Dynamic analysis of Dolmabahce masonary clock tower

Abstract

Recent earthquakes around the world have shown that most masonry clock towers are susceptible to structural damage and collapse. An appropriate tower model was erected in order to investigate structural behaviour of a historic masonry watch tower at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul. The initial analysis of self-weight was followed by dynamic analysis, which took into account the influence of deeper soil layers next to tower foundations, and seismic motions registered for soft and stiff soil conditions during the 1999 earthquake in Kocaeli,Turkey.