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An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an
An arch is a pure compression form. It can span a large area by resolving forces into
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam
An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strength ...
, the hydrostatic pressure
Fluid statics or hydrostatics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies the condition of the equilibrium of a floating body and submerged body " fluids at hydrostatic equilibrium and the pressure in a fluid, or exerted by a fluid, on an i ...
against it.
Arches may be synonymous with vaults, but a vault may be distinguished as a continuous arch forming a roof. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
n brick architecture, and their systematic use started with the ancient Romans
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
, who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.
Basic concepts
An arch is a pure compression form. It can span a large area by resolving forces into compressive stress
In long, slender structural elements — such as columns or truss bars — an increase of compressive force ''F'' leads to structural failure due to buckling at lower stress than the compressive strength.
Compressive stress has stress units (for ...
es, and thereby eliminating tensile stress
In continuum mechanics, stress is a physical quantity. It is a quantity that describes the magnitude of forces that cause deformatio