Arch

Arch An arch is a curved structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight.

Arches are designed to resist heavy loads of weight, because of their form the forces are divided and redirected, transforming all tension in to compression. This is thanks to the open space under the arch; and the compression stresses eliminate each other in either sides.



The arch is significant because, in theory at least, it provides a structure which eliminates tensile stresses in spanning a great amount of open space. All the forces are resolved into compressive stresses. This is useful because several of the available building materials such as stone, cast iron and concrete can strongly resist compression but are very weak when tension, shear or torsional stress is applied to them.