Gelenke im Massivbau

Concrete Hinges

Articulated connections consisting of concrete (concrete hinges) have already been developed 130 years ago and since then they were used successfully in many constructions. In 1880 Claus Köpcke (Dresden) was the first who used so called saddle bearings for a natural stone-arched bridge. At the beginning of the 20th century further developments, especially in France by Freyssinet (concrete hinge without reinforcement in the throat of the hinge) and Mesnager (concrete hinge with heavy reinforcement in the throat of the hinge) have been made. The good experiences in the functionality and the economical advantages led to numerous use of concrete hinges in practice, especially in constructions of reinforced concrete arched bridges and threehinged arches for hall trusses. But concrete hinges were also used in Germany, in the USA and particularly in Switzerland. In the 1960 the works by Fritz Leonhardt (Germany), E.O. Fessler (Switzerland) and G.D. Base (Great-Britain), which define the international state of the art till today, led to a renaissance of concrete hinges. The design rules given by Leonhardt have been adapted to the current state of knowledge within a research project. Therewith the design of concrete hinges based on the today established rules will be possible.