Structural Load Analysis and Stability Exploration of Zhaozhou Bridge

Taking Zhaozhou Bridge, an outstanding ancient Chinese stone arch bridge, as the research object, this study aims to verify the rationality of its double-sided four-hole open-spandrel arch design. The study used SolidWorks to construct four three-dimensional models, including Zhaozhou Bridge, a single large-hole bridge, a single small-hole bridge, and a non-hole bridge, and conducted static structural load analysis based on ANSYS Workbench. During the analysis, the structural self-weight and a uniformly distributed live load simulating pedestrians and vehicles were taken into account, with a focus on two key indicators: equivalent stress and total deformation. The results show that the Zhaozhou Bridge model achieves uniform stress transmission and symmetrically distributed total deformation. In contrast, the single large-hole bridge has increased stress at the arch feet and asymmetric deformation; the single small-hole bridge exhibits uneven stress distribution and weak load dispersion capacity; and the non-hole bridge has increased self-weight, excessive stiffness redundancy, and concentrated deformation. The results of this study confirm the scientificity of the four-hole design of Zhaozhou Bridge.