INNOVATIVE METHOD FOR THE RAPID CONSTRUCTION OF ARCHES

Over many centuries arches have been found to be aesthetically pleasing, strong, durable with very long lives, virtually maintenance free and perform well under earthquake loading. However, their initial costs are high as construction is time consuming due to the need for centring and the production of precisely cut voussoirs. As a consequence very few arch bridges have been built since the early 1900s. In response to this dilemma a patented system, the FlexiArch, which does not require centring and uses precast concrete voussoirs, has been developed. Nearly fifty FlexiArch bridges have been constructed in UK/Ireland and demonstrated that they: 1) can be installed rapidly, in less than a day rather than months 2) are cost competitive with alternative precast systems and 3) have all the attributes of masonry arches. In this paper the basic concept of the FlexiArch will be described as well as a comparison of the results of comprehensive full scale tests, up to 15m span, with methods of analysis/design used for conventional arches. In order to demonstrate the versatility of the FlexiArch system four case histories will be presented, including details of the various approaches to construction. As there is no corrodible reinforcement the system is very sustainable.