NEHRP Clearinghouse

Title
Assessment of Earthquake Response Characteristics and Design Procedures for Port and Harbor Facilities.
File
PB83165159.pdf
Author(s)
Hung, S. J.; Werner, S. D.
Source
National Science Foundation, Washington, DC., January 1982, 15 p.
Abstract
Information regarding the behavior of port and harbor facilities during earthquakes is presented and the procedures used for the seismic design and analysis of such facilities are considered. It is noted that most of the observed major earthquake-induced damage to port and harbor facilities has resulted from large-scale liquefaction and/or sliding of the loose, saturated, cohesionless soil materials that are prevalent in and around port and harbor facility sites. Even when complete liquefaction and/or sliding have not occurred, the soil deposits and backfill materials in the vicinity of port and harbor facilities have often undergone significant earthquake-induced deformations that have caused substantial damage. Structure-specific design considerations for quay walls, sheet-pile bulkheads, piers, and pile supports are summarized. Dynamic analysis techniques are shown to provide an important means for enhancing facility designs and seismic design provisions.
Keywords
Seismic design; Earthquake resistant structures; Seaports; Settlement (Structural); Structural design; Bulkheads; Earthquake engineering; Sea walls; Harbor facilities; Liquefaction (Soils); Earth pressure; Earthquakes; Dynamic structural analysis