Finite Element Analyses of Aghjots Monastery Taking into Account Seismic Action

Aghjots Monastery was built in IX - XIII centuries within the Khosrov State Reserve in Armenia. It takes a vantage point in the slope and is featured with beauty and unique carvings. Aghjots Monastery consists of the Saint Stephan church, which is the cruciform inscribed in a rectangle externally rectangular church with a cruciform interior, a single apse and four corner - chambers (two-story side-chapels in each corner), the church of Saints Peter and Paul, is the single naved hall-type church with no freestanding pillars and no dome and a gavit adjacent [1,2]. Aghjots Monastery experienced some strong earthquakes which resulted in its almost complete destruction. This article presents a description of the existing state of the Aghjots monastery and importance of the detailing geometrical survey, decay and material mapping. Stress-strain state of main church at seismic action including dynamic behavior of Saint Stephan church is considered in the article. The bearing system is modeled by using shell finite elements by software based on finite element methods. This proves to be an important feature to understand the damage mechanisms, solve the conservation and reconstruction problems.