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Browsing Civil Engineering by Author "Akış, Tolga"
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Article A site survey of damaged RC buildings in İzmir after the Aegean sea earthquake on October 30, 2020(Gradevinar, 2023-06-10) Mertol, Halit Cenan; Tunç, Gökhan; Akış, TolgaAn earthquake with a magnitude of Mw = 6.6 and a depth of approximately 16.5 km occurred on 30 October 2020 off the cost of Samos, a Greek island 35 km southwest of Seferihisar, a town in İzmir. The earthquake caused several collapses and severe structural damage in approximately 6,000 buildings, specifically in the Bayraklı District in İzmir Bay. This paper presents the observations and findings of a technical team that visited the earthquake-affected areas immediately after an earthquake. Eleven partially or fully collapsed buildings and several severely damaged reinforced concrete buildings were investigated. Based on the site observations, we observed that almost all of the collapsed or severely damaged reinforced concrete buildings in the region were built between 1975 and 2000. Site observations also confirmed that the construction of these collapsed or damaged buildings did not conform to the requirements outlined in the Turkish Earthquake Codes used at the time. The failures and severe damage to buildings in earthquake-affected areas are primarily related to inadequate reinforcement configuration, poor material quality, the absence of geotechnical studies, and framing problems related to their lateral load-carrying systems. Therefore, it is recommended that all the buildings located in and around İzmir Bay, particularly those built between 1975 and 2000, be structurally evaluated to prevent any further loss of life and property during future earthquakes.Article Influence of Cement Replacement by Calcinated Kaolinitic and Montmorillonite Clays on the Properties of Mortars(Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 2023-07-06) Al-Noaimat, Yazeed A.; Akış, TolgaThis study aims to investigate the decomposition and pozzolanic reactivity of two different clays (kaolinitic and montmorillonite) from different origins and to determine their effects after calcination on the properties of cement mortars when used to replace Portland cement partially. Mineralogical and chemical compositions of the clay samples were determined using XRD (X-Ray Diffractometer) and XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) tests, respectively. TG-DTA (Thermogravimetry-Differential Thermal Analyses) was used to determine the temperature profiles and the burning temperatures of the clays. The density and fineness of the burnt clays were also determined. In order to investigate the optimum material properties, different burning temperatures and replacement levels were considered. It was found that for all temperatures, the two burnt clays possess good pozzolanic activity. The highest compressive strength and lowest water absorption capacity were achieved when the clay determined as kaolinitic was burned at 700 °C and with 10% replacement level. While for the clay determined as montmorillonite, the optimum properties were obtained at 700 °C with a 20% substitution level. Kaolinite had better pozzolanic reactivity than montmorillonite, achieving higher strength performance with lower water absorption when partially replaced with cement. Moreover, it had compressive strength values even higher than plain cement.Article Investigation of RC Buildings after 6 February 2023, Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye Earthquakes(Buildings, 2023-07-13) Mertol, Halit Cenan; Tunç, Gökhan; Akış, Tolga; Kantekin, Yunus; Aydın, İshak CanTwo major earthquakes struck Pazarcık and Elbistan, towns in Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye, on 6 February 2023, approximately 9 h apart. The first earthquake, recorded at 04:17 local time, had a Mw = 7.7, with a focal depth of 8.6 km. At 13:24 local time, a second earthquake occurred with Mw = 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°, 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.