Two Pinned Arch Experiment Engineering and Construction Lab Report
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By resolving the external forces it is subjected to compressive stresses, and in turn, eliminating tensile stresses, arches have found common application in structures requiring long spans, most notably bridges. This process of resolving forces to compressive stresses is referred to as arch action (Vaidyanathan & Perumal, 2004). When a load is applied at the top of the arch, it pushes outward at the base, referred to as thrust. As the load at the top increases, the arch tends to flatten out, resulting in more thrust at the bases.