stone arch design

huangyhg

stone arch design
i have a client that wants to build an underground vault with an arched stone ceiling. the span is 12鈥? height above springline is 3鈥? desired thickness is about 12鈥?and the length is 15'. the overall inside headroom is about 8鈥?6鈥? ground cover above the crown is about 1鈥?0鈥? does anyone have any design data? thanks.
see "a treatise on masonry construction", by i. o. baker. this 552 page book (published in 1889) can be downloaded from this link:
the university of sheffield in uk has a program titled 'ring' that can be used for analysis of stone arches.  they have done a fair amount of research on restoring these.
dik
it sounds like it might be easier to use the stone as a form (supported by temporary framing) and use concrete to support the ceiling.  design a slab to support the masonry and use some type of mechanical ties in the masonry to assure bonding.
i especially agree with structuralaggie if you are in a seismic region.