Understanding traditional residential architecture in Anatolia

Traditional architecture and associated environments created by residential buildings provide an important focus of interest in contemporary Turkey.1 1. The main thesis of this article is based upon my paper ‘Traditional Residential Architecture in Anatolia’, presented to a seminar on Conservation and Rehabilitation of Half-Timber Structures, Ankara: METU, 1989 and the doctoral thesis submitted to METU, Faculty of Architecture, Program of Restoration in 1994. The concepts have, however, been revised according to more recent surveys. They are generally accepted as physical witnesses of the past to be preserved and studied. Continuity in the traditional characteristics of the social group living in these environments has been observed in many of the extant settlements in Turkey. The reciprocal relationship between the dwelling and its owners, or users, has led to a dual definition of the ‘traditional dwelling unit’: the social unit being the ‘family’, the architectural unit the ‘dwelling’. The existing, modest-scaled, traditional dwellings in Turkey, which constitute the subject of this study, were mostly constructed after the seventeenth century, but more recent buildings exhibiting similar characteristics are also covered by the term ‘traditional’.2 2. The concepts of ‘tradition’, ‘culture’, ‘vernacular’, ‘historical’, ‘regional’, ‘pre-industrial’, ‘popular’ and ‘folk’ fall outside the limits of this study. The term ‘traditional’ has been used throughout the text; the term ‘Ottoman’ has not been adopted due to its attribution to the 1923 constitution of the Turkish Republic — it cannot, consequently, be used as reference to the continuation of tradition, which is one of the main ‘givens’ of this study. A term referring to a geographical distribution of archetype under investigation has been sought. There is an important building stock incorporating similar architectural characteristics within contemporary political boundaries of other countries, such as Iran, Bulgaria, Greece, etc., which had once formed part of the Ottoman Empire. ‘Turkey’ has not been preferred for its reference to the political boundaries of the Republican era for the same reason. Instead, another geographical term ‘Anatolia’ is considered in a widened context throughout the text to refer to a more generic concept than it implies geographically. Anatolia is considered to be the land of origin on which many cultures have emerged, generated and spread to the affected lands throughout history. Furthermore, the concentration of this study focuses specifically on extant dwellings in Anatolia. Within the confines of the term ‘traditional residential architecture in Anatolia’, there are further limitations. The origin of traditional residential architecture in Anatolia, its typological evolution, its social, cultural and/or historical aspects are not the major concerns of this study, which focuses on existing examples. A limitation of the period covered by this study accords with the construction dates of extant buildings from the seventeenth century onwards. This is an open-ended period because of the continuity in ‘traditional’ aspects in many of the settlements. The concept of ‘privacy’ serves as the basis of evaluation in analysing the interrelation of any two units. The interface of two units can be defined as an hierarchy of privacy represented sociologically by the interrelations of person/family/neighbourhood relationships and architecturally through the interrelations of room/dwelling unit/street/neighbourhood.3 3. This dwelling unit was the subject of the studio course ARCH 405 in 1989—1990, Autumn semester. The project was supervised by the author and Res.Asst. Ertu?rul Morçöl; the students were Önder Kaya, Ufuk Serin, Murat Aya?, Deniz Kutay and Gül Vanl?. This approach will include a brief summary of some previous studies of traditional residential architecture (Fig. 1).     

Adsorption of lead and copper on bentonite and grapeseed activated carbon in single- and binary-ion systems

In this study, bentonite originating from Turkey (Eski?ehir province) and activated carbon obtained from grapeseed were used as adsorbents for the removal of lead (Pb²⁺) and copper (Cu²⁺) ions from aqueous solutions. Experiments were performed in single- and binary-ion systems at constant temperature of 298 K and pH value of 5. In order to describe the adsorption mechanism Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms were used. The total adsorption capacity values of adsorbents were compared. It was observed that the total adsorption capacity values were changed depending on the type of adsorbent used, type of metal ion and interaction between metal ions.     

Functionalized galactoglucomannan‐based hydrogels for the removal of metal cations from aqueous solutions

New types of hydrogels derived from O‐acetyl galactoglucomannan (AcGGM) hemicellulose have been synthesized and characterized. The objective of this work was to analyze the sorption capacity (S) of three types of hydrogels containing AcGGM derivatives incorporated into the carboxylic groups of the polymer chain in the AA hydrogel, sulfonic groups in the APA hydrogel, and amide groups in the acrylamide (Aam) hydrogel. These hydrogels are capable of interacting and removing ions such as cadmium [Cd(II)], copper [Cu(II)], lead [Pb(II)], nickel [Ni(II)], and zinc [Zn(II)]. The results show that AA and Aam hydrogels had a lower sorption capacity of ions compared to the APA hydrogel, which had a high sorption capacity. The maximal sorption capacity was determined by the successive enrichment method, obtaining Pb(II) amount of 48.3 mg/g of AA hydrogel, 65.8 mg/g of APA hydrogel, and 40.8 mg/g of Aam hydrogel. Hence, Pb(II) ions are greatly retained by the three hydrogels. These results are promising for the development of new materials with potential applications in metal ion removal. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44093.     

An access detection and machine cycle tracking system for machine safety

Abrasive water jet (AWJ) machining is characterized by its versatility, i.e., it can be applied to a wide variety of materials. Currently, one important application is for manufacturing gem artifacts, especially agate, which is the largest gemological material produced in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. However, one of the main obstacles to its popularization is the cost associated with the process, due to the high abrasive consumption required for a good quality surface finish. In this sense, this research paper presents a study of the influence of the main process parameters (traverse speed and abrasive mass flow rate) on the surface finish of agates machined by AWJ. The experimental procedure used three different traverse speeds, four abrasive mass flow rate in two different thicknesses of agate’s plates. Surface roughness and angle of striation marks were observed for different depths from the jet entrance surface. Results were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Through the study, it was found that the machined surface finish varies according to the depth from the entrance surface of the abrasive jet. Also, it was concluded that the surface finish of the machined surface by AWJ (surface roughness and striation marks) of the agate’s plates machined by AWJ exhibits similar results for both thicknesses tested. ANOVA showed that the traverse speed is more significant than abrasive mass flow rate for the material studied with respect to the surface finish. Thus, for a small material thickness, it is possible to use high traverse speed and low abrasive mass flow rate which makes the process more economical.