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Structural walls of old historical structures are either blind or have openings for functional requirements. It is well known that in and out of plane responses of structural walls are affected by the size, locations and arrangements of such openings. The purpose of this investigation is to study the window opening effects on static and seismic behaviors of historical masonry old mosques. Fatih Mosque, which was converted from a church, constructed in 914 in Trabzon, Turkey is selected for this purpose. The mosque is being restored. Structural exterior walls of the mosque were made using stone and mortar materials. When the plaster on the walls was removed during the restoration, 12 window openings were found as blind on the exterior structural walls of the mosque. Within the scope of restoration works, it is aimed to open such blind windows. In order to investigate the effects of the window openings on the structural behavior of the mosque, 3D solid and finite elements models of the mosque with and without window openings are initially developed. The experimental dynamic characteristics such as frequency, damping ratio and mode shapes of the current situation of the mosque, where some windows openings are blind, are determined using Ambient Vibration Testing. Then, the finite element model of the current situation of the mosque is updated using the experimental dynamic characteristics. The static and seismic time history analyses of the updated finite element model with and without window openings are carried out. Structural behaviors of the mosque with and without window openings are compared considering displacement and stress propagations.

SummaryHistorical stone mosques with masonry dome are complex structures due to their different structural elements, material properties, boundary conditions, connections, etc. It is very difficult to develop the numerical models representing the real behaviour of these structures. Therefore, their numerical models should be checked with ambient vibration tests for the reliable safety evaluations before the restoration applications. However, it is known that the ambient vibration tests of historical mosques are very difficult and costly and need permissions from the owners and relevant government agencies. The paper aims to develop an empirical formulation for estimating the fundamental frequency of historical stone mosques with masonry dome to check the initial finite element models. Nine stone mosques with masonry dome in different dimensions in the eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey were selected as examples for this purpose. By performing ambient vibration tests of the selected mosques, experimental natural frequencies, mode shapes, and damping ratios have been determined and evaluated together. An empirical formulation for the fundamental frequency and coefficients for the second and third frequencies of stone mosques with masonry dome based on vibration data are obtained by using the statistical regression analysis and verified with the control data. The comparative results confirm that the proposed formulation has a reliable predictive performance.

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