Seismic performance analysis and rehabilitation applications for a historical masonry building through field works and experimental investigations

Historical buildings are distinct structures in terms of seismic performance and extensive evaluations focusing on their seismic mechanisms and responses have yet to be clarified and presented. Thus, it was aimed to present a methodology consisting of various analysis approaches for historical buildings to increase the seismic strength. This study also covers rehabilitation applications for a historical masonry structure that was originally designed as the hospital building, however, later refunctioned to serve as the military prison, and presently in use as a university building. The pre-defined tasks in the study are implemented in three stages. Firstly, the material properties of building components were determined through field study and laboratory tests. Secondly, a series of simulations such as linear, non-linear, and kinematic analyses were performed using finite element software. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the structure did not satisfy the targeted performance levels, as well as vertical and lateral bending mechanisms emerged. Therefore, a rehabilitation stage is presented due to the unsatisfactory seismic strength of the building. This work examines the seismic performance and proposes a rehabilitation approach for masonry buildings focusing on a particular and significant case, which includes the first structure built using solid bricks in Istanbul in the Ottoman era.