Stability of Dry-Stacked Glass Masonry Arch Bridges

Abstract

The plan of the glass group of the TU Delft to realize a 14m span dry-stacked glass arched masonry bridge led to investigation of stability of glass arches in more general. Analytical and numerical analysis are done to compare results. Analytical analyses are based on methods developed for traditional stone arches. A graph is plotted in which the relationship between rise-to-span ratio and thickness-to-span ratio is derived and presented such that the relevant instability mechanism(s) can be determined. The required thickness of a stable arch can be found by applying a geometrical factor of safety. To investigate 2^nd order effects and stresses, finite element models are presented. The models verify the analytical solutions and are used to investigate the influence of axial stiffness and nonlinear effects on stability.