Design Criteria For Earthquake Hazard Mitigation Of Navy Piers And Wharves

This report develops seismic criteria for Navy wharves and piers. The report is composed of two sections: the design criteria is presented first and is then followed by an extensive supporting technology. The criteria gives performance requirements, design earthquakes, and required structural response. The supporting technology cites the behavior of waterfront structures in previous earthquakes and reviews applicable codes. A discussion of the structural dynamics of piles is presented developing the concepts of curvature and ductility, which are the essence of the criteria. A discussion of soil properties and procedures for computing soil lateral force is given. Pile cap and anchorage techniques are discussed. The supporting technology presents an analysis of a single pile and the analysis of a typical pier for several concepts of achieving lateral force resistance, including seismic isolation of the pier deck. The isolation of the pier deck offers a potential to achieve high levels of lateral force resistance improving the survivability of the pier against the maximum credible earthquake. The criteria presented herein is developed from a compilation of current practice by many agencies combined with state of the art technology for estimation of seismic damage potential.