Investigation of soil-structure relationships of the Van Yüzüncü Yıl University settlement area with microtremor method

When the damages that occur after earthquakes are examined, it is seen that in addition to the engineering and application errors in the structures, the mechanical and physical properties of the soils on which the structures are built are also one of the important factors in increasing or decreasing the loss of life and property. For this reason, determination of the behavior of soils under dynamic loads and engineering properties, revealing the soil-structure relations are of great importance in minimizing possible damages. Considering the effect of dynamic forces such as earthquakes, the determination of soil-structure interactions and behavior characteristics is decisive and important in terms of earthquake performance of structures. For this purpose, within the scope of this thesis, microtremor measurements were made in the buildings of faculties and vocational school used for different purposes in the residential area of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, which is one of the areas adversely affected by the October 23, 2011 Van (Mw=7.1) earthquakes, and soil-structure interaction evaluations were made. The measurements were carried out on the natural grounds outside the buildings and on the basement, ground and normal floors of each building. The selected buildings were retrofitted after the 2011 Van earthquakes. In order to reveal the dynamic soil properties in the study area and to compare them with the results obtained from the buildings, soil dominant period, amplification and shear wave velocity (Vs30) maps for the first 30 m were obtained. The results of the microtremor measurements at the basement, ground and normal floors of the buildings and the field data were evaluated together to examine the soil-structure relations and to evaluate the resonance conditions of the buildings. In addition, the periods obtained from microtremor measurements and structural analyses are compared. The usefulness of the data obtained as a result of the data-processing of microtremor records in determining the soil response, determining the building response and obtaining the soil-structure response is once again demonstrated.