A New Approach to Earthquake Design Principles: Repairable Damage and Innovative Repair Techniques for Structures Appropriately Designed According to Seismic Codes

by Muhammed Raşit Çevikalp | Dec 19, 2022

Project Title: A New Approach to Earthquake Design Principles: Repairable Damage and Innovative Repair Techniques for Structures Appropriately Designed According to Seismic Codes
Project Type: TÜBİTAK Project
Project Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Alper İlki

According to current regulations, against earthquakes, structures are designed to avoid collapse of the structural system for providing life safety. Although the structures designed according to “Life Safety” performance target do not collapse, damages to these structures may lead to serious economic losses. For example, 60% of the buildings designed in accordance with current regulations in Christchurch city were demolished and rebuilt after Canterbury (2010) and Christchurch (2011) earthquakes, because engineers in New Zealand, like elsewhere, did not have a solid knowledge and experience on the efficiency of repairing methods and the seismic performance of structural systems with damage.

The research project titled “A New Approach to Earthquake Design Principles: Repairable Damage and Innovative Repair Techniques for Structures Appropriately Designed According to Seismic Codes” funded by TUBITAK (The scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) aims to determine the damage limits for the potential post-earthquake repairability of reinforced concrete structures through a comprehensive research program (both numerical and experimental) on seismic performance of RC columns. By means of this new performance target “Repairable Damage”, it is aimed to design buildings, which will suffer less damage during earthquakes. Other than significant cost savings for repair and reconstruction, this target will remarkably reduce down time and turning back to normalcy after severe earthquakes.

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İTÜ Faculty of Civil Engineering

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It can be accepted that the history of ITU Civil Engineering Faculty was commenced in 1727 by the establishment of Humbarahane during the era of Damat İbrahim Paşa. However, this attempt was to no avail due to the martyrization of the studwents of this school by the Janissaries.


In 1734, during the grand viziership of Topal Osman Paşa, classes related to Civil Engineering was being taught in Hendesehane, which was founded in Üsküdar. Similarly, this school was also closed after three years due to the opposition of the Janissaries. The reasons of the tragedy that occured in Battle of Chesma, 1770 were inadequacy of the ships and the ignorance of the Ottoman Navy.


Although the Atlantic Map (1513) and the Map of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea (1523) by Piri Reis were the leading pieces of the era, Ottoman viziers were so ignorant that they claimed it was impossible for the Russian Baltic Fleet to reach the Mediterranean Sea assuming that there were no sea connection. With the proposal from Gazi Hasan Paşa and Baron de Tott, Mühendishane-i Bahri-i Humayun was established during the time of Sultan Mustafa III, aiming to train naval construction engineers. Since Ottoman Empire did not have any engineering schools at the time, military engineering classes were taught by French engineers beginning from 1784. French lecturers had to return to their country in 1788 with the increasing suppression from Austria and Russia, which were unwilling for the development and thriving of Ottoman Empire. In 1759, during the Grand Viziership of Koca Ragıp Paşa, Humbarahane was reopened in Karaağaç, Haliç (Golden Horn) and continued to teach even though it was incompetent. In 1792, Lağımcı Ocağı and Humbaracı Ocağı (Guild of Sappers) were established.