ASSESSMENT OF MASONRY ARCH BRIDGES WITH A SHALLOW OR PILE FOUNDATION

This paper is about the assessment of masonry arch bridges in the Netherlands, whether or not founded on wooden foundation piles. A large part of the public road network in old city centres is still formed by masonry arch bridges crossing the canals. The general question of the local authorities is: “Can these masonry arch bridges withstand motorised traffic including busses and occasionally heavy trucks?” Nonlinear finite element analysis in PLAXIS is applied for the assessment of the failure behaviour of the masonry structure and its shallow or pile foundation. The structural limits are related to cracking, continuous deformations and instability. A proof-loading of a real bridge increased the reliability of the calculation methodology. With NLFEA it can be demonstrated that these historic bridges still meet the current loads from heavy motorised traffic. With a quick scan method based on the MEXE theory, a large group of arches can be quickly classified, so the assessment with NLFEA can start with the riskiest objects. In many cases lifetime extension of these bridges is possible, whether or not by strengthening the superstructure. This means that the shallow foundation or pile foundation is reused.Paper presentatio