THE A RCH

THE ARCH

Universidad Simon BolivarIngles IIProf. Marianela NajulBy Felix Vivas and Adriana Ruiz

Content

•Historical Origins

•Parts of the Arch

•Structural Behavior

•Classification of Arches

•The Arch Actually

THE ARCH IN THE ANTIQUITY: BEAM VS. ARCH

•Beam -> Arch•Produces tensile forces which couldn’t be

absorbed by stone, the most usual material at that antiquity

•Stone -> week in tension

STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOR OF AN ARCHTransit of the loads Vertical loads

Horizontal loadsBoth of them act on the arch’s support

•Stone resists compression very well, but it is week to traction.

•The result is that each voussoir works only in compression, and it allows a distance much bigger between columns than beams do.

Classifications of the arches

according to their

guideline

PARABOLIC•Used by Antoni Gaudi and modern architects (sthetics

motives).•It is the most difficult to build because each

voussoir is different

If we turn a parabolic arch around, we obtain the guideline for a suspension bridge

Circumference is the only curve with a constant curvature;

this makes it easier and cheaper to build.

It is the most used since Antique Romans.

CIRCUMFERENCE

OJIVAL ARCH•Produces the minimum possible of horizontal loads in the supports•The voussoirs can all have the same shape, just like a

circumference-shaped arch•It is resistant and easy to build

Horseshoe Arch

Tudor Arch

OTHER ARCHES…

“Throught the arch, the matter defeats itself” Cayo Lacer, author of the Alcatara’s

bridge