Effect of skew on the strength of masonry arch bridges

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of skew on the load carrying capacity of masonry arch bridges using a shell finite element computer program developed in the University of Nottingham for the assessment of masonry arch bridges. The influence of various changes in arch configuration due to changes in skew angle as well as the effects of various loading patterns were considered. The parametric studies which were conducted showed that load carrying capacity of skew arch bridges may be conservatively estimated using the square span instead of the skew span. (A)