THE EFFECTS OF PETROGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES ON THE GEOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND FREEZE-THAWING (F-T) PROCESSES OF BUILDING STONES USED IN AYA HELENA CHURCH (SILLE/KONYA/TURKEY)

Abstract

Statement of the problem. Located in the very center of Anatolia, Konya houses many historical artefacts. Sille, which has an important place in the history of Christianity, is also within the borders of Konya. In this region,Volcanic rocks were formed as a result of volcanism activities that occurred thousands of years ago. These rocks have been used in many historical building in the Sille and Konya city center. One of this structures is the Aya Helena Church. Results and conclusions. Within the scope of this study, many samples were taken from the volcanic rocks with similar petrographic properties used in the Aya Helena Church excavated from the Sille region of Konya. These stones were investigated to index and mechanical properties and the resulting loss of strength of F-T cycles. Thus, although these rocks, known as Sille rocks in the region, show similar characteristics in terms of external appearance, their index and mechanical properties seem to be significantly different from each other.