Assessment of seismic behavior of historic masonry minarets in Antalya, Turkey

The minarets, which attract attention with their height and independent building form, reveal the symbolic structural form of Islamic architecture. Minarets are vulnerable to fail under lateral dynamic effects such as earthquakes since their forms are slender and tall. Therefore, especially in seismic risk areas, it is becoming a vital issue to evaluate the dynamic characteristics and durability of historical minarets. This paper aims to an assessment of seismic damage in historical masonry minarets which were placed in Antalya. The earthquake response of Antalya Minarets is examined through finite element analysis and fragility analysis. At first, the structural model is constructed using solid members, and then to perform the time history analysis, SAP2000 software has been used. Based on the results of the analyzes; drift ratio and stress distribution is estimated. The parts exceeding the limit values of stress distributions are shown by graphs. Furthermore, probabilistic seismic response assessment analysis was conducted for each one minaret. Minarets drift demands were estimated based on the probability of exceeding the performance limit values under DD2 levels earthquakes. The results obtained for earthquakes and minarets are compared with each other. It was obtained that from the results, the maximum shear stresses are concentrated at the transition segment and the balcony level. Moreover, the damages and failures along the minaret were occasionally observed at the transition region. The maximum (Δ/H) drift capacity mean of the minarets was calculated and found below the critical performance level values.