Experimental investigation of the seismic response of Baalbek colonnade. (c2018)

Abstract

The Mediterranean region has experienced large seismic events leading to the deterioration of classical columns and historical monuments. Lebanon, in particular, has encountered two of the strongest earthquakes in 1202 and 1759 that were behind the collapse of the classical columns of the Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek. Only six columns survived and remained free-standing. This study investigates the dynamic response of the Baalbek colonnade under harmonic excitations. A series of shake table experiments were performed on a 1:40 scaled model of the colonnade in order to understand its overall behavior during earthquakes. The simulations were carried out on single multi-drum and monolithic columns, in addition to multi-column colonnades. Stability curves were developed for each type of columns and displacements were measured in both the in-plane and out-of-plane directions using a laser motion sensor. The study found that colonnades under in-plane excitations are more vulnerable to collapse as the number of columns increases. This was attributed to the columns’ wobbling motions. The study also found that out-of-plane excitations pose a bigger threat on such columns than in-plane excitations. The results of this study will be essential for validating full-scale finite element based models that are normally used to simulate the behavior of such large structures under earthquake loads.