Arch Bridges: Types, Elements, and List of 10 world longest arch bridges

Articles > Arch Bridges: Types, Elements, and List of 10 world longest arch bridges

Introduction to Arch Bridges:

Arch bridges were installed just after the long-standing practice of wooden bridges. The primitive man used wooden logs and planks to bridge the gap between the two earth masses. After a gradual development and the discovery of new construction techniques, the man adopted the methods of building houses, bridges, and other infrastructure. The construction of an arch bridge is a masterpiece of creative art. The arch bridge contains an abutment-supported arch at the end of the bridge. Abutments support the deck of the bridges with the help of an arch. The arch bridge works with the balance between load and weight of the bridge and horizontal up-thrust of the arch.

Types of Arch Bridges:

Arch bridges can be classified into three types on the basis of their structural mechanism.

The Basic Arch Bridges
The Basic Tied Arch Bridges
Stiffening Girder Arch Bridges

Structural parts/elements of an Arch Bridge:

Almost all types of arch bridges, somehow, consist of the following structural elements/parts.

Arch of the bridge: Arc is an essential part of all the above-mentioned types of Arch bridges. The arch of the bridge may consist of reinforced concrete, box girders of metal, truss, plate girder, or some other material. The purpose of the arch is to provide stability to the bridge by means of tension or arch supported by abutments. The arch provides stiffness to the bridge due to the force exerted by the weight of the bridge.
Stiffening girders of the bridges: Stiffening girders are only used in the “Stiffening Girder Arch Bridges”. The girder of the bridge can be made up of a metallic I-section, a box girder, or another form of hollow section, or an open “top hat” section. The stiffening girders bear the load of traffic. The deck of the bridge is installed on the stiffening girders if the bridge is a “Simple Arch Bridge”. In case, the bridge is a “basic tied-arch bridge”, the arch of the bridge is constructed above the deck of the bridge. In this type of bridge, the deck is tied with the ropes escorting from the arch.
Hangers used in Simple tied Arch Bridges: If you are going to construct the basic arch bridge, then the hangers are not needed. Simply the deck beams and girders are placed on the convex-shaped arch supported by abutments. In case you are constructing the tied-arch bridge, then you need chains or ropes to tie the stiffening girders with the arch.
The end portals of the Arch Bridges: Bracing is usually used to reduce the buckling length of the arch and to support it. Ropes are tied with the end portals of the Arch, which sustain the heavy load of the bridge.

World longest Arch Bridges:

As the arch bridge is among the most primitive bridges of the world, therefore, there are thousands of bridges built on initial civil engineering techniques. These bridges are very common in the countries of the Caribbean region to that of the far-east. In this article, we are going to bring the ten most popular arch bridges of the world, which gained popularity due to their length and size. Here are the ten longest arch bridges of the world:

Rank	Name of Bridge	Length	Material	Country
1.	Chaotianmen Bridge	552 m	steel	China
2.	Lupu Bridge	550 m	steel	China
3.	Bosideng Bridge	530 m	CFST	China
4.	New River Gorge Bridge	518 m	Steel	United States
5.	Bayonne Bridge	510 m	Steel	USA
6.	Zigui Yangtze River Bridge	508 m	CFST	China
7.	Sydney Harbour Bridge	503 m	Steel	Australia
8	Wushan Bridge	460 m	CFST	China
9.	Guantang Bridge	457 m	Steel	China
10.	Mingzhou Bridge	450 m	Steel	China

The material used in Arch Bridges:

Different types of constructive material can be used while building a bridge. The same case is with the Arch bridges. World longest arch bridges namely Chaotianmen Bridge, Lupu Bridge, Sydney Harbour Bridge of Australia, and New River Gorge Bridge was constructed with steel only. There are other bridges like Bosideng Bridge of China, Zigui Yangtze River Bridge (China), and Wushan Bridge (China) were constructed with concrete-filled steel tubes. There are some bridges like Qinglong Railway Bridge (china), Wanxian Bridge (China), Krk Bridge (Croatia), Almonte River Railway Viaduct (Spain) were constructed with concrete. While concluding the above example, arch bridges like other buildings and bridges can be constructed with any of the civil engineering construction material. It depends upon the economic and geographic factors and the will of the constructor what type of material should be used.

Read also:

Follow our official Facebook page (@civilengineeringbible) and Twitter page (@CivilEngBible) and do not miss the best civil engineering tools and articles!

Arch Bridges: Types, Elements, and List of 10 world longest arch bridges

Read also:

Share: