Linear analysis of historical masonry bridges under different earthquakes: The case of Murat Bey bridge

Turkey has been home to many civilizations from the past to the present. A large number of historical masonry bridges belonging to these civilizations have been inherited by us. Bridges are one of the most important examples of human efforts to survive against nature, to make their work easier, to overcome the impassable. The purpose of the bridges is to cross the decency between any two places far from each other and to allow people, animals or vehicles to pass through. Historical bridges also help us to understand the worldview, aesthetic feelings, the way of using technology of the period when they were built from the past to the present. Considering that our country is generally located in the seismic belt, it is very important from the point of view of civil engineering to know the behavior of these bridges against earthquake effects and the resistance they show against these effects. In this study, based on these characteristics of bridges, a general research was carried out on the historical bridges in our country and a brief information was given about the historical masonry bridges built by different civilizations in Anatolia. For the purpose of numerical study, the single-span Murat Bey Bridge in the province of Kütahya, built in 1460, was taken into account. The bridge was modelled in three dimensional with SAP2000 finite element program and macro modelling method was used in the modelling. The dynamic characteristics of the bridge were obtained by modal analysis method. Firstly, static analysis of the bridge under its own weight was carried out. Then, time-history analysis method was used for seismic evaluation of the bridge. For this purpose, the acceleration records of the 1998 Adana, 2003 Bingöl, 2011 Van and 2020 Elazığ earthquakes were taken into consideration. As a result of the dynamic analyses carried out, the displacement and stress graphs occurring on the bridge were examined. The highest displacement and stress values on the historical bridge were obtained from the acceleration records of the 2011 Van earthquake.