A PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS TO INVESTIGATE THE SOIL-STRUCTURE INTERACTION ON QUAY WALLS USING FINITE ELEMENT MODELING

Abstract

Structural strengthening is an effective and feasible approach for preserving the functionality of degraded structures safely and reliably while also upgrading their capacity to sustain extra loads. As a cost-effective and practical solution necessitates the development of methodologies that simulate the real conditions to assess the soil structure interaction, additional loads, and their impact on structures, as well as to evaluate the strengthening system properly. The overall aim of this research is to develop finite element models using PLAXIS 3D to investigate the influence of various material models on an existing quay wall with diverse soil profiles, along with a parametric analysis to evaluate the impact of extra loads. A case study in Port Said East Port, the diaphragm quay wall of the container terminal operated by Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT), which is located to the north of Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea, was chosen in this regard. For the purpose of verification, two case studies were chosen: the Deep-Sea quay wall at Rotterdam, which provides essential field results and a 3D PLAXIS finite element model, along with the diaphragm quay wall of the Port Said East Port container terminal, which provides 3D PLAXIS finite element models. Most comparisons between the author's models and the three referenced cases show a percent error of less than 10%, indicating an acceptable margin of error. A comparative study of two soil profiles employing two material models was conducted, revealing that the Mohr-Coulomb material model is more conservative than the Hardening Soil model, since it yields higher results. A parametric analysis was performed on the effects of increased crane loads and deepening in front of the quay wall, revealing that deepening has a greater influence than the increment of crane loads, especially for horizontal displacement.