Seismic Behavior of Historical Inclined Minarets under Near and Far Fault Ground Motions
Temel Türker, Betül Demirtaş, Ali Ural, M. Aydin Kömür
Abstract
This study investigates the effects of near- and far-fault ground motion on the seismic behavior of historically inclined minarets. Inclined minarets built in Aksaray and Sivas, Turkey, are selected as numerical applications. The top of the Aksaray and Sivas minarets is 1.30 m and 1.23 out-of-plumb and the inclination values are 2.45° and 1.97°, respectively. Firstly, 3D finite element models of the minarets are created using solid elements by SAP2000 software and the numerical dynamic characteristics are determined numerically. 1992 Erzincan and 1999 Kocaeli earthquakes as near- and far-fault ground motion records are selected for the analyses. Maximum displacements, base bending moments, base shear forces, and principal stresses are determined using the finite element method. The results obtained for both earthquakes are compared with each other. It is clearly seen that near-fault ground motion has resulted in much larger response values for both minaret models when compared with far-fault ground motion and max stresses that occurred on the transition segments.