Numerical investigation of the effect of the sinkhole formation on building

In Turkey, especially in the district of Karapınar in the Central Anatolian Region, in the Southeastern Anatolia Region and in the regions called the Taurus Mountains, sinkhole formations have been observed in recent years, the number of which has increased over time. These sinkholes have started to cause damage to the upper and lower structures, especially in rural areas. In this thesis,Considering the rapidly increasing number of sinkholes in the Konya Karapınar region in recent years; First of all, the sinkhole formation mechanism of the region and the characteristics of the sinkhole were examined. Then, an analysis was made on the superstructure inventory of the region. According to the investigations, a numerical study was carried out considering the general characteristics of the sinkholes and the state of the building stock. With this study, which was done for the first time in the literature, three different heights of buildings representing the building stock of the region were selected and thus the pressure exerted by the buildings on the ground became a main parameter. In addition to these structural parameters, a total of 81 finite element models with three different sinkhole widths and four different sinkhole depths selected at four different distances from these structures were created with the PLAXIS 3D program. The structure and sinkhole interaction parameters obtained from the quite comprehensive data set were evaluated in the context of settlements that may occur in the structure. While creating the model, the geotechnical properties of the soil of the region were taken within the scope of the sinkhole formation mechanism. As a result of the analyzes made, it was observed that the depth of the sinkhole, the diameter of the sinkhole and the distance of the sinkhole-structure had a direct effect on the sinkhole-structure interaction, and the structure load had a limited effect. It has been understood that the sinkhole-structure interaction is limited in the sinkholes formed in diameter and high distance.