Structural Analysis of Persian Historical Brick Masonry Minarets under Wind Load

Minarets are valuable historical structures from ancient times in Iran. In this paper، the effect of wind on a number of historical brick masonry minarets in Isfahan، built in the eleventh and twelfth centuries A. D.، has been studied. Different wind velocities including the maximum wind velocity of Isfahan and Iran have been used. The non-linear finite element method and the Willam-Warnke failure criterion have been used. In order to investigate the effect of central column and spiral staircase on structural behaviour، analyses have been performed for two cases: 1) the whole minaret (including the outer shell، central column and spiral staircase)، and 2) only the outer shell. Results indicate that under maximum wind speed recorded for Isfahan، minarets do not fail. In higher speeds، the amount damage depends on the diameter of central column، height، thickness and diameter of shell.