Investigation of GRC Retrofitting Effect on Masonry Dome Using FEM

Abstract

Historical buildings are the cultural heritage of the world. Preservation of historical buildings is important in the past and today. In particular, material fatigue, environmental vibration effects and natural disasters that occur over time cause great damage to historical structures. It is thought that many historical buildings will not reach the next years due to neglect. In order to prevent this situation, historical buildings should be maintained and strengthened if necessary. In addition, historical buildings should have sufficient stiffness to prevent collapse against pre-disaster situations. Masonry domes are often seen in historical buildings. Many masonries dome historical structures are frequently encountered today. In order for masonry dome in historical building to be transferred to the future, care should be taken and they may need to be strengthened periodically, especially after disasters. For all these reasons, in this study, the GRC retrofitting method, which is one of the retrofitting methods of buildings, is mentioned. Thus, the effect of the GRC retrofitting method applied on an exemplary historical masonry dome on modal parameters has been demonstrated. In this comparative study, it was observed that the stiffness of the masonry dome increased with the GRC retrofitting method. As a result of this study, it is suggested to retrofitting masonry dome with the GRC retrofitting method, taking into account the state of the historical building and environmental factors.