Analysis of the spatial behaviour of masonry bridges via hierarchical fem modelling: The Devil’s bridge

The contribution of the fill to the global behavior of masonry vaulted bridges may be primarily significant. Nevertheless, ordinary analyses conducted on masonry bridges usually consider only the main structural vaulted elements. The paper reports some results obtained through a numerical simulation developed on a FEM model of an ancient bridge, the Devil’s bridge on Sele river at Barrizzo, in the Campania region. The study is aimed at showing how the fill may be contributing with a significant static action, changing the real carrying capacity of the bridge as regards applied loads. The study allows to highlight the spatial behavior of the single components and of the overall structure as well, in terms of stresses and deformed configurations under the self-weight and the accidental loads.