The Mechanics of Gothic Masonry Arches

The masonry pointed arch, largely used in Gothic architecture, is known to have lower horizontal thrust than the circular arch. While this fact is widely acknowledged, the structural behavior of the pointed arch has not been researched in sufficient detail. This article compares the circular and the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of architectural heritage Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 59 - 82
Main Authors Romano, Alessandra, Ochsendorf, John A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2010
Subjects
Arches
Architecture
collapse
Conservation
displacement
gothic architecture
limit analysis
Masonry
mechanics
Restoration
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Summary:The masonry pointed arch, largely used in Gothic architecture, is known to have lower horizontal thrust than the circular arch. While this fact is widely acknowledged, the structural behavior of the pointed arch has not been researched in sufficient detail. This article compares the circular and the pointed arch, evaluating the maximum and minimum thrusts, analyzing the collapse due to support displacement and assessing the maximum capacity for concentrated loads for a range of arch geometries. Graphical and numerical analyses were performed in order to predict failure as the supports are displaced. An extensive experimental campaign on model arches has been carried out and compared to the theoretical results. The article provides new conclusions about the behavior of the pointed arch and the conditions necessary for collapse to occur.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
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ISSN:1558-3058
1558-3066
DOI:10.1080/15583050902914660