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  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 2
    Citation - Scopus: 1
    A Close Examination of Ankara's Reinforced Concrete Buildings Designed and Constructed Between 1923 and 1938
    (Mdpi, 2023) Tunc, Gokhan; Tunc, Tanfer Emin
    The Republic of Turkey was established in 1923 out of the remains of the Ottoman Empire. Between 1923 and 1938, the Turkish republic underwent fifteen years of rapid expansion and growth, with Ankara as its new capital and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938) as its first president. During this period, reinforced concrete (RC) played a significant role in the construction of Ankara's public-use buildings. This study focuses on 57 of these structures, built either partially, or entirely, out of RC. The buildings are classified with respect to their duration, soil properties, foundation types, structural design details, construction types, materials and overall costs. In order to provide a better picture of the time period in which these buildings were designed and constructed, the technical, financial and political aspects of the projects, and the difficulties and challenges involved in their design and construction, are also discussed. Furthermore, this study outlines the impact of foreign engineers, construction workers, firms and the educational system on the development of civil engineering and use of RC in Turkey.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 54
    Citation - Scopus: 58
    Investigation of Rc Buildings After 6 February 2023, Kahramanmaras, Turkiye Earthquakes
    (Mdpi, 2023) Mertol, Halit Cenan; Tunc, Gokhan; Akis, Tolga; Kantekin, Yunus; Aydin, Ishak Can
    Two major earthquakes struck Pazarcik and Elbistan, towns in Kahramanmaras, Turkiye, on 6 February 2023, approximately 9 h apart. The first earthquake, recorded at 04:17 local time, had a M-w = 7.7, with a focal depth of 8.6 km. At 13:24 local time, a second earthquake occurred with M-w = 7.6 at a focal depth of 7 km, approximately 90 km north of the first one. A total of 11 provinces were severely affected by these earthquakes. As of 15 April 2023, they caused close to 51,000 deaths and almost 215,000 completely destroyed/severely damaged buildings. At some locations, the largest horizontal peak ground acceleration (PGA) values of the first and second earthquakes exceeded the code-generated PGAs by almost 3 and 1.75 times, respectively. A technical team visited these areas within 15 h of the first earthquake. The purpose of this article is to present their observations, findings, and the characteristics of the two earthquakes, with comprehensive site survey results supported by photographs. This study concludes that most of the collapsed and severely/moderately damaged buildings in the region were built between 1975 and 2000, when site inspections were rare or non-existent. In addition to the high PGAs recorded in these earthquakes, it was verified that the design and construction of these buildings did not fully comply with the earthquake codes valid at the time. The collapsed buildings and their damage patterns confirm inadequate development length, violation of bending stirrup ends at 135 & DEG;, deficiencies in construction materials and reinforcement configuration, noncompliance with confinement zones, violation of the strong beam-stronger column analogy, and issues related to building inspection. Based on the extent of the damage, it is strongly recommended that the structural performance inspection of all other buildings located near major fault lines, specifically those constructed between 1975 and 2000, should be completed. Since these earthquakes generated much higher PGAs, which is believed to be one of the main reasons for the extensive damage, a re-evaluation of all other PGAs along major fault lines is also recommended.