Determination of characteristic Parameters of masonry Structures via Operational Modal Analysis

Commonly, material and vibration characteristics of masonry structures remain uncertain in the evaluation of existing structures under external loads such as earthquake, heat, wind, etc. In addition, determination of compressive and tensile strength of a masonry walls is not straightforward. However, it is very important to know the characteristic parameters such as eigen values, periods and mode shapes of a structure beforehand in order to create accurate and reliable physical models. Since each historical structure has its own unique wall and bearing characteristics, it is not possible to accept random initial values for the bearing capacity and other parameters of the structure. Besides, conducting vertical and lateral loading experiments is costly and time consuming. An alternative way to determine these parameters that govern the structural behavior is to carry out experimental vibration tests using accelerometers. This method, which is also called as Operational Modal Analysis (OMA), isused to obtain the free and forced vibration response of structures by experimental means and to determine the modal parameters of the structure. OMA is very important for the appropriate use of an analysis method and the model parameters used in the analysis. In this study, two masonry buildings, one of which is historical, are discussed and the modal parameters of buildings are determined experimentally with OMA. Characteristic values obtained from OMA were compared with the three dimensional finite element method by adjusting characteristic model parameters.