STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF TALL AND SPECIAL BUILDINGS, vol.22, no.9, pp.749-758, 2013 (SCI-Expanded)
This paper presents the comparison of the earthquake behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) minarets using Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) composite. A Turkish style RC minaret with two balconies of a mosque located in Trabzon, Turkey is selected as an application. 3D finite element model of the minaret is created using ANSYS finite element program to determine the earthquake behavior. Earthquake behavior of the minaret is investigated using 1992 Erzincan earthquake ground motion record. Also, cylindrical body of the minaret (below first balcony, between two balconies and above second balcony) is wrapped by four layers FRP and earthquake behavior is determined. Total thickness of the FRP is selected as 6.0 mm. At the end of the study, earthquake responses of the RC minaret such as displacements and maximum-minimum principal stresses before and after using FRP composite are compared with each other. It is seen from the earthquake analyses that using of FRP is very effective on the earthquake responses of the minaret.