Ambient vibration testing and seismic performance assessment of Hagia Irene

Abstract

This thesis investigates the applicable methods for ambient vibration testing and seismic assessment to the cultural heritage buildings by using the Hagia Irene Church in Istanbul as the case study. The city of Istanbul is home to hundreds of cultural heritage buildings. These buildings suffered numerous damages throughout history due to environmental conditions, human-caused incidents and natural disasters. Due to these facts, it is important to know the current condition of these buildings. It is especially important to conduct such studies in Turkey, due to the fact that Turkey is in an active earthquake zone. There are many challenges to tackle during the seismic assessment of heritage buildings. One of these challenges is the construction techniques and material properties. It is difficult to model the behaviour of a masonry structure. To counter this, the proposed methodology includes using a small-scale test to lay a foundation for the greater work ahead. In this small-scale test, a masonry panel wall was subjected to non-destructive identification tests and a cyclic loading test. After conducting the lab-tests, a finite element model of the wall was made to imitate the conditions of the lab-test. Then the experimental and numerical results were compared to determine the viability of the proposed methodology. Satisfied with the obtained results, an ambient vibration test was made to Hagia Irene and a finite element model of the structure was created and calibrated according to the vibration data. The results obtained from this model were used to determine the seismic performance of Hagia Irene.