Abstract

This paper aims to present the historical construction technology of churches’ bell towers in Cyprus, starting with the initiation of their use and addressing the development of their distinctive morphology adapting and mixing various architectural styles. Traditional bell towers are tall and slender unreinforced masonry structures that are known to be particularly vulnerable to earthquake actions encountered in seismogenic regions, such as Cyprus. Therefore, iron and wood elements with high tensile capacities were commonly utilized in Cypriot bell towers in the form of ties. In particular, the bell tower of Saint John’s church in Psevdas village was constructed using such technology and is an example case studied in more detail in the present work. This tower suffered a partial collapse during an earthquake on May 12th, 2016 and underwent restoration within the next year. Based on the knowledge gathered from the case of the damaged tower and the visual inspection of other bell towers in Cyprus, the use of timber and iron ties in these masonry structures is deemed to be essential for their protection from seismic actions.

Abstract

The JMA intensity was calculated for all the important events that the Earthquake Engineering Laboratory (LIS) has recorded since 1990. First, a pre-selection was made taking into account only events that had been recorded in more than 5 sites. Every record was plotted and revised by visual inspection in order to rule out those with high noise level or poor waveform quality. A frequency domain filter was applied to each component, then in the time domain the vectorial summation was computed and data was sorted out in descending order. The amplitude at which the cummulative amplitude reached a value of 0.3s was taken to compute the JMA intensity. The results are shown in the form of graphs that relate the value of JMA to the maximum acceleration and in the form of maps showing the spatial distribution of intensities.

Abstract

Earthquakes pose a significant threat to dams and other reservoir structures. Beyond the ground shaking itself, the dynamic interaction between the earthquake ground motion and the water in the reservoir creates a phenomenon known as hydrodynamic pressure. This pressure can significantly exceed the static hydrostatic pressure that the dam is typically designed to withstand. Understanding and accurately predicting hydrodynamic pressure is crucial for ensuring the safety and stability of dams during seismic events.

Abstract

Earthquakes pose a significant threat to dams and other reservoir structures. Beyond the ground shaking itself, the dynamic interaction between the earthquake ground motion and the water in the reservoir creates a phenomenon known as hydrodynamic pressure. This pressure can significantly exceed the static hydrostatic pressure that the dam is typically designed to withstand. Understanding and accurately predicting hydrodynamic pressure is crucial for ensuring the safety and stability of dams during seismic events.

Abstract

Structural analysis is conducted by the displacement method for evaluation of the stress-strain state induced by static loads. The analysis is conducted by the modal analysis and acceleration response spectrum method for the evaluation of the stress-strain state induced by dynamic loads (including seismic loads).
Structural analysis is carried out using the finite element method. The above method is based on the schematization of the structure into elements connected only at a set number of points called nodes. The nodes are defined by the three Cartesian coordinates in a global reference system. The unknowns of the problem (within the displacement method) are the displacement components of the nodes referred to the global reference system (translations according to X, Y, Z, rotations around X, Y, Z). The solution of the problem is obtained by a system of linear algebraic equations whose known terms consist of the loads acting on the structure appropriately concentrated at the nodes.

Abstract

Structural analysis is conducted by the displacement method for evaluation of the stress-strain state induced by static loads. The analysis is conducted by the modal analysis and acceleration response spectrum method for the evaluation of the stress-strain state induced by dynamic loads (including seismic loads).
Structural analysis is carried out using the finite element method. The above method is based on the schematization of the structure into elements connected only at a set number of points called nodes. The nodes are defined by the three Cartesian coordinates in a global reference system. The unknowns of the problem (within the displacement method) are the displacement components of the nodes referred to the global reference system (translations according to X, Y, Z, rotations around X, Y, Z). The solution of the problem is obtained by a system of linear algebraic equations whose known terms consist of the loads acting on the structure appropriately concentrated at the nodes.