Line of thrust

Line of thrust, illustrated
Line of thrust, illustrated

The line of thrust is the locus of the points, through which forces pass in a retaining wall or an arch. It is the line, along which internal forces flow.

In a stone structure, the line of thrust is a theoretical line that through the structure represents the path of the resultants of the compressive forces. For a structure to be stable, the line of thrust must lie entirely inside the structure.

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