In-Plane Stability of Parabolic Arches with Horizontal Spring Supports. II: Experiments

In the companion paper, the nonlinear elastic stability analysis of a shallow parabolic arch with horizontal spring supports was investigated. The solution for the in-plane antisymmetric bifurcation buckling load and an approximate solution for the symmetric snapthrough buckling load for shallow arches were proposed, and the effects of the stiffness of the horizontal springs on the buckling load and buckling behavior of arches were studied. When the stiffness of each of the spring supports is the same, the structural configuration replicates that of a tied arch with roller supports. This paper reports short-term experimental studies undertaken on two shallow parabolic reinforced concrete arches. The two supports of each arch were connected by a steel tie. The arches failed in an antisymmetric bifurcation buckling mode well before the maximum stress in the concrete reached its compressive strength. Both the load–deflection response and the buckling load are compared with theoretical predictions that incorporate various degrees of nonlinearity in their formulation, including the predictions derived in the companion paper.