Tenth U.S.

National Conference on Earthquake Engineering

Frontiers of Earthquake Engineering
July 21-25, 2014
10NCEE Anchorage, Alaska

A PARAMETRIC STUDY ON
EARTHQUAKE BEHAVIOR OF MASONRY
MINARETS

E. Cakti1, O. Saygili2, J. V. Lemos3, C. S. Oliveira4

ABSTRACT

Minarets are important elements of mosques that constitute the essence of Islamic art. They are
tall and slender structures. Old ones are mostly made of cut-stone-block masonry and
occasionally of brick masonry, while the new ones are generally of reinforced concrete. They
have suffered significant damage during past earthquakes, the most recent event being the 23
October 2011 Van, Turkey earthquake, underlining the need for their maintenance, preservation
and protection. Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey, is home to many historical and modern
minarets. Assessment of their dynamic behavior is significant due to the expectation of a large
event in the near future. This study shows the results of the dynamic nonlinear analysis of two
masonry minarets of different heights to better understand their structural behavior under seismic
conditions. The numerical models are created using 3DEC by discrete element method. The
numerical analyses are performed using a series of sine-wave excitations by gradually changing
the frequency and amplitude of input velocity. Displacement magnitudes, maximum shear and
normal stresses, maximum shear and normal displacements, relative displacements and residual
displacements are recorded. The results are evaluated and compared with those previously
obtained from the analyses carried out under real and synthetic earthquake inputs.

1
Professor, Dept. of Earthquake Engineering, University of Boazii, Istanbul, Turkey. eser.cakti@boun.edu.tr
2
PhD Student, Dept. of Earthquake Engineering, University of Boazii, Istanbul, Turkey. ozden.ates@boun.edu.tr
3
Laboratorio Nacional de Engenharia Civil Lisbon, Portugal. vlemos@lnec.pt
4
Professor, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Portugal. csoliv@civil.ist.utl.pt

Cakti E, Saygili O, Lemos J V, Oliveira C S. A Parametric Study on Earthquake Behavior of Masonry Minarets,
Proceedings of the 10th National Conference in Earthquake Engineering, Earthquake Engineering Research
Institute, Anchorage, AK, 2014.
 Tenth U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering
Frontiers of Earthquake Engineering
July 21-25, 2014
10NCEE Anchorage, Alaska

A Parametric Study on Earthquake Behavior of Masonry Minarets

E. Cakti1, O. Saygili2, J.V. Lemos3, C.S. Oliveira4

ABSTRACT

Minarets are important elements of mosques that constitute the essence of Islamic art. They are tall
and slender structures. Old ones are mostly made of cut-stone-block masonry and occasionally of
brick masonry, while the new ones are generally of reinforced concrete. They have suffered
significant damage during past earthquakes, the most recent event being the 23 October 2011 Van,
Turkey earthquake, underlining the need for their maintenance, preservation and protection.
Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey, is home to many historical and modern minarets. Assessment
of their dynamic behavior is significant due to the expectation of a large event in the near future.
This study shows the results of the dynamic nonlinear analysis of two masonry minarets of
different heights to better understand their structural behavior under seismic conditions. The
numerical models are created using 3DEC by discrete element method. The numerical analyses are
performed using a series of sine-wave excitations by gradually changing the frequency and
amplitude of input velocity. Displacement magnitudes, maximum shear and normal stresses,
maximum shear and normal displacements, relative displacements and residual displacements are
recorded. The results are evaluated and compared with those previously obtained from the
analyses carried out under real and synthetic earthquake inputs.

Introduction

Minarets are unique elements of almost every mosque. They are tall and slender symbolizing the
spiritual elevation of man. Historical minarets are constructed mostly of cut-stone-block masonry
and occasionally of brick masonry. Modern-day minarets are generally of reinforced concrete.
They have suffered significant damage during past earthquakes in Turkey and elsewhere. The
Mw=7.2 23 October 2011 Van, Turkey earthquake is the latest event, where collapses of
reinforced concrete and masonry minarets were common. Of 76 minarets, affected by the
earthquake, 50 had to be demolished as they had either collapsed or had received damage beyond
repair. As minarets have a strong presence in Turkey, and as they will continue to get affected by
the earthquakes, it is worthwhile to understand their damage- and collapse mechanisms.

1
Professor, Dept. of Earthquake Engineering, University of Boazii, Istanbul, Turkey. eser.cakti@boun.edu.tr
2
PhD Student, Dept. of Earthquake Engineering, University of Boazii, Istanbul, Turkey. ozden.ates@boun.edu.tr
3
Proessor, Laboratorio Nacional de Engenharia Civil Lisbon, Portugal. vlemos@lnec.pt
4
Professor, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Portugal. csoliv@civil.ist.utl.pt

Cakti E, Saygili O, Lemos J V, Oliveira C S. A Parametric Study on Earthquake Behavior of Masonry Minarets,
Proceedings of the 10th National Conference in Earthquake Engineering, Earthquake Engineering Research
Institute, Anchorage, AK, 2014..
 Most of the previous studies looked into this matter by documenting damage types to the
minarets and using finite element analysis [1-4]. As however, most of the historical minarets are
of cut-stone masonry we have decided to use distinct elements method as our analysis tool. We
have selected two minarets in Istanbul for modeling. The first minaret belongs to the Mihrimah
Sultan Mosque in Edirnekapi district of Istanbul. The mosque is a mid-16th century building by
Architect Sinan (Fig.1a). The earthquakes of 1719 affected the main building, the minaret and
the adjacent units, 1766 and 1894 [5]. During the events of 1766 and 1894 the minaret collapsed
(Fig. 1b). The whole complex, including the minaret, underwent a comprehensive restoration
scheme after the damages sustained during the Mw7.4, 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. The minaret
rises to 39.86 m from the ground level including its spire. The body diameter is 21.00m.

The second minaret belongs to the Hagia Sophia Museum. Hagia Sophia was built as a
Byzantine Church in 532-537. After the conquest of Constantinople it was used as a mosque
until 1934. During the period it was a mosque, four minarets were added to it. The earliest
minaret, built in red brick (Fig. 2) was added soon after the conquest that took place in 1453. The
second one, located to the north of the first minaret, was constructed during the reign of Beyazd
II. The two remaining minarets were added during the reign of Murad III (1574-1595) [6]. For
the current study, the southern one of the two final additions is selected (Fig. 2). The minaret
rises to 72.68 m starting from the ground level including the 11.57m spire. Its body diameter is
3.43 m.

In this paper we present the results of dynamic nonlinear analyses of these two minarets.
We aim for a better understanding of their structural response characteristics to seismic
conditions. Two minarets of different heights were chosen to understand how this difference
affects the response. Different types of damage that took place in the minarets during past
earthquakes and our previous analyses of minarets under real and simulated ground motion [3,4]
indicate the need of a systematic look at the minaret response. The numerical models are created
using 3DEC. The analyses are performed using a series of sine-wave excitations as input
velocity. They are created by gradually changing their frequency and amplitude. Displacement
magnitudes, maximum shear and normal stresses, maximum shear and normal displacements,
relative displacements and residual displacements are recorded. The results are evaluated and
compared with those previously obtained from the analyses carried out under real and synthetic
earthquake inputs.

(a) (b)
Figure 1. Image of Mihrimah Sultan Mosque with the minaret that collapsed in the 1894
earthquake, from the period between 1894 and 1907 [7].
Figure 2. Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (left), modelled minaret (right).

Numerical Modeling and Assumptions

Three-dimensional models of the two minarets created in 3DEC can be seen in Fig. 3. The
models are based on finite element models created by Oliveira et al [3]. The Mihrimah minaret
was recreated in 3DEC and was subject to calibration on the basis of ambient vibration test
results and ultrasonic testing results carried out in the minaret [4]. The Hagia Sophia minaret is
also re-created in 3DEC, basically following the same modeling assumptions as in the Mihrimah
minaret.

3DEC is a three-dimensional numerical program based on the distinct element method for
dis-continuum modeling and applicable to simulate progressive failure associated with crack
propagation. The micro modeling can provide insight into the localization of the blockmortar
interfaces depending on the levels of detail required. The great advantage of micro modeling is
the capacity for detecting local crack patterns and local failures. The nonlinear behavior of
masonry buildings is controlled by tensile and shear bond-resisting mechanisms as flexural and
diagonal cracks develop along the mortar interfaces and by cohesion and friction parameters. In
the current modeling, MohrCoulomb type failure criteria were used to represent the mortar
interfaces, where the nonlinear behavior is assumed to be concentrated. The basic joint
constitutive model is the generalization of the Coulomb friction law. Mass proportional Rayleigh
damping was used to damp the natural oscillation modes of the models. This helps to limit high-
frequency vibrations, which could cause erroneous computational results. Instead of stiffness
proportional damping, mass proportional damping was used because the introduction of stiffness
proportional damping highly increased the integration steps, which made the dynamic analysis
practically impossible. The model parameters used in the models and geometrical properties of
minarets are given in Table 1 to Table 3. Note that in Fig. 3 and Table 1 the foundations, which
are stiff, prism-type elements, are not shown.
Figure 3. Models of the Mihrimah (left) and Hagia Sophia (right) minarets, general view and
cross-section.

Table 1. Geometrical properties of the Mihrimah minaret model (left), geometrical properties of
Haiga Sophia minaret model (right).

Height Wall thickness Height Wall Thickness

(m) (m) (m) (m)
Transition Transition
3.44 0.30 11.96 1.60
segment(h3) segment(h3)
Body (h2) 21.00 0.30 Body (h2) 19.77 1.00
Top (h1) 6.30 0.30 Top (h1) 8.67 0.60

Table 2. Modeling parameters of the Mihrimah minaret

KN KS Cohesion Tension Friction

Location
(MPa/m) (MPa/m) (MPa) (MPa) angle ()
Horiz. joints 8100 3200 0.5 0.25 35
Wall (body)
Vert.joints 10800 4300 0.5 0.25 35
Wall (trans. Horiz. joints 9900 3900 0.5 0.25 35
segment) Vert.joints 10200 4100 0.5 0.25 35
Core (trans.
Horiz. joints 9900 3900 0.5 0.25 35
segment)
Core (body) Horiz. joints 8100 3200 0.5 0.25 35
Core-stair
Vert. joints 14800 5900 1.00E+20 1.00E+20 35
(trans.segment)
Core - stair
Vert. joints 14800 5900 1.00E+20 1.00E+20 35
(body)
Table 3. Modeling parameters of the Hagia Sophia minaret

Friction
KN KS Cohesion Tension
Location angle
(MPa/m) (MPa/m) (MPa) (MPa)
()
Horiz. joints 9500 3800 0.5 0.25 35
Wall (body)
Vert. joints 9500 3800 0.5 0.25 35
Wall (trans. Horiz. joints 9500 3800 0.5 0.25 35
segment) Vert. joints 9500 3800 0.5 0.25 35
Core (trans.
Horiz. joints 9500 3800 0.5 0.25 35
segment)
Core (body) Horiz. joints 9500 3800 0.5 0.25 35
Core-stair
Vert. joints 18200 7270 1.00E+20 1.00E+20 35
(trans.segment)
Core - stair
Vert. joints 18200 7270 1.00E+20 1.00E+20 35
(body)

Numerical Analysis

Preliminarily, a static analysis is carried out. The maximum normal compressive stress under this
loading condition is 0.66 MPa at the transition part of the Mihrimah minaret and 0.97 MPa at the
transition part of the Hagia Sophia Minaret. Dynamic nonlinear analysis followed the static
analyses. The models were analyzed under a series of sine wave excitations obtained by
gradually changing the frequency and amplitude.

The first natural frequency of vibration of the Mihrimah minaret is 0.82Hz, as obtained
by ambient vibration testing [3]. The analysis covered a frequency range between 0.70Hz and
0.94 Hz. Decreasing and increasing 0.82 Hz by 15% obtain these two limiting frequencies.
Similarly for the Hagia Sophia minaret, which has a frequency of 1.19Hz, the frequency band for
analysis was set as 1.02 Hz and 1.38 Hz. The frequency increment for Mihrimah Minaret is
0.03Hz. The increment for the Hagia Sophia minaret is 0.045Hz. The sine waves to be used as
input are varied between 10%, and 100% with 10% increments. Finally all sine waves produced
in this manner are subjected to cosine tapering. In Fig. 4 an example family of sine waves used in
the analysis of the Hagia Sophia minaret can be seen.

Within the scope of this study, two engineering demand parameters were used: the
relative residual dislocation of adjacent drums normalized by the drum diameter at their
interface, and the maximum displacement at the top of the minaret normalized by the drum
diameter.
 1,5

0,5
velocity (m/s)
0

-0,5

-1

-1,5
0 5 10 15 20
time (s)

Figure 4. Example plot of sine wave family, frequency is 1.02 Hz. The amplitude is varied
between 1.02Hz and 1.38Hz corresponding to 10 sine waves for each frequency.

The first parameter, the relative residual dislocation of adjacent drums normalized by the
drum diameter at their interface, , is defined as;

( )
= (1)

where is the residual relative drum dislocations at the end of the seismic loading
and is drum diameter.

The second parameter is defined as:

= (2)

where is the maximum top displacement at the end of seismic loading, normalized by
the diameter of the top drum of minaret, Ddrum.

During the runs although damage was observed particularly at runs with frequencies larger
than 0.91Hz and sine wave amplitudes larger than 90%, collapse took place twice in the case of
the Mihrimah minaret: during the combination f=0.70Hz & 100% of sine wave and f=0.94Hz &
100% of sine wave. No collapse took place in the Hagia Sophia minaret, while damage was
evident particularly after 1.02Hz and sine wave amplitude of 90%. Typical examples of damage
and collapse pattern can be seen in Fig. 5.
Figure 5. Displacement magnitude (in m) at the end of dynamic analysis of the Mihrimah
minaret for frequency of 0.70 Hz and sine wave amplitude of 90 %(left) and 100 % (right).

Fig. 6 plots maximum normalized residual displacement, u , versus maximum normalized

top displacement, u for the Mihrimah and Hagia Sophia minarets. There is an almost linear
relation between u and u that can be observed at low levels of top and residual displacements
for both Mihrimah and Hagia Sophia. In Hagia Sophia, however, after about u = 0.02 and
u =0.05, and in Mihrimah after about u = 0.06 and u =0.2, we enter a scatter zone,
indicating that significant residual displacements of stone blocks may take place even when the
top displacement is small. At the same time, large top displacements do not necessarily mean
large residual displacements of the stone blocks. In Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 variation of maximum
normalized top displacement with frequency and the sine wave amplitude, and variation of
maximum normalized residual displacement with frequency and sine wave amplitude are shown
respectively. u and u generally increase with the amplitude of the sine wave. u increases
monotonically with the amplitude of sine wave close to the vibration frequency of the minarets.
Afterwards there is a decrease of top displacement and then continue to increase gradually. This
is particularly evident at the Mihrimah minaret. The behavior of the Hagia Sophia minaret is less
clear. Analyses covering a wider frequency range may be necessary for it. In the case of the
Mihrimah minaret, starting with sine wave amplitude of 0.8m/s it appears that the nonlinearity
completely dominates the behavior. Normalized residual drum displacements, u , increase with
the frequency and amplitude loading (Fig. 8). They become particularly evident after 0.5 m/s in
the Mihrimah minaret. It should be noted that in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 the cases with collapse are not
included. The figures contain only data of cases where structural stability is maintained.
 0.24 0.12
0.22
Max. norm. residual

Max. norm. residual

displacement (ud)

displacement (ud)
0.2 0.1
0.18
0.16 0.08
0.14
0.12 0.06
0.1
0.08 0.04
0.06
0.04 0.02
0.02
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.04 0.08 0.12 0.16 0.2
Max. norm. top displacement (utop) Max. norm. top displacement (utop)

Figure 6. Scatter plot of maximum normalized residual displacement versus normalized top
displacement for minaret of Mihrimah (left) and Hagia Sophia (right).

0.9
0.16
0.8
0.14
0.7
0.12
0.6
0.5 0.1
utop

0.4 0.08
utop

0.3 0.06
0.2 sinx1.0
sinx0.9 0.04
sinx0.8 sinx0.8
0.1 sinx0.7 sinx0.7
sinx0.6
sinx0.5
0.02 sinx0.6
0 sinx0.4 sinx0.5
sinx0.3 0 sinx0.4
0.70

sinx0.2 sinx0.3
0.73
0.76

1.02 1.07
0.79

sinx0.1
0.82

sinx0.2
1.11 1.16
0.85
0.88
0.91

1.20 1.25 sinx0.1

0.94

1.29 1.34
1.38

Figure 7. Variation of maximum normalized top displacement with the frequency and the
amplitude of sine wave for the case of Mihrimah (left) and Hagia Sophia (right). Note that the
first dominant frequency of the Mihrimah minaret is 0.82Hz and that of the Hagia Sophia is
1.20Hz.
 0.22 0.11
0.2 0.1
0.18 0.09
0.16 0.08
0.14 0.07
0.12 0.06
ud

ud
0.1 0.05
0.08 0.04
0.06 0.03
sinx1.0
0.04 sinx0.9
sinx0.8
0.02 sinx0.8
sinx0.7
sinx0.7 0.01 sinx0.6
0.02 sinx0.6 sinx0.5
sinx0.5
0 sinx0.4 0 sinx0.4
sinx0.3 sinx0.3
0.70

sinx0.2 sinx0.2
0.73
0.76
0.79

sinx0.1
0.82

sinx0.1
0.85
0.88
0.91
0.94

Figure 8. Variation of maximum residual displacement with the frequency and the sine wave
amplitude for the case of Mihrimah (left) and Hagia Sophia (right). Note that the first dominant
frequency of the Mihrimah minaret is 0.82Hz and that of the Hagia Sophia is 1.20Hz.

Discussion and Conclusion

We have presented preliminary results from a parametric study aiming to understand the damage
and collapse behavior of the minarets. Two minarets of different heights and body diameter are
modeled and analyzed using the distinct elements method. The analyses are carried out using
sine waves as input. The frequencies of the input ground motions, 100 for each minaret, varied in
a band with the natural vibration frequency of the minaret at its center. The amplitudes varied
between 10 and 100 cm/s.

General behavior of the minarets under controlled input motion, in terms development of
stress concentrations and joint displacements, was not found to be strikingly different than that
obtained by Cakti et al. [4], where the analysis had been carried out under real and simulated
earthquakes. Stress concentrations were observed close to the transition part, near the middle of
the minarets body and above the balcony. Damage to the blocks took place due to shear
deformations at heights above mid-body. Blocks get separated from each other when inertial
forces in the out-of-plane directions exceed the shear strength of the mortar. This lateral thrust
initiates the collapse of the minaret above the transition part as a result of additional inertial
forces. Collapse under the given ground motion and modeling assumptions occurred twice in the
case of the Mihrimah minaret under 100 cm/s amplitude sine wave. Collapse of the Hagia Sophia
minaret started at 90cm/s. Although Hagia Sophia minaret is taller than that of the Mihrimah
Sultan Mosque, its natural frequency of vibration is larger than Mihrimah. This is probably due
to the fact that, although the two minarets have elements of comparable total heights above the
transition segment, the wall thickness in the Hagia Sophia minaret is larger and explains why the
Mihrimah minaret experiences larger top displacements than Hagia Sophia. The same
observation can be made for the residual drum displacements. After 50cm/s input velocity we
observe a drastic increase in top displacements and drum dislocations in the Mihrimah Minaret.
In the case of the Hagia Sophia minaret the same increase occurs much more gradually. Top
displacement levels similar to the Mihrimah minaret are observed at input velocities around 70
cm/s. On the other hand, residual drum displacements start at an earlier stage in Hagia Sophia
than the Mihrimah minaret.

References
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Bull Earthquake Eng 2008; 5 505-517.
3. Oliveira C S, akt E, Stengel D, Branco M. Minaret behavior under earthquake loading: The case of
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