DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF HAGIA SOPHIA & SULEYMANIYE: ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM THE KOCAELI & DUZCE EARTHQUAKES

Serkan Cimilli

(Thesis Supervisor: Eser Durukal)

ABSTRACT

Strong motion networks installed in the Hagia Sophia Museum and in the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, recorded a series of events during the August 17, Kocaeli (Mw=7.4) and Nowember 12, 1999, Duzce,Turkey (Mw=7.2) earthquakes and during the following aftershock activity. In this study, a strong motion database was established containing all past records obtained from the two networks operated by Boğaziçi University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, Earthquake Engineering Department. The time-domain and frequency-domain analyses of data, obtained from the Kocaeli and Duzce earthquakes, were performed to determine the dynamic response of the two monuments. A post-earthquake quick ambient vibration survey was conducted in Hagia Sophia, which showed a frequency drop in the modal vibration frequencies, indicating the need for a comprehensive survey for damage detection. To assess the variation of modal frequencies during a single event, the time-localized modal frequencies were calculated in the two structures. This earthquake specific variation of modal frequencies was displayed by the recent data as well. The microtremor method was implemented for Hagia Sophia, which aims to estimate the dynamic characteristics of structures and determine the weak points through the analysis of ambient vibration measurements.