Abstract

The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of uncertainties associated with the material properties on the seismic performance of pile-supported wharves. For this purpose a two-dimensional finite difference model, representing typical pile-supported wharf structures from western United States has been constructed using software FLAC2D. Incremental dynamic analysis has been applied to evaluate the response of wharf structure under different levels of seismic loading. The uncertainties at both structural and geotechnical parameters have been investigated using a tornado diagram and a First-Order Second-Moment (FOSM) analysis. It has been found that the uncertainties at the dead load of structure, friction angle of rock fill and the porosity of rock fill contribute most to the variability of the displacement ductility factor of the pile-supported wharf structures. Based on the results, design considerations have been provided.

Keywords:

Incremental dynamic analysis, pile-supported wharf, tornado diagram analysis, uncertainty,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

Open Access Policy

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Copyright

The authors have no competing interests.