Title:
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Behaviour and analysis of a novel skew flexible concrete arch bridge
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Masonry arch bridge building declined considerably in· the twentieth century due to the development of faster
methods of construction, such as reinforced concrete. However, in recent years, the repair and maintenance
of bridge structures has become a major concern. The lower maintenance costs and longer 'design life of arch
bridges over alternative bridge designs were key reasons in the selection of several arch bridges built towards
the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty first century. The FlexiArch design allows a
masonry arch system to be cost competitive with other forms of bridge systems while offering superior
durability and lower long term maintenance. The aim of this research was to extend the knowledge of the
FlexiArch bridge system into the behaviour of FlexiArch bridge systems with skew and to address the
shortfalls found in the literature review. The literature review demonstrated that skew arches are complex 3D
structures, and that the assumptions used in current 2D analysis methods to define the effects in the
transverse direction often incorrectly predict the behaviour of the skew arch. This research investigated the
behaviour of the skew FlexiArch bridge system through a detailed experimental test programme. The
experimental test programme involved the design, construction and testing of five third scale skew FlexiArch
bridge systems with varying angles of skew. As the skew angle was increased, and the square span and
square width were kept constant, the peak load decreased. The skew arch systems transferred the load along
the shortest load path; namely the square span direction where possible, or the shortest distance in the highly
skewed arch systems. The experimental test data was compared against an analytical model and a 3D
NLFEA model, which were found to accurately predict the behaviour of the skew arch.
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