Mehmet Ozyazicioglu

This study addresses the critical need for cost-effective in-situ dynamic validation of large telescope piers, which must exhibit high stiffness to protect astronomical imaging from disruptive vibrations. The DAG Telescope pier was tested using a minimal protocol: impact hammer excitation and response monitoring with only two accelerometers. Operational modal analysis (OMA) of the data, consistent across multiple tests, identified all resonant frequencies to be well above the design threshold, with the fundamental mode at 76 Hz—an order of magnitude higher than the required 8 Hz. This confirms the pier’s exceptional rigidity and compliance with performance criteria. Furthermore, discrepancies with finite element model predictions highlighted the influence of foundation flexibility, an often-overlooked factor. The core novelty of this work is multifaceted: it presents, to the authors’ knowledge, the first published study to directly measure the resonant properties of a major telescope pier prior to telescope integration, providing a crucial baseline for future monitoring and model updating, and it validates a rigorous, low-cost methodology that offers a practical framework for assessing critical infrastructure in resource-constrained settings.

A comparative research has been carried out for obtaining the time-consuming exact solution (state-space) and approximate solution (mode superposition) of transient and steady-state vibrations of linearly damped linear frame buildings. In the mode superposition method, the proportional damping matrix has been constructed by different approaches such as modal combination of mass and stiffness matrixes (Rayleigh) and disregarding the off-diagonal elements of the non-classical damping matrix, while in the state-space method the non-proportional damping matrix is constructed in exact situation. These observations are individually investigated, which the most suitable parameter to render the approximate results as close as possible to the exact results. Harmonic forces are applied on the different storeys of three and five storey frame buildings, and the responses are displayed in comparative tables and figures. The maximum responses are calculated by square root of sum of the squares (SRSS) method. A MATLAB code is generated and the equations of exact and approximate methods are solved.

The main purpose of this study is to develop a validated three-dimensional finite element model of sternum closure techniques. For this aim, the finite element method analysis results of three closure methods were compared with experimental test results. Also, three more closure techniques are simulated numerically to study the effect of the number of wires used in the manubrium and xiphoid regions. A three-dimensional model of polyurethane sternum foam was created based on computed tomography images. Six different closure techniques using steel wire, steel bands and ZipFix bands were modeled on the sternum and transferred into a three-dimensional finite element model. The sternum was modeled as an isotropic bilinear-elasto-plastic material, and nonlinear contact conditions were applied. The models were analyzed under lateral distraction loading, and load-displacement curves were obtained from displacements at the incision line. Allowable loads and stiffness values of the methods were evaluated from these curves. The results showed the importance of the including material as well as geometric nonlinearities in the simulations to obtain realistic results from the numerical analyses. Also, the analyses showed that closures that include steel or ZipFix bands are superior to conventional wiring, and addition of a single wire at the manubrium and xiphoid regions significantly improved the efficiency of the closure techniques.

Erzincan İli 1. derece deprem bölgesi içinde yeralmaktadır. Zemin yüzeyinden ana kayaya kadar alüvyon kalınlığı 1 km’yi bulan yerleşim alanında zemin büyütmesinin ayrıntılı olarak incelenmesinin gerekliliği açıktır. Bu çalışmada, Erzincan İl merkezi için bir boyutlu kayma dalgası teorisine dayanan, eşdeğer-doğrusal zemin büyütme analizleri yapılmıştır. Çalışmada, zemin profillerini belirlemek amacıyla, 1960-1980 yılları arasında Devlet Su İşleri Genel Müdürlüğünce (DSİ) açılmış ve derinlikleri 275 m’yi bulan sondaj kuyularına ait veriler kullanılmıştır. Eşdeğer-doğrusal büyütme analizleri EduShake/ProShake programı kullanılarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Kuyu noktalarında oluşturulan profillerde, 8 farklı anakaya hareketi kullanılarak, zemin yüzeyinde oluşan ortalama hareketin ivme-zaman geçmişi ve ortalama PSA (görünür spektral ivme) grafikleri oluşturularak Türk Deprem Yönetmeliğinde (2007) verilen tasarım spektrumu ve ana kaya mostrası PSA ile karşılaştırılmıştır. Belirli periyotlar için, spektral ivme cinsinden büyütme oranları (ana kaya mostrası hareketine göre) hesaplanmıştır. Sondaj noktalarının temsil ettiği alanlarda, büyütmeye maruz kalması beklenen yapı periyotları haritada gösterilmektedir.

Erzurum and its surroundings are one of the seismically active and hydrothermal areas in the Eastern part of Turkey. This study is the first approach to characterize the crust by seismic features by using the local earthquake tomography method. The earthquake source location and the three dimensional seismic velocity structures are solved simultaneously by an iterative tomographic algorithm, LOTOS-12. Data from a combined permanent network comprising comprises of 59 seismometers which was installed by Ataturk University-Earthquake Research Center and Earthquake Department of the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority to monitor the seismic activity in the Eastern Anatolia, In this paper, three-dimensional Vp and Vp/Vs characteristics of Erzurum geothermal area were investigated down to 30 km by using 1685 well-located earthquakes with 29.894 arrival times, consisting of 17.298 P- wave and 12.596 S- wave arrivals. We develop new high-resolution depth-cross sections through Erzurum and its surroundings to provide the subsurface geological structure of seismogenic layers and geothermal areas. We applied various size horizontal and vertical checkerboard resolution tests to determine the quality of our inversion process. The basin models are traceable down to 3 km depth, in terms of P-wave velocity models. The higher P-wave velocity areas in surface layers are related to the metamorphic and magmatic compact materials. We report that the low Vp and high Vp/Vs values are observed in Yedisu, Kaynarpinar, Askale, Cimenozu, Kaplica, Ovacik, Yigitler, E part of Icmeler, Koprukoy, Uzunahmet, Budakli, Soylemez, Koprukoy, Gunduzu, Karayazi, Icmesu, E part of Horasan and Kaynak regions indicated geothermal reservoir.

OBJECTIVES: This study experimentally compares the efficiency of the 4 most preferred sternal closure tehniques, in 3 different deformation modes of the chest. METHODS: Polyurethane sternum models fixed by conventional wiring, steel band, ZipFix band and figure-8 wiring are tested statically under lateral distraction, longitudinal shear and torsional deformation modes. As a result, load-deformation curves are obtained. The closure efficiency of the techniques is then compared with respect to allowable load (corresponding to 2 mm displacement), rigidity, rupture load and rupture displacement. A comparison in terms of cost and ease of application has also been presented. RESULTS: The highest allowable load and rigidity values in simple tension and longitudinal shear are obtained by the steel and ZipFix band techniques, respectively. In torsion mode, the highest allowable load is provided by the ZipFix band and the highest rigidty is attained by the steel band technique. The highest rupture loads under simple tension, longitudinal shear and torsion modes are observed in ZipFix, steel band and conventional wiring, respectively. Steel band closure provides the least rupture displacement in simple tension as well as torsion, whereas ZipFix bands give the smallest rupture displacements in longitudinal shear. However, in every loading mode there were no statistically significant differences in allowable load, rigidity and rupture load values between the closure methods, and only rupture displacement values were statistically different for each method. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that conventional wiring is the most advantageous closing method when compared to the others.