Lifting Test and Analysis of a Segmented Arch System with Outrigger Ribs and Flexural Loading Tests of Precast Panels

Abstract

A segmented precast panel arch system with a steel outrigger rib was proposed to efficiently exploit material characteristics and a structural section, which resists the internal and external forces caused by arch effects. This study was conducted lifting and installation tests of this arch system and flexural loading tests for precast panels to validate and examine its structural behavior. The load-bearing capacity of a precast panel was experimentally evaluated against the flexural loading that occurred during the lifting process in the flexural loading test. In the lifting experiments for the fabricated arch specimen with a span length and height of 6.2 m and 2.5 m, respectively, the structural behavior of the precast panels and outrigger ribs during lifting were compared with the structural deformations and stresses of the system components after final installation. From the lifting and installation tests conducted in this study, the structural response and behaviors of the proposed arch system and its components were validated and evaluated.