Types of arches in civil engineering

Arch: The brick or stone blocks are formed with circular shapes on the door or window or opening with the purpose of resisting the pressure of the upper load.

So, the circular frame that is specifically created by brick or stone blocks is known as the arch. It is arranged both sides support of the opening. The objective of the Arch is to bear its own weight as well as other upper body weight on both side support.

The arch provides the following benefits :-

It provides a robust abutment.
It is applied in a greater extent.
It is most suitable where the weight is bigger.
The structure is applied to enhance the look of any construction.

The arch contains the following parts :-

Intrados: The inside curve of the arch is known intrados.
Extrados: The exterior curve is known as extrados.
Voussoirs: The wedge shape bricks or pre-cast blocks known as voussoirs are used to build up the arch. It means, after the skew back of the arch, the blocks are applied to the key-stone which are defined as voussoirs.

Crown: The uppermost point of the extrados of the arch is known as Crown.
Keystone: The large wedge-shaped block that is arranged in the middle of the arch, in the top point, is described as the key stone.
Springing line: If the two springing points are attached with a fictional horizontal line, it is called springing line.

Arch ring: The circle that is rounded to form the arch is known as the arch ring.
Depth or height: The length among the extrados and intrados is known as the depth or height.
Soffit: The inside surface of the arch is known as soffit.

Rise: The vertical rump that is located from the spring of the arch to the bottom of the key-stone is called rise.
Spandrel: The central portion on the exterior of the arch is known as spandrel.
Pier: The middle wall of the two arches afterward was named the pier.
Back: The exterior surface of the arch is labelled as back.

Span: The horizontal space among the two sides of the arch is known as a span.
Abutment: The wall on which the arc studies the weight, is known as abutment.
Hunch: The lower portion of the median among the skew back and the crown is termed as the hunch.
Skewback: It belongs to the diagonal surface of the pivot, from which the first arch of the arch is arranged as a skew back.
Categorization of Arch
As per construction materials, the arch is categorized as follow :- Brick_Arch, Stone_Arch, Concrete_Arch.