Effect of geometric properties on dynamic behavior of historic masonry minaret

Abstract

Historical minarets are quite sensitive structures against horizontal loads as they are tall, slender and masonry constructions. Due to their special characters, significant damages are occurred in critical part by devastating earthquakes. These damages lead to more comprehensive studying about minarets. In this study; the effect of geometrical features was investigated for dynamic behavior of seven historical masonry minarets in Bursa. However, dynamic character identification of historical masonry minarets are so difficult. Therefore, ambient vibration test were performed with aim of defining modal parameters of the minarets. Since the structural behavior of historical minarets were also represented with mathematical models, three dimensional (solid) models were implemented by using the finite element software Abaqus Cae. Model updating was performed in order to match the natural frequencies arising from the experimental investigation with those from numerical results. According to the results obtained from both forms, effect of geometric features on the dynamic behavior of minarets was evaluated. The relationships are between the first mode period of the minarets and the structural properties such as height, cross section, boundary condition. Then, the analytical formula was derived from the relationships for rapid estimation of the fundamental period of the typical Ottoman minarets. Finally, it was found that the period of the minarets from the formula close enough to modal test and modal analysis results.