulted bridges are estimated. Stone arch bridges have been built and used throughout history because on the one hand they are very durable and require relative little maintenance and on the other hand they have an excellent loadbearing capacity for dead and live loads. This good loadbearing capacity is usually related to vertical loads, the standard load scenario. It is rather unclear to what extent the excellent loadbearing capacity of these bridges also extends to potential extraordinary horizontal load impacts. The loadbearing capacity of arch bridges, exposed to vertical loads, has been investigated in numerous experiments and research projects. Likewise, tests and models are available for various dynamic load impact situations. Various authors have investigated the horizontal behavior in longitudinal direction of arches and arch bridges exposed to earthquakes, for example using pushover curves. At the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna a research project was carried out to investigate the loadbearing capacity of an arch exposed to horizontal transverse forces resulting from landslides. Results were presented in Krawtschuk 2014.
Furthermore, the study included, miniaturised landslide impact tests carried out at the Institute of Mountain Risks at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in order to ascertain the power of the impacting force. These tests, which include a detailed discussion of the effects of scale, have been presented in Scheidl et al. 2013. FE model of the Rohrbach Bridge at Mattersburg (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref35_1">Krawtschuk 2014</xref>). https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315207681/cd556cd4-4dcf-4efe-8e29-56fc67b8bfbd/content/fig35_1.tif"/>
In addition to the horizontal load tests it was of interest, to determine the remaining vertical load capacity and to determine possible degradation effects.
Only a limited number of research investigations to examine the capacity of bridges to time variable vertical loading associated with horizontal impact have been carried out. In this paper we describe static and dynamic tests for the evaluation of the loadbearing capacity of a masonry arch after it was exposed to horizontal loads in transverse direction. Furthermore, a specific testing procedure after horizontal loading has been performed in order to determine the remaining vertical loadbearing capacity for a number of predefined damage processes (demolishing process).
