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Municipal management of wooden bridges in the fifteenth century: Pont de la Daurade in Toulouse and Pont Notre-Dame in Paris
Published in Ine Wouters, Stephanie Van de Voorde, Inge Bertels, Bernard Espion, Krista De Jonge, Denis Zastavni, Building Knowledge, Constructing Histories, 2018
Cécile Sabathier, Nicolas Moucheront
Without building a cofferdam, it would not have been possible to work on the bridge’s foundations: during repairs such as those of 1450, they only worked on the visible part of the structure, they patched up the patin but they did not work on the foundation piles. When the water level was particularly low, these timber piles were exposed to atmospheric conditions and therefore tended to rot. Numerous stone bridges were also confronted with this problem. Bridge piles, such as those used in London or in Rochester, rested on artificial islands called starlings, commonly known as cutwaters, which became visible during low water periods. The cofferdam technique was rather late to arrive in Great Britain and was not particularly suitable to broad estuaries such as the Thames or Medway, which are subject to strong tides. While starlings were more economical to build than deep foundations, they required very regular maintenance. To prevent scouring and erosion, it was necessary to drive new piles into the edges of the starlings every year. With a particularly well-run estate, London Bridge has, to date, not undergone any catastrophic overhaul in its ten centuries of existence, but its piles have gradually over time clogged up the Thames Estuary (Harding 2002).
Bridge Management Objectives and Methodologies
Published in J.E. Harding, G.E.R. Parke, M.J. Ryall, Bridge Management 3, 2014
With the heavier medieval type of bridge, in which the cutwaters are carried up between the arches to form embrasures in a continuous solid parapet, widening the whole structure and refacing may be the best answer. However the patina of age would then be lost. Where the embrasures are a sufficient size not to be lost by widening, beams spanning between the cutwaters can be successful eg Bridgnorth bridge. Where the widening sits on the cutwaters, and their heavy vertical punctuating emphasis is replaced by a light filigree horizontal emphasis at odds with the structural form of the bridge, this approach is unacceptable eg Brecon and Old Bridstow bridges. This is the dynamic parapet on the stable form criticised above.
Laser scanning data for inverse problems in structural engineering
Published in Belén Riveiro, Roderik Lindenbergh, Laser Scanning, 2019
Belén Riveiro, Manuel Cabaleiro, Borja Conde, Mario Soilán, Ana Sánchez-Rodríguez
This type of segmentation adapted to the geometric characteristics of masonry arch bridges was developed by Riveiro et al. (2016a). In their methodology, the authors propose a method for the automated segmentation of large point clouds of masonry arch bridges that decompose the point clouds into spatially related and organized point clouds that contain the relevant data of a bridge’s components (pier, arch, spandrel wall, cutwaters, etc.). The strategy to get these segments was based in the combination of a heuristic approach (following logical and topological constraints) and image processing tools adapted to voxel structures.
Reconstruction of a 19th Century Masonry Bridge Taking Advantage of Literature-Based Ancient Techniques and Current Technologies
Published in International Journal of Architectural Heritage, 2022
Benedetta Orfeo, Javier León, Isabel Lorenzo, Leonardo Todisco
The process started taking off the pier cutwaters covering pieces (driving caps) and filling the voids. The pier comprises a 30 cm-wall made of stone pieces around its perimeter, and a material similar to the backing. This is actually a common detail found in the ancient treatises. The new stone blocks are placed along the perimeter of the pier (Figure 17b) using steel connectors between them and the existing blocks, as recommended by past designers. This system controls undesired movements of ashlars during the construction process, particularly during the concrete pouring operation. The 18th century’s builders, such as Wiebeking (Wiebeking 1805), Padre Pontones (Padre Pontones 1768) and Perronet (Perronet 1788), suggested to use a toothed shape, alternating longer blocks with shorter ones. In addition, an interlocking among pieces was ensured also in the vertical direction, intended to prevent movements induced by the stream of water during floods. In the Deba bridge, workers used also wooden wedges to adjust the separation among the ashlars between two consecutive courses and to space them laterally (Figure 17c). For this construction phase, specific attention was given to the manufacturing of new stone blocks. They had to be carved to perfectly fit in their position and to compensate the difference in height of the two sides of the pier. Finally, the cutwaters covering pieces were placed in their new position and their geometrical configuration was modified to perfectly match with the new lines of the bridge.
Effect of Seismic Source Type on the Expected Behavior of Historic Arch Bridges
Published in International Journal of Architectural Heritage, 2022
José M Jara, Juan I. López, Bertha A. Olmos, Guillermo Martínez
It is an urban bridge that crosses the Querétaro River in the City of Querétaro (Figure 6). The bridge was built by Juan Antonio de Urrutia in the XVIII century. It is an important historical structure because military troops used the bridge during the 1867 French War intervention in Mexico. The bridge has rectangular piers with semielliptical buttress and cutwaters in both sides of the piers.