D
Publish and Present
J. Nicolas Villamizar-Gonzalez, MSc
Engineer
Moffatt & Nichol
J. Smith-Pardo, PhD, S.E., P.E.
Associate Professor
Seattle University
Tacoma, Washington
Juan Reyes, PhD
Associate Professor
Universidad de los Andes
The high utilization rate of many modern container terminals, combined with the fact that new vessels can be several times more massive than mooring facilities, inevitably pose the question: what is the effect of a large moored vessel on the seismic response of a marginal wharf structure? Unfortunately, existing standards for the seismic design of pile-supported wharves do not offer any guidance into the issue but establish that earthquake loads need not be combined with mooring and berthing loads. This paper presents the results of detailed finite element models to help understand the dynamic interaction between the wharf structure, a moored vessel, and the surrounding water all under ground motion excitation. Inelastic behavior of mooring lines and fenders, as well as flexural hinging of piles and their connections coupled with hydrodynamic effects are included in the formulation. For a set of ground motions from a high seismic scenario, it was found that the presence of a large container vessel during an earthquake generally reduces the drift demands of the marginal wharf structure.