Construction Technology II Lesson 4

The document discusses masonry arches, including their structure and terminology. It defines an arch as a curved structure that spans an elevated space by transferring vertical loads laterally. A masonry arch is constructed of wedge-shaped stones or bricks that mutually support each other. Various arch types are described, such as jack, segmental, semicircular, and Gothic. Key terminology includes extrados, intrados, soffit, voussoir, and keystone. Temporary centering is required during construction to support the arch until the keystone is placed.

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Construction Technology II Lesson 4

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sydney august

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CONSTRUCTION

TECHNOLOGY II

BY
ESTHER NJOKI

LESSON FOUR
MASONRY ARCHES

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MASONRY ARCHES
 An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an
elevated space and may or may not support the
weight above it
 A masonry arch is a form of construction in which
masonry units span an opening by transferring
vertical loads laterally to adjacent voussoirs and,
thus, to the abutments
 An arch is a mechanical arrangement of wedge-
shaped blocks of stones or bricks mutually
supporting each other and supported at the end by
piers or abutments.
 In common with lintels, the function of an arch is to
carry the weight of the structure above the opening
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Terminologies

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Terminologies – cont’d
 Extrados: The curve which bounds the upper
edge of the arch.
 Intrados: The curve which bounds the lower
edge of the arch. The distinction between soffit
and intrados is that the intrados is a line, while
the soffit is a surface.
 Soffit: The surface of an arch or vault at the
intrados.
 Voussoir: One masonry unit of an arch.
 Keystone: The voussoir located at the crown of
the arch. Also called the key.
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Terminologies

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Terminologies – cont’d
 Skewback: The surface on which the arch joins
the supporting abutment.
 Skewback Angle: The angle made by the
skewback from horizontal.
 Springing: The point where the skewback
intersects the intrados.
 Springer: The first voussoir from a skewback.
 Spring Line: A horizontal line which intersects
the springing
 Camber: The relatively small rise of a jack
arch.
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Terminologies

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Terminologies – cont’d
 Rise: The maximum height of the arch soffit
above the level of its spring line.
 Centering: Temporary shoring used to support
an arch until the arch becomes self-supporting.
 Crown: The apex of the arch's extrados. In symmetrical
arches, the crown is at the midspan.
 Depth: The dimension of the arch at the skewback
which is perpendicular to the arch axis, except that the
depth of a jack arch is taken to be the vertical
dimension of the arch at the springing.
 Span: The horizontal clear dimension between
abutments.

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Types of Arches
 Jack -A flat arch with zero or little rise.

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Types of Arches – cont’d
 Segmental -An arch whose intrados is circular
but less than a semicircle.

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Types of Arches – cont’d
 Semicircular -An arch whose intrados is a
semicircle (half circle).

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Types of Arches – cont’d
 Bullseye -An arch whose intrados is a full circle.
Also known as a Circular arch.

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Types of Arches – cont’d
 Horseshoe -An arch whose intrados is greater
than a semicircle and less than a full circle.
Also known as an Arabic or Moorish arch.

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Types of Arches – cont’d
 Multicentered -An arch whose curve consists of
several arcs of circles which are normally
tangent at their intersections.

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Types of Arches – cont’d
 Venetian -An arch formed by a combination of
jack arch at the ends and semicircular arch at
the middle. Also known as a Queen Anne arch.

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Types of Arches – cont’d
 Tudor -A pointed, four-centered arch of
medium rise-to-span ratio whose four centers
are all beneath the extrados of the arch.

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Types of Arches – cont’d
 Triangular -An arch formed by two straight,
inclined sides.

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Types of Arches – cont’d
 Gothic -An arch with relatively large rise-to-
span ratio, whose sides consist of arcs of
circles, the centers of which are at the level of
the spring line.
 Also referred to as a Drop, Equilateral or Lancet
arch, depending upon whether the spacings of
the centers are respectively less than, equal to
or more than the clear span.

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Types of Arches – cont’d

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Construction of arches
 If the arch comprises of wedge shaped units,
then each voussoir must be precisely cut so that
it presses firmly against the surface of
neighbouring blocks and conducts loads
uniformly.
 During construction of an arch, the voussoirs
require support from below until the keystone
has been set in place; this support usually takes
the form of temporary wooden centring.

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Construction of arches – cont’d
 Centering is a temporary framework or
formwork, usually timber that masonry or
concrete arches are built on top of.
 Until the keystone is inserted an arch has no
strength and needs the centering to keep the
voussoirs in their correct relative positions.

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