Influence of railway loading on the performance of soil-filled masonry arch bridges

Levingshan Augusthus-Nelson,Colin C Smith,Matthew Gilbert,Gareth M Swift,Clive Melbourne

doi:10.1680/jbren.17.00027

Levingshan Augusthus-Nelson, Colin C Smith + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1680/jbren.17.00027

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Abstract

There is a large number of masonry arch bridges on the rail networks in Europe and other parts of the world. However, the mode of response of masonry arch structures subjected to railway loading is little understood. To address this, an experimental study involving large-scale physical models of backfilled masonry arch bridges subjected to railway loading conditions was conducted. The study explored the influence of the rail track–bed system on bridge behaviour and load-carrying capacity. The tests results indicated that the track–bed system fundamentally alters the mode of response of the bridge system and significantly increases load-carrying capacity. Using the same test facility, load tests were also used to explore and characterise the behaviour and performance of damaged arch bridges. The results obtained suggest that, although there is likely to be a reduction in overall capacity, even a significantly damaged arch bridge can still perform adequately under loading. This has important implications for bridge owners and assessment engineers.

Highlights

The transport infrastructure of the UK and a large number of other countries still relies heavily on masonry arch bridges (Hughes and Blackler, 1997)
It is perhaps not surprising that many bridges are exhibiting signs of distress, either due to changing environmental conditions or significant changes in loading conditions (Orbán and Gutermann, 2009). These bridge structures are perceived to be long lived and resilient, there are still aspects of their fundamental behaviour that are poorly understood and this understanding needs to be significantly improved if they are to continue to form an integral part of our infrastructure (Brencich and De Francesco, 2004; Molins and Roca, 1998)
2.6 Arch resetting procedure One of the aims of the study was to investigate the residual capacity of a damaged masonry arch bridge

Summary

Introduction

The transport infrastructure of the UK and a large number of other countries still relies heavily on masonry arch bridges (Hughes and Blackler, 1997). It is perhaps not surprising that many bridges are exhibiting signs of distress, either due to changing environmental conditions or significant changes in loading conditions (Orbán and Gutermann, 2009). These bridge structures are perceived to be long lived and resilient, there are still aspects of their fundamental behaviour that are poorly understood and this understanding needs to be significantly improved if they are to continue to form an integral part of our infrastructure (Brencich and De Francesco, 2004; Molins and Roca, 1998). According to Orbán (2007) there are approximately 200 000 masonry arch structures across Europe and about 60% of these carry railway traffic. There has been very little research on the influence of railway loading on masonry arch behaviour, including the relationship between working loads and long-term load-carrying capacity

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Conclusion