Structural evaluation of traditional masonry buildings during the February 6 - 12, 2017 Ayvacık (Çanakkale) earthquakes in Turkey

Özet

Throughout history, the town and environs of Ayvacık, a district of Çanakkalein western Turkey, has been home to a traditional style of architecture thatrepresents the integration of cultures originating from different geographies. Themedium-sized and major earthquakes that occur periodically in the region constitutea threat to the sustainability of this traditional residential architecture. Fourmoderate earthquakes having magnitudes of between 5.2 and 5.3 struck the epicenterof Gülpınar - Ayvacık (Çanakkale) over the period February 6 -12, 2017.These earthquakes were strongly felt in the region and in the rural areas, unreinforcedstone masonry house structures suffered significant damages. In this study,seventy-two damaged traditional houses were investigated in Yukarıköy districtof Ayvacık based on onsite observations, and the types of damage and their potentialcauses were evaluated according to the data gathered. The reasons for theeleven types of damages were the irregularities present in the formation of thestone blocks of external walls, the sizes of the stone blocks and the irregularities inmasonry detailing, the use of weak mud mortar, the lack of tie beams at the floorand roof levels, and the weak connections between different internal wall systemsand external walls.