Seismic Response Of A Historical Marnluk Style Minaret

The dynamic behavior of Mamluk style minarets, which were reported to experience maximum damage during the Dahshur-Egypt 1992 earthquake, is investigated. A representative minaret (Manjaq AI-Yusufi, 1349 A.D.) was modeled using the finite element technique and analyzed to assess its dynamic characteristics and its response under different input ground motions. Results indicated that this type of minarets is prone to experience large damage during earthquakes with medium to high a/v ratios (0.8 < a/v 1.2). Results also indicated that the irregular distribution of mass and stiffness, typically found in this type of minarets, forms a potential source of damage during earthquakes.