Effects of Velocity Pulse-Like Ground Motions on the Seismic Failure Behavior of Masonry Minarets

This research is motivated by post-earthquake observations of significant structural damage to minarets during the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. It is thought that the near-fault velocity pulse-like ground motions played a crucial role in this phenomenon. Although the seismic performance of minarets has been extensively studied, including a large body of literature on numerical and experimental analyses, no attention has been paid to the seismic damage assessment of minarets subjected to strong velocity pulse-like ground motions. The present study aims to investigate the effects of near-fault strong velocity pulse-like ground motions with different velocities on the seismic failure behavior of masonry minarets. A 33-meter-high stone masonry minaret was selected for this purpose. Nonlinear behavior of masonry unit is modeled using Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP). For the nonlinear analysis, three near-fault strong velocity pulse-like ground motions recorded during February 6, 2023, Kahramanmaraş earthquake (M7.7) and one non-pulse-like ground motion were selected. Displacements, strains, stresses and damage patterns in masonry minarets subjected to near-fault velocity pulse-like and non-pulse-like ground motions were obtained and thoroughly evaluated across different ground velocities. The velocity, the number of pulses and the pulse duration of velocity-pulse-like ground motions have a significant influence on the structural damage behavior of minarets. The results provide a detailed understanding of how minarets respond to different velocity pulse-like ground motion scenarios, offering valuable insights for the design, rehabilitation, and retrofitting of both new and existing minarets.