Counter-arch
A counter-arch is built adjacent to another arch to oppose its forces or help stabilize it."counter arch." McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2003. Answers.com, 7 September 2008. http://www.answers.com/topic/counter-arch See also * Flying arch * Flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ... * Inverted arch References Arches and vaults {{architecture-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flying Arch
A flying arch is a form of arch bridge that does not carry any vertical load, but is provided solely to supply outward horizontal forces, to resist an inwards compression. They are used across cutting (transportation), cuttings, to avoid them collapsing inwards. Operation The conventional arch supports a vertical load downwards on the centre of the arch and translates this into forces both downwards and outwards at the base of the arch. In most cases, this sideways force is a nuisance and must be resisted by either strong foundations or a further 'bowstring' girder, in the form of a tied-arch bridge. In some cases though, originally for railway cuttings in loose rock, the sides of the cutting are unable to retain their own weight and tend to slide inwards. Flying arches may be provided to retain these side walls. Unlike the conventional arch, the vertical load on the arch does not carry a useful load, it is merely used to generate the side-thrust, which in this case is useful for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Inverted Arch
An inverted arch or invert is a civil engineering structure in the form of an inverted arch, inverted in comparison to the usual arch bridge. Like the flying arch, the inverted arch is not used to support a load, as for a bridge, but rather to resist sideways, inwards loads. The conventional arch supports a vertical load downwards on the centre of the arch and translates this into forces both downwards and outwards at the base of the arch. In most cases, this sideways force is a nuisance and must be resisted by either strong foundations or a further 'bowstring' girder, in the form of a tied-arch bridge. Inverted arches are used where sideways forces must be restrained, and where space is most easily available ''beneath'' a construction. They have often been applied to railway cuttings, but are perhaps most distinctively used as the base of docks, particularly graving dock, dry docks and lock (water transport), locks that must be supported even when they are empty of water that could ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arch
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaults, but a vault may be distinguished as a continuous arch forming a roof. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture, and their systematic use started with the ancient Romans, who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures. Basic concepts An arch is a pure compression form. It can span a large area by resolving forces into compressive stresses, and thereby eliminating tensile stresses. This is sometimes denominated "arch action". As the forces in the arch are transferred to its base, the arch pushes outward at its base, denominated "thrust". As the rise, i. e. height, of the arch decreases the outward thrust increases. In order to preserve arch action and prevent collapse ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flying Buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to push a wall outwards. These forces arise from vaulted ceilings of stone and from wind-loading of roofs. The namesake and defining feature of a flying buttress is that it is not in contact with the wall at ground level, unlike a traditional buttress, and so transmits the lateral forces across the span of intervening space between the wall and the pier. To provide lateral support, flying-buttress systems are composed of two parts: (i) a massive pier, a vertical block of masonry situated away from the building wall, and (ii) an arch that bridges the span between the pier and the wall — either a segmental arch or a quadrant arch — the ''flyer'' of the flying buttress. History As a lateral-support system, the flying buttress was develope ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |