Evaluation of material characteristics and structural dynamic properties of a historical church: The case of 19th century Bursa Derekoy church (Ayia Paraskevi)

Abstract

Derekoy (Ayia Paraskevi) Church, built by the Orthodox Greeks in Bursa, is one of the prominent monuments built in the 19th century. The structure, which lost its community with the population exchange (1923) between Turkey and Greece, has since then been out of service and a rapid deterioration process has begun. Analysis works are frequently implemented for this purpose and become crucial in Turkey, of which a large part is within the earthquake zone. However, the majority of the studies on the preservation of historical buildings are lacking in detailed material analysis and numerical methods. Conducting a series of material tests and numerical analyses for the structure provides more reliable and qualified interventions since they influence the decisions on the reinforcement and protection methods employed for historical buildings. For this purpose, the material characterizations of the mortar, plaster and stones used in the church were carried out by performing physical, chemical, mechanical, petrographic and mineralogical tests on samples taken from the church. Afterwards, mechanical tests of the walls and vibration tests were conducted to determine the dynamic behavior of the building. Based on the results obtained from the analyses, a series of intervention methods were proposed. It is understood that the flat -jack, shear and vibration tests are vital for determining the real structural behavior of the building. Furthermore, it is recommended that vibration tests are carried out on both the overall structure and individual walls to determine the dynamic behavior of similar structures where only outer walls remain standing.