Determination of the restoration effect on the structural behavior of masonry arch bridges

In this paper, it is aimed to investigate the restoration effect on the structural behavior of masonry arch bridges. Dandalaz masonry arch bridge located on the 4km east of Karacasu town of Aydin, Turkey is selected as a numerical example. The construction year of the bridge is not fully known, but the bridge is dated back to 15th century. Considering the current situation, it can be easily seen that the structural elements such as arch, side walls and timber blocks are heavily damaged and the bridge is unserviceable. Firstly finite element model of the bridge is constituted to reflect the current situation (before restoration) using building survey drawings. After, restoration project is explained and finite element model is reconstituted (after restoration). The structural responses of the bridge are obtained before and after restoration under dead load, live load and dynamic earthquake loads. For both conditions, maximum displacements, maximum-minimum principal stresses and maximum-minimum elastic strains are given with detail using contours diagrams and compared with each other to determine the restoration effect. From the study, it can be seen that the maximum internal forces are consisted under dynamic loads before and after restoration. Also, the restoration projects and studies have important and positive effects on the structural response of the bridge to transfer these structures to future.