Investigation of traffic induced vibrations in diyarbakir city wall gates and development of protection suggestions

The Diyarbakır city walls, which bear the traces of many civilizations, have managed to preserve their general outlines until today. Diyarbakır is an important junction of the region due to its location. For this reason, the city walls are an effective defense structure. There are original and later opened gates on the largely preserved city walls. Especially the original gates are exposed to heavy vehicle traffic. After the Republic period, demolitions were carried out in some sections of the city walls with the increase in construction activities. New gates were opened in line with the needs of the age, considering the sizes of both pedestrians and vehicles used.Most of the damages in the city walls, which have a long history, are due to neglect. The inner wall region, which has an important place in terms of tourism, is a region with heavy traffic. For this reason, although not in the short term, the effect of traffic on the gates in the long term cannot be ignored. Both observational and instrumental measurements were made on the original and later-opened gates. First, observational findings were made. Then, the floor and walls were scanned with the Georadar (GPR) method, which is a non-destructive method. The condition and deformations of the structure on the floor, walls and its immediate surroundings were determined with the scans. After the Georadar (GPR), the intensity of the vibration caused by the current traffic, which forms the basis of the study, was measured on the city gates. While the measurements were taken with three-axis accelerometers, the number of vehicles and pedestrians was also taken into account. Although vehicle traffic did not have a short-term effect on the damages, it was supported by tables and data that it could cause greater damages over time and together with other factors. As a final study, the effect of the ambient noise caused by vehicles and pedestrians on the city gates was measured with instruments. Sound measurements were made in the same time period as the number of pedestrians and vehicles were determined. In order to make a comparison, the measurements were repeated in different time periods when there was density and during calmer hours and presented in tables. As in the vibration measurements, it was observed that vehicle and pedestrian traffic had a long-term effect on the gates in the sound measurements. The effects of the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake on the city gates and walls were also examined observationally. During the study, photographs taken before and after the earthquake were compared. No damage was observed on the gates after the earthquake, but regional collapses occurred on the walls and bastions. Protection recommendations were developed by evaluating the measurement results made with observational data.