Determine the Vulnerable Points of Pile-Supported Wharves against the Blast Load – Case Study

Ports are among the important economic, military and political bottlenecks for countries that have the gift of maritime boundary. One of the main structures in ports is the wharves, which are important for many uses. Thereby, design and performance of wharves under critical conditions and the enemy's military and terrorist threats is indispensable for passive defense. In this research, the responses and the vulnerable points of pile-supported wharves against the underwater blast load are being investigated. For this purpose, one of the pile-supported wharves in south of Iran is selected and one of its frames is studied. For modeling, Abaqus software and its Undex method are used. The method used to simulate the pile-supported wharf was first verified and, after ensuring the validity of the model, the effect of underwater explosion on the overall behavior of the structure and the effect of different parameters on the structure response were determined. Investigations have shown that, with the damage and even the withdrawal of several piles around the source of explosion, in most cases the entire structure does not go out of use, and without being removed from the operating conditions, can be repaired and upgraded it.