Investigation of deformations in structures by finite element methods

In engineering structures, any accident caused by deformation can lead to significant loss of life and property if not detected in advance and necessary precautions are not taken. The movements of the structure can be monitored using traditional geodetic and geotechnical methods. The finite element method can be preferred to obtain deformations with great accuracy using numerical analysis techniques. The finite element method has significant use in determining deformations. In deformation studies, the deformations that will occur under the influence of the structure's own weight and external loads can be determined using only the material properties of the structure as input, without using geodetic or non-geodetic methods. This study aims to compare the analysis results obtained using geodetic methods that perform point-based analysis and the finite element method that performs area-based analysis, and to interpret them from an engineering perspective. In the study, height differences were determined using the round-trip leveling method at 25 selected object points on the Faculty of Law building at Selçuk University, and deformation analysis was carried out using the s-transformation method to obtain unknown heights. The structure was analyzed using the finite element method with the SAP2000 software. The structure was analyzed only under its own weight. Material parameters were used as input, and the structure was divided into finite elements. A total of 65,989 node points were obtained. However, only the node points corresponding to the selected object points were evaluated. When the analysis results obtained by the geodetic method and the analysis results obtained by the finite element method were compared, the results were found to be close to a certain extent. It was interpreted that more accurate results would be obtained if the basic conditions of the structure and other loads affecting the structure were added.