Structural behavior of spatial arch bridges

From an aesthetical point of view, spatial arch bridges are a consequence of new architectural demands for bridges in urban environments. They also arise to meet functional requirements when arch structures are the most suitable for supporting horizontally curved decks. In these cases, in so-called spatial arch bridges, their structural behaviour extends from the original vertical plane to a three-dimensional configuration. For single arch bridges with only one deck, this spatial behaviour emerges, mainly, in the following cases:

• when arch springing and deck abutment are not at the same location.
• if arch (or deck) is curved in plan.
• if arch is out of from the vertical plane of symmetry of a straight deck.
• in the case of the arch plane is leaning away from the vertical plane or rotated around a vertical axis.
• if the arch axis is an out-of-plane curve. Existing bridges where these factors appear have been studied, and parametric and theoretical studies (Jorquera [2]) have been carried out. Main conclusions are presented, which can be generalized to very complex spatial archdeck configurations, including a new method for finding antifunicular three-dimensional shapes, even in the most general case of spatial arches with clamped ends.

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