Seismic analysis and evaluation of damaged masonry historic buildings

In heritage protection, there is vital necessity to recognize the impending seismic risk in prevailing historic buildings for hazard moderation, Seismic analysis is important for historic buildings because they are often valuable cultural heritage that need to be preserved and protected from seismic damage. the city of Aleppo in Syria, known for its rich cultural heritage and world heritage sites, has been severely affected by a long-lasting war that resulted in significant destruction of its monuments. in this study, to better understand the causes of damage and determine the best intervention approaches, a seismic evaluation of historical buildings is necessary. Seismic analysis is an essential tool in heritage protection as it helps identify vulnerabilities, strengths, and risks of historic buildings. In this study, two historical caravansaries in Aleppo, Al-Adliya Khan and Al-Jadeed Khan, were analyzed dynamically to understand the stress on their joints and slabs under various loads, including seismic loads. Results of the case study were presented to evaluate the performance of the building models under earthquake load using SAP2000 and equivalent explosion-induced seismic effects were estimated and compared with earthquakes to examine the possibility of applying the analogy of seismic forces on historic buildings to understand the damage caused by war explosions, for the purpose of safeguarding the monuments. The analysis of the Adliya khan and Al-Jadeed khan building using the SAP2000 software revealed the presence of significant cracks particularly in wall and around windows. Also, the results of the seismic analysis open the possibility of the collapse of many walls and arches in the historical buildings (Adliya khan and Al-Jadeed khan).