Matthew Gilbert

Director of the Integrated Civil and Infrastructure Research (ICAIR) Centre, University of Sheffield

Professor Matthew Gilbert is Director of the Integrated Civil and Infrastructure Research (ICAIR) Centre at the University of Sheffield. A chartered civil engineer, he has a longstanding interest in the performance of masonry arch bridges. He also has a strong interest in the development of computational analysis and design techniques for a variety of applications. To make these techniques accessible to practitioners he co-founded the engineering software company LimitState. He is also the author or co-author of numerous research papers, reports and book chapters, including CIRIA C800 (‘Guidance on the assessment of masonry arch bridges’). Organisations sponsoring his research have included EPSRC, Network Rail and the International Union of Railways.

My Speaker Sessions

Wednesday 13 March 2024

11:30

Fast-Running Numerical Analysis Methods for Masonry Arch Bridges

11:30 - 11:55
  • Briefly review existing methods of analysis for masonry arch bridges.
  • Outline the new ‘Thrust Layout Optimization’ (TLO) analysis method, which overcomes issues associated with traditional thrust line analysis.
  • Explain how the ‘Discontinuity Layout Optimization’ (DLO) method can be extended to identify 3D failure modes in arches.
  • Compare these methods with other fast-running analysis tools.