Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

@article{207169,
        author = {Bhavesh S. Bhutada and Girish V. Joshi},
        title = {Structural Behaviour Assessment of a Steel Bowstring Arch Girder Bridge under IRC Loading: A Comparative Study of Bracing Systems},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {2},
        pages = {4161-4164},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=207169},
        abstract = {This paper presents a structural evaluation of a 50 m span steel bowstring arch girder bridge analysed in accordance with Indian Roads Congress (IRC) codal provisions. A three-dimensional finite element model of the bridge was developed in MIDAS Civil, comprising a curved arch rib, vertical hangers, a longitudinal tie girder, cross beams, and three alternative lateral bracing systems, namely K-type, X-type, and Vierendeel-type. The model was first validated against manually computed results for a two-hinged arch, after which the bridge was subjected to in-plane actions (dead load, superimposed dead load, vehicular live load and temperature effects) and out-of-plane actions (transverse and longitudinal wind, and seismic response spectrum loading as per IRC:SP-114-2018). Vertical and lateral deflections, mode shapes, and serviceability limits were examined for each bracing configuration. The study found that vehicular and temperature loads govern in-plane vertical deflection, whereas wind action dominates the out-of-plane response, and that the K-type bracing arrangement consistently produced the smallest lateral deflections under both wind and seismic excitation. All critical load combinations satisfied the deflection limits prescribed in IRC:24-2010.},
        keywords = {Bowstring arch bridge, bracing systems, finite element analysis, IRC loading, MIDAS Civil, response spectrum.},
        month = {July},
        }