Experimental investigation of masonry arches exposed to horizontal impact

Arch bridges still form a large part of the bridge stock in German-speaking countries and in Europe. In general, they have a high loadbearing capacity for vertical loads. However, only a limited number of research investigations into the capacity of these bridges to resist horizontal impact have been carried out. In this paper we describe static and dynamic tests for the evaluation of the loadbearing capacity of masonry arches exposed to horizontal loads in transverse direction. Furthermore, a simple engineering model is developed for such load cases.