Total load-bearing capacity of yielding steel arch supports

The paper deals with the total load-bearing capacity of steel arch yielding supports of roadways which is inevitable for design of the roadway support. The authors compared results of a finite element (FE) model they developed with results of experimental tests of steel arch supports in laboratory. Computer modelling of the load-bearing capacity of the steel arch support was performed using the massively scalable strongly nonlinear solver MARC. The finite element models of the arch supports and stirrups were created and assembled according to drawings without shape simplification. An experimental investigation was realized in the Laboratory of Mechanical Devices Testing at GIG Katowice. The computer model of the steel arch support captures very well the strength and deformation behaviour of the arch support. The value of the loading capacity of the yielding arch supports at the moment of first slip represents with sufficient accuracy the total load-bearing capacity of arch supports at the specified loading conditions. The mathematical modelling facilitates reliable parametric studies of the steel arch support's total load bearing capacity from the viewpoint of construction, shape, material, optimal yielding connections and a scheme of loading.