Analysis of two-hinged arch
Introduction
Mainly three types of arches are used in practice: three-hinged, two-hinged and
hingeless arches. In the early part of the nineteenth century, three-hinged arches
were commonly used for the long span structures as the analysis of such arches
could be done with confidence. However, with the development in structural
analysis, for long span structures starting from late nineteenth century engineers
adopted two-hinged and hingeless arches. Two-hinged arch is the statically
indeterminate structure to degree one. Usually, the horizontal reaction is treated
as the redundant and is evaluated by the method of least work. In this lesson, the
analysis of two-hinged arches is discussed and few problems are solved to
illustrate the procedure for calculating the internal forces.
Analysis of two-hinged arch
A typical two-hinged arch is shown in Fig. 33.1a. In the case of two-hinged arch, we
have four unknown reactions, but there are only three equations of equilibrium
available. Hence, the degree of statical indeterminacy is one for two hinged arch.
The fourth equation is written considering deformation of the arch. The unknown
redundant reaction is calculated by noting that the horizontal displacement of hinge b
HB is zero. In general the horizontal reaction in the two hinged arch is evaluated by
straightforward application of the theorem of least work (see module 1, lesson 4),
which states that the partial derivative of the strain energy of a statically
indeterminate structure with respect to statically indeterminate action should vanish.
Hence to obtain, horizontal reaction, one must develop an expression for strain
energy. Typically, any section of the arch (vide Fig 33.1b) is subjected to shear
forceV , bending moment M and the axial compression . The strain energy due to
bending is calculated from the following expression.
EDDY’S THEOREM
Example 33.1
A semicircular two hinged arch of constant cross section is subjected to a
concentrated load as shown in Fig 33.4a. Calculate reactions of the arch and draw
bending moment diagram.
Solution:
Taking moment of all forces about hinge B leads to,
Bending moment diagram
Bending moment M at any cross section of the arch is given by,
Example 33.2
A two hinged parabolic arch of constant cross section has a span of 60m and a
rise of 10m. It is subjected to loading as shown in Fig.33.5a. Calculate reactions
of the arch if the temperature of the arch is raised by 40°C. Assume co-efficient
of thermal expansion as α = 12×10−6 / °C.
Taking A as the origin, the equation of two hinged parabolic arch may be written
as,
The given problem is solved in two steps. In the first step calculate the horizontal
reaction due to load 40 kN applied at . In the next step calculate the horizontal
reaction due to rise in temperature. Adding both, one gets the horizontal reaction
at the hinges due to combined external loading and temperature change. The
horizontal reaction due to 40 kN load may be calculated by the following equation,
This compares well with the horizontal reaction computed from the exact
integration.
Summary
Two-hinged arch is the statically indeterminate structure to degree one. Usually, the
horizontal reaction is treated as the redundant and is evaluated by the method of least work.
Towards this end, the strain energy stored in the two hinged arch during deformation is given.
The reactions developed due to thermal loadings are discussed. Finally, a few numerical
examples are solved to illustrate the procedure.
