Behaviour of an Open Type Berthing Structure under Earthquake Condition –a Numerical Approach

Piles and diaphragm wall supported berthing structure on marine soils are loaded laterally from horizontal soil movements generated by dredging. The literature on the adequacy of the finite element method modeling of berthing structure to analyse their behaviour during dredging and under earthquake condition is limited. This paper describes the finite element approach for analysing the lateral response of pile and diaphragm wall during dredging and seismic loading on the dredged soil. Piles are represented by equivalent sheet pile walls and a plain strain analysis using the finite element method is performed. Results of static and earthquake analysis are compared.