An Arch is a structure constructed of wedge-shaped unit. It spans an opening to support the weight of the wall and other superimpose load. Terminologies: crown 1, Intrados:- This is an inner curve ARCH axis) EXTRADOS f eo cea DEPTH (d) of an arch. a ‘Ee 2. Extrados:- Outer Curve of an a arch Nh ae : : INTRA 3. So Inner Surface of an oe arch. A ~seRING Line SPRING LINE i MINOR ARCH) (MAJOR ARCH 4, Voussoirs:- These are wedge ( Ea J 5. Crown:- Highest part of : extrados 6. Spandril:-Curved triangular space form between extrados and horizontal line Wedge-shaped unit fixed at the crown of the arch. ack:- It is inclined or splayed surface on the abutment. 9. Springing points:- These are the points from which the curve of the arch spring. 10. Springing line:- It is an imaginary line joining the springing point of either ends. 11, Abutment:-End point of an Arch. 12. Springer:- It is the first voussoir at springing level. 13. Pier:-Intermediate support of an archade. 14. Arcade:- It is a row of arches in continuation. 15. Haunch:-Lower half of the arch between the crown and skew back. 16. Ring:-It is the circular course forming an arch. 17. Impost:- It is the projecting course at upper part of pier or abutment to stress the springing line. 18. Bed Joint:-Joints between the Voussoirs which radiate from centre. 19. Centre or Stri geometrical centre point from where the are forming the extrados, arc rings, intrados. 20. Span:-Clear horizontal distance between the supports. 01TYPES OF ARCHES Arches are classified according to: Sage NAneeeanaag ronnannnan 2. No of Centers one center twocenter __ three center four center five center 3. Material and Workmanship brick concrete concrete block unit arch gauged arch Purpose 2 2] Monolithic made fi h brick arch ashlar areh axed archDEFECT SEEN IN ARCHES 1, CRACKS. When masonry walls are weakened, the most common sign is cracking. Mortar often fails first, and the crack will follow the mortar joints. However, if the mortar is stronger than the masonry unit, the brick or stone may break. Even if the cracks in a masonry wall have been repaired, assume them to be weaknesses in the wall. Arches in masonry walls deserve extra attention since the failure of an arch on a lower floor may cause the collapse of a large part of the wall and roof. Reasons for cracks to happen in arches are: Use of soft or porous stone for exposure to loads or weather. Poor quality of bricks or concrete masonry units because of inferior raw ma- terials or manufacturing processes. Deterioration of mortar because of to moisture, weathering, or overloading. Unstable foundations or failing structural elements that support the masonry 2. ARCH FAILURE DUE TO MASONRY EXPANSION The most commoo cause of slippage of voussoirs aod crackiog of masoory above the arch is attributed to moisture aod thermal expaosioo of the masoory. Older masoory buildings very ofteo do oot have expaosioo joints or other meaos of addressing the moisture and thermal expaosioo of masoory. Ofteo times, crack patterns arouod arches aod other wall openiogs indicated unaccommodated expaosion of the masoory. Moisture and thermal expaosion of the masoory had the effect of lateral spreading of the arch abutments, which caused cracking aod voussoir slippage in the arch ring. Some window arches we observed had slipped to the point where they were being supported by the wooden frame of the window. ‘The voussoirs have displaced and are ‘able portion of the arch ring has slipped. Notice} carried by the window frame. the triangular area of masonry above the arch defined by the cracking pattem, 03slippage occurs more frequently when one or more of the following is the case; 1) the voussoirs or mortar joints between voussoirs are not tapered 2) the arch rise is toe small for the span and arch type 3) the skewback angle is greater than about 65 degrees. The potential for slippage failure reduces as the number of masonry units for a given span decreases, {.e. larger size voussoirs are used. This is because larger masonry units are typically cut at a greater taper, which increases the frictional resistance between the voussoirs. 3. INSUFFICIENT ABUTMENT STIFFNESS Insufficient abutment stiffness is the most likely cause of total collapse of the arch. This is because deflection of the abutments will oceur immediately afier the arch shoring is removed, without warning of distress. Surprisingly, most segmental arches we observed could withstand considerable deflection of the arch abutments without collapse. The rigidity of the column connection at the base and the width of brickwork were insufficient for the height of the columns and the thrust force from the segmenta I arch, and rotation has taken place at the springing. This form of construction is common for brick masonry porch columns built today. reper Rotation of tall porch columns has caused Rotation of the ornamental wood post has induced abutment spreading and arch cracking. slippage of voussoirs in the arch to the right. 4. FOUNDATION SETTLEMENT OF ABUIMENTS Differential -settlement of the foundations of abutments of an arch can cause failure of the arch systemo Documentation of building arch failures due to differential foundation settlement of abutments is not commono This is beea use spans are short, abutments typically rest on the same foundation, and proper foundation design precludes excessive differential settlement of abutmentso Besides poor foundation design and construction, likely causes of differential settlement of foundations are earthquakes, soil failures, building alterations, and adjacent exea- vation work, All of these, obviously, are not common events. In the case of the larger span arch shown in Figure foundation settlement caused failure of the arch system. The arch failure was caused by excavation work beneath the building to the right. A sizeable {amount of settlement of the building oceurred, and this caused the myriad of cracks seen in the arch ring, masonry above the arch, and abutments. Two structural steel tubes have been installed to temporarily secure the arch system until it ean be repaired. The cracking pattern in this arch is a clear reflection of the sizeable settlement of the building to the right Notice the magnitude of settlement by the displacement of the parape!. 045. COLLAPSE MECHANISMS OF A MASONRY ARCH x Lp I (a) Hinging Mechanism (b) Sliding Mechanism Using this method of analysis, two conditions must existo First, that part of the arch-load system moving downwards must release enough energy to overcome the weight of the adjacent parts of the arch being lifted upward to form a hinge mechanism. Second, the system must overcome the friction at the joints to permit sliding. Again, this collapse mechanism is based on an assumption of rigid abutments, although the mechanism analysis can be modified to account for abutment movements It is apparent fiam the failure mechanisms documented that lifting of portions of the arch ring does not take place in most building arches. Rather, abutment displacement induced failures have been observed. This is notable, because it requires a change in thinking with regard to arch analysis techniques for masonry building a bridge arches, assuming the abutments are makes sense, even though bridge abutments may likely displace. This is due to the large size of bridge arches and the magnitude of loads bridge arches carry, For building arches, however, abutment displacements and loss of mortar joint integrity are common concerns and the principal causes of arch failures. CONCLUSIONS 1) The stability of a building arch depends upon the total arch system; arch ring, abutment, spandrel, masonry above the arch, and location of other wall openings, and not solely on the properties of the arch ring. 2) The most common eause of failure of masonry building arches is by abutment displacement. Abutment displacement is eaused by moisture and thermal expansion of the masonry, deformation due to areh thrust, and differential foundation settlement. 3) Failure of the areh by slipping of voussoirs or whole seetions of the areh r common mechanism of failure observed on older masonry buildings. ng is the most 4) Abutment displacement and slippage of masonry units does not always cause collapse of the Even for sizeable abutment displacements, eollapse is avoided if the voussoirs or th mortar joints between the voussoirs are sufficiently tapered, the rise of the arch is sufficient for the areh span and type, and the skewbaek angle of the areh is not greater than about 65 degrees.