Quantitative evaluation method of structural safety status of ancient Chinese three-hole stone arch bridges-A case study of the Yongchang Bridge

A study is presented on a quantitative evaluation method of structural safety for an existing three-hole stone arch bridge, in order to determine the structural safety status of this type of stone arch bridges and provide a scientific basis for their restoration and conservation. Taking as an example a typical three-hole stone arch bridge, the Yongchang Bridge, firstly, its shape and the structural configuration were studied and its damages were surveyed and categorized. Then, the structural performance of the Yongchang Bridge was analyzed by using finite element software. An improved analytic hierarchy process method based on component importance analysis was proposed to obtain the weight coefficients of the main structural components of this kind of bridges. Finally, the structural safety status of the Yongchang Bridge was quantitatively evaluated with this proposed method, which was proved to be consistent with the real situation, verifying the efficiency and accuracy of this evaluation method. The results can provide a reference for structural safety evaluation and scientific conservation of ancient stone arch bridges.