Arch-piers systems subjected to vertical loads: a comprehensive review of rotational, sliding and mixed collapse modes

This paper presents a study of the stability and collapse modes of a system made up of a masonry arch resting on two piers subject to its own weight. It examines both semicircular arches and three different types of pointed arches commonly found in architecture, namely low-pointed, equilateral, and lancet-pointed arches. The collapse modes characterizing each type of arch-piers systems are then compared by extending the results obtained by the authors in previous work on stand-alone masonry arches of different shapes. The mechanical behavior of these systems is examined via Durand-Claye’s method in order to follow the evolution of the stability area and determine the collapse modes of these masonry structures. The method takes into account both the bounded bending capacity of the arch cross section and the limited friction along the joints. Furthermore, the system’s safe domain is determined in terms of the limit conditions for arch thickness, pier height and friction coefficient. As expected, arch-piers systems of different shapes exhibit different behaviors at collapse in terms of minimum thickness and collapse modes.