Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Vasilis SarhosisORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
The problem of determining the minimum thickness of masonry arches has been a challenge to the engineering community through the last two centuries. Although significant work has been undertaken to investigate the minimum thickness of semi-circular and elliptical rectangular arches, no work has been done to investigate the minimum thickness of skew arches. In this paper we computed the minimum thickness of semi-circular skewed masonry arches when subjected to their self-weight. Using the Discrete Element Method (DEM), a sensitivity study has been carried out to investigate the minimal barrel thickness with respect to the: a) angle of skew; b) construction method (false, helicoidal, and logarithmic); c) size of masonry units; and d) frictional resistance between masonry units. The construction method and the angle of skew significantly influences the minimum barrel thickness of the arch. For skew arches constructed using the false method, as the angle of skew increases, the minimum barrel thickness increases. However, for skew arches constructed using the helicoidal and logarithmic method, as the angle of skew increases, the minimum barrel thickness decreases. In contrast to rectangular arches, the size of the masonry units and the joint friction angle significantly influences the mechanical behaviour of skewed masonry arches.
Author(s): Forgács T, Sarhosis V, Bagi K
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Engineering Structures
Year: 2017
Volume: 140
Issue: 1
Pages: 317–336
Print publication date: 01/06/2017
Online publication date: 09/03/2017
Acceptance date: 13/02/2017
Date deposited: 09/03/2017
ISSN (print): 0141-0296
ISSN (electronic): 1873-7323
Publisher: Pergamon Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2017.02.036
DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2017.02.036
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric