Study on the Restoration of a Masonry Arch Viaduct: Numerical Analysis and Lab Tests

This article presents an analysis of the load-carrying capacity of a historic masonry arch viaduct. The vault was made of bricks and lime-cement mortar. It was built in 1886 and, therefore, its historical character had to be included in the restoration project. The main task of the restoration was to bring the viaduct to a technical condition corresponding to the current requirements to allow normal (or limited) service. The strength of the brickwork and joints (mortar) was examined experimentally in the laboratory and on the viaduct. This paper presents numerical calculations for the masonry viaduct that were performed using two programs based on the finite element method. As the project documentation was unknown, two- and three-hinged models of the masonry arch were analyzed. The axial forces, shear forces, bending moments, displacement, normal stresses, and shear stresses generated from the numerical analysis have been discussed. The conditions of the load capacity of the arch viaduct due to compression and shearing have been met. The safety of a masonry arch of the viaduct was determined. Finally, the restoration scope of the masonry viaduct was proposed.