An arch is a curved structure that spans a space and may or may not support weight above it.

[1]
Arch may be synonymous with vault, but a vault may be distinguished as a continuous
arch[2] forming a roof. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick
architecture,[3] and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to
apply the technique to a wide range of structures.
Contents
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1Basic concepts
1.1Fixed vs hinged arch
1.2Types of arches
2History
3Construction
4Other types
5Gallery
6See also
7References
8Further reading
9External links

Basic concepts[edit]
An arch is a pure compression form. It can span a large area by resolving forces
into compressive stresses and, in turn eliminating tensile stresses. This is sometimes referred to
as arch action.[4] As the forces in the arch are carried to the ground, the arch will push outward at
the base, called thrust. As the rise, or height of the arch decreases, the outward thrust increases.
[5]
In order to maintain arch action and prevent the arch from collapsing, the thrust needs to be
restrained, either with internal ties or external bracing, such as abutments.[6]

Fixed vs hinged arch[edit]

Rossgraben bridge (Reggisberg) near Bern, Switzerland, showing the hinge at mid-span of this threehinged arch.

The most common true arch configurations are the fixed arch, the two-hinged arch, and the threehinged arch.[7]
The fixed arch is most often used in reinforced concrete bridge and tunnel construction, where
the spans are short. Because it is subject to additional internal stress caused by thermal
expansion and contraction, this type of arch is considered to be statically indeterminate.[6]
The two-hinged arch is most often used to bridge long spans.[6] This type of arch has pinned
connections at the base. Unlike the fixed arch, the pinned base is able to rotate, [8]allowing the
structure to move freely and compensate for the thermal expansion and contraction caused by
changes in outdoor temperature. However, this can result in additional stresses, so the twohinged arch is also statically indeterminate, although not to the degree of the fixed arch. [6]

The three-hinged arch is not only hinged at its base, like the two-hinged arch, but at the mid-span
as well. The additional connection at the mid-span allows the three-hinged arch to move in two
opposite directions and compensate for any expansion and contraction. This type of arch is thus
not subject to additional stress caused by thermal change. The three-hinged arch is therefore
said to be statically determinate.[7] It is most often used for medium-span structures, such as large
building roofs.
Another advantage of the three-hinged arch is that the pinned bases are more easily developed
than fixed ones, allowing for shallow, bearing-type foundations in medium-span structures. In the
three-hinged arch, "thermal expansion and contraction of the arch will cause vertical movements
at the peak pin joint but will have no appreciable effect on the bases," further simplifying the
foundation design.[6]

Types of arches[edit]
Arches have many forms, but all fall into three basic categories: circular, pointed, and parabolic.
Arches can also be configured to produce vaults and arcades.[6]
Arches with a circular form, also referred to as rounded arches, were commonly employed by the
builders of ancient, heavy masonry arches.[9] Ancient Roman builders relied heavily on the
rounded arch to span large, open areas. Several rounded arches placed in-line, end-to-end, form
an arcade, such as the Roman aqueduct.[10]

Example of semi-circular arches using limestone block construction at the Great Wall, China.

Roman aqueduct near Nmes, France: An example of an arcade, employing the circular arch.

Horseshoe arches (9th century) in the Mosque of Uqba, in Kairouan, Tunisia.

Pointed arches were most often used by builders of Gothic-style architecture. [11] The advantage to
using a pointed arch, rather than a circular one, is that the arch action produces less thrust at the
base. This innovation allowed for taller and more closely spaced openings, typical of Gothic
architecture.[12][13]

Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, Belgium, with its central, pointed arch window, typical
of Gothic architecture.

Vaults are essentially "adjacent arches [that] are assembled side by side." If vaults intersect,
complex forms are produced with the intersections. The forms, along with the "strongly expressed
ribs at the vault intersections, were dominant architectural features of Gothic cathedrals." [9]

Interior vaulted ceiling of Notre Dame de Paris, showing the ribs at the intersection of several arches.

The parabolic arch employs the principle that when weight is uniformly applied to an arch, the
internal compression resulting from that weight will follow a parabolic profile. Of all arch types, the
parabolic arch produces the most thrust at the base, but can span the largest areas. It is
commonly used in bridge design, where long spans are needed. [9]

Tyne Bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne, England: An example of a parabolic arch used in bridge design.

Pont d'arcades in Mra d'Ebre, Catalonia: the bridge is designed as a series of parabolic arches.

The catenary arch has a shape different from the parabolic curve. The shape of the curve traced
by a loose span of chain or rope, the catenary is the structurally ideal shape for a freestanding
arch of constant thickness.
Types of arches displayed chronologically, roughly in the order in which they were developed:

Triangular arch

Round arch or Semi-circular arch

Segmental arch or arch that is less than a semicircle

Unequal round arch or Rampant round arch

Lancet arch

Equilateral pointed arch

Shouldered flat arch -see also jack arch

Trefoil arch, or Three-foiled cusped arch

Horseshoe arch

Three-centered arch

Elliptical arch

Inflexed arch

Ogee arch

Reverse ogee arch

Tudor arch

Parabolic arch

History[edit]
True arches, as opposed to corbel arches, were known by a number of civilizations in the Ancient
Near East and the Levant, but their use was infrequent and mostly confined to underground
structures, such as drains where the problem of lateral thrust is greatly diminished. [14] A rare
exception is the Bronze Age arched city gate of Ashkelon (modern day Israel), dating to ca. 1850
B.C.[15] An early example of a voussoir arch appears in the Greek Rhodes Footbridge.[16] Corbel
arches were found in other parts of ancient Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. In 2010, a
robot discovered a long arch-roofed passageway underneath the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, which
stands in the ancient city of Teotihuacan north of Mexico City, dated to around 200 AD.
[17]
In ancient Persia, the Achaemenid Empire built small barrel vaults (essentially a series of
arches built together to form a hall) known as iwan, which became massive, monumental
structures during the later Parthian Empire.[18][19][20] This architectural tradition was continued by
the Sasanian Empire, which built the Taq Kasra at Ctesiphon in the 6th century, the largest freestanding vault until modern times.[21]
The ancient Greeks introduced the arch to Italy visible today in the south of the peninsula and
in Sicily.
The ancient Romans learned the arch from the Etruscans, refined it and were the first builders to
tap its full potential for above ground buildings:
The Romans were the first builders in Europe, perhaps the first in the world, fully to appreciate
the advantages of the arch, the vault and the dome. [22]
Throughout the Roman empire, their engineers erected arch structures such as
bridges, aqueducts, and gates. They also introduced the triumphal arch as a military
monument. Vaults began to be used for roofing large interior spaces such as halls and temples, a
function that was also assumed by domed structures from the 1st century BC onwards.
The segmental arch was first built by the Romans who realized that an arch in a bridge did not
have to be a semicircle,[23][24] such as in Alcontar Bridge or Ponte San Lorenzo. They were also
routinely used in house construction, as in Ostia Antica (see picture).
In ancient China, most architecture was wooden, including the few known arch bridges from
literature and one artistic depiction in stone-carved relief.[25][26][27] Therefore, the only surviving
examples of architecture from the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) are rammed earth defensive
walls and towers, ceramic roof tiles from no longer existent wooden buildings, [28][29][30] stone gate
towers,[31][32] and underground brick tombs that, although featuring vaults, domes, and archways,
were built with the support of the earth and weren't free-standing. [33][34] China's oldest surviving
stone arch bridge is the Anji Bridge, built between 595-605 during the Sui Dynasty, and is the
oldest open-spandrelsegmental arch bridge in stone.[35][36] However, the ancient Romans had
virtually all of these components beforehand, such as Trajan's Bridge that had open-spandrels
built in wood on stone pillars.[37]

The first example of an early Gothic arch in Europe is in Sicily in the Greek fortifications of Gela.
The semicircular arch was followed in Europe by the pointed Gothic arch or ogive, whose
centreline more closely follows the forces of compression and which is therefore stronger. The
semicircular arch can be flattened to make an elliptical arch, as in the Ponte Santa Trinita. Both
the parabolic and catenary arches are now known to be the theoretically strongest forms.
Parabolic arches were introduced in construction by the Spanish architect Antoni Gaud, who
admired the structural system of the Gothic style, but for the buttresses, which he termed
"architectural crutches". The catenary and parabolic arches carry all horizontal thrust to the
foundation and so do not need additional elements. The first examples of the pointed arch in the
European architecture are in Sicily and date back to the Arab-Norman period.
The horseshoe arch is based on the semicircular arch, but its lower ends are extended further
round the circle until they start to converge. The first known built horseshoe arches are
from Aksum (modern day Ethiopia and Eritrea) from around the 3rd4th century, around the same
time as the earliest contemporary examples in Roman Syria, suggesting either an Aksumite or
Syrian origin for the type.[38][page needed]

Construction[edit]
Since it is a pure compression form, the arch is useful because many building materials,
including stone and unreinforced concrete can resist compression, but are weak when tensile
stress is applied to them.[39]
An arch is held in place by the weight of all of its members, making construction problematic. One
answer is to build a frame (historically, of wood) which exactly follows the form of the underside of
the arch. This is known as a centre or centring. Voussoirs are laid on it until the arch is complete
and self-supporting. For an arch higher than head height, scaffolding would be required, so it
could be combined with the arch support. Occasionally, arches would fall down when the frame
was removed if construction or planning had been incorrect. (The A85 bridge at Dalmally,
Scotland suffered this fate on its first attempt, in the 1940s [citation needed]). The interior and lower line or
curve of an arch is known as the intrados.
Old arches sometimes need reinforcement due to decay of the keystones, forming what is known
as bald arch.
In reinforced concrete construction, the principle of the arch is used so as to benefit from the
concrete's strength in resisting compressive stress. Where any other form of stress is raised,
such as tensile or torsional stress, it has to be resisted by carefully placed reinforcement rods or
fibres.[40]

Other types[edit]

The Delicate Arch, a natural arch near Moab, Utah

A blind arch is an arch infilled with solid construction so it cannot function as a window, door, or
passageway.
Rock formations may form natural arches through erosion, rather than being carved or
constructed. See Arches National Park for examples.

A special form of the arch is the triumphal arch, usually built to celebrate a victory in war. A
famous example is the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.