Category: Wharves and Piers

This presentation discusses the findings of a seismic capacity study of a recently designed and constructed wharf (Berth 59) at the Port of Oakland (Port).

Floaterm is a concept that helps alleviate congestion and pollution. This presentation discusses two variations of Floaterm concepts: midstream and ship-in-a-slip operations. Engineering calculations have been prepared to verify the technical feasibility of the concepts, but are not included here.

This presentation explains why forces vary between corner tie-downs and introduces the ductile link—one method to improve the reliability of new and existing tie-down systems.

This presentation discusses common inconsistencies between the design data provided by the crane supplier and the wharf design. It clarifies the basis of crane loads, recommends what crane data should be provided to the wharf designer, recommends what wharf data should be provided to the crane supplier, and presents commonly overlooked design considerations that have resulted in major failures.

The presentation proposes both the development of design criteria for typical repairs and the preparation of detailed designs for select repairs that would be expected after an earthquake.

This paper presents a new analysis, including the strut-and-tie method, for determining the acceptable crane loads on the crane girders for many cases. This method increases the calculated ultimate capacity of crane girders.

Many ports have older existing wharves but need newer and larger cranes to operate the larger ships. Since wharf modification can be costly, ports should investigate using new technology to re-rate the wharf prior to committing the money to upgrade.

More cranes are damaged from failure of the connection in the wharf during high winds than from failure of the crane itself. This paper and presentation present current design issues for jumbo cranes and the wharves that must support them.

This 3,600 foot wharf will support six of the world’s largest container cranes in an area with high seismic activity and liquefiable soils. This paper presents the design of the wharf, including a method to stabilize the soft Bay Mud using a combination of Cement Deep Soil Mixing and a rock dike.

The seemingly simple curved rail system is actually quite complicated to design. This paper and presentation detail the curved rail’s many design considerations and the options available to owners.