The three-hinged arch kit (ST104) is a bench top trainer, which is designed to illustrate the statically three-hinged arch. The unit offers experiments in various load cases such as point load, distributed load and moving load.
- The educational unit includes two long arch segments and one short segment; two of them are connected at a time by a hinged joint.
- When the two long arch segments are connected, they make a symmetrical arch however when the one short arch segment is connected with a long arch segment, unsymmetrical arch is produced.
- The three-hinged arch consists of a curved beam mounted on two fixed supports, and usually featuring the so-called crown hinge at its crown.
- The hinges on the two fixed supports absorb vertical and horizontal forces, and are known as abutment hinges. Their connecting line is the springing line.
- The crown hinge renders the system statically determinate.
- The unit allows the investigation of the arch under a point load, distributed load or moving load.
- The unit includes weights that are used to compensate for the support reactions of an abutment hinge, which enables a comparison between calculated and Actual measured values.
- All the component elements of the experiment are clearly laid-out and housed securely in a storage system.
- The complete experimental can be setup on the mounting frame.