Introduction

Masonry Arch Bridges form about 40% of the European bridge stock. 60% of these bridges are over 100 years old and carry traffic with heavily increasing weight, speed and density, without any change to their original construction. Apart from the increasing traffic demands and associated deterioration due to long-term loading, masonry arch bridges also suffer from deterioration due to environmental effects, such as freeze-thaw, pollution, chemical and physical attacks, etc. The combined loading and environmental effects certainly cause progressive deterioration in the bridges' condition and it is only a matter of time before they reach the end of their useful service life and need to be updated or replaced.

In order to ensure that old masonry bridges remain in service for as long as possible and to avoid unnecessary repair costs, it is essential that the bridges’ load carrying capacity, rate of deterioration and remaining service life are accurately assessed.

Although it is still very difficult, if not impossible, to give accurate assessment of the bridges' condition, developments are gradually taking place in many areas. The masterclass is aiming to introduce recent developments relating to the main aspects of masonry arch bridges, such as design, new construction, monitoring, assessment and maintenance from a practical perspective.

Topics

1. Design, Standards, Guidelines
2. Monitoring Techniques
3. Assessment, Modelling
4. Maintenance, Strengthening, Reinforcement
5. Construction, New Bridges 

Speakers confirmed so far:

1. Design - Standards and Guidelines

• Dr Jinyan Wang (UWE) MEXE method
• TBA

2. Construction - New Arch Bridges

• Abhey Gupta (Macrete) Precast arch bridges
• TBA

3. Monitoring Techniques

• Dr Geoff Edgell (CERAM) Investigating strength, stiffness and durability of existing masonry through case studies
• Prof Kenichi Soga (University of Cambridge) Monitoring masonry structures using fibre optics
• Dr Bill Harvey (Obvis) Monitoring, what can be done and what is its value, including some examples of poor monitoring
• Dr Adrienn Tomor (UWE) Acoustic Emission monitoring

4. Assessment, Modelling

• Graham Cole (County Surveyors Society) Management of masonry bridges
• Dr Matthew Gilbert (University of Sheffiled) What's inside matters!
• Prof Tim Hughes (University of Cardiff) Elastic Serviceability Assessment
• Dr Bill Harvey (Obvis) Distribution models and failure criteria in analysis for assessment and design
• Dr Adrienn Tomor (UWE) Assessment of long-term life expectancy of masonry arch bridges (SMART method)

5. Maintenance, Strengthening and Reinforcement

• Dr Gerard Lynch (The Red Mason) Binders in mortars in traditional brickwork masonry
• Roz Aris-Young (Scottish Lime Centre) Application and use of mortars in masonry arch bridges
• TBA

Find out more

To register your place or to find out more about the masterclass, visit the UWE website: www.bne.uwe.ac.uk/short/masonryarchbridges