3rd TAGRA

Historic stone arch bridges are important cultural heritage structures that may develop different collapse mechanisms under seismic actions due to their traditional construction techniques, masonry material properties, and distinctive geometries. Evaluating the seismic behavior of these structures requires understanding how their geometric and mechanical characteristics affect their collapse capacity. This study aims to evaluate the seismic collapse capacity of historic stone arch bridges using a limit analysis approach and to investigate the influence of key parameters. Within the scope of the study, representative bridge geometries will be defined based on available inventory records, accessible visual sources, and literature data. Geometric and mechanical properties not directly specified in the available sources will be addressed through explicitly stated engineering assumptions. Following the development of the analytical model, potential collapse mechanisms and limit capacities of the bridges under seismic actions will be investigated. Furthermore, analyses conducted using different values of selected geometric and mechanical parameters will be used to evaluate changes in collapse capacity and possible variations in collapse mechanisms. The study is expected to contribute to the mechanism-based assessment of the seismic behavior of historic stone arch bridges and to improve understanding of the effects of geometric and mechanical characteristics on their collapse capacity. The findings are intended to provide a basis for preliminary seismic assessment of historic bridges with similar characteristics and for more comprehensive structural analyses in future research.