State-of-the-Art Design Solution for Multipurpose Wharf in Seismic and Hurricane Activity Zone

Abstract: Nearly ten years after the successful construction of what is considered one of the most advanced container terminals in the Americas, the Sociedad Puerto Industrial de Aguadulce (SPIA), owned and operated by two of the largest container terminal operators in the world, embarked on the phase 2 expansion of their container wharf. The expansion consists of a 300-m southbound extension of the existing 600-m quay, including its connection to land via a 240-meter-long access trestle.
Located in Aguadulce, Pacific coast of Colombia, one of the most seismically active regions of the world, the quay was designed to support Super Post-Panamax ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and berth 24,000-TEU Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCV) with a length overall of 400 meters. The STS cranes are the largest and heaviest of their kind to be deployed in South America and are capable of serving 24-wide ULCVs.
Because of the site remoteness and largely influenced by the need to implement an accelerated type of construction, the Designer selected the use of a concrete deck comprised of precast concrete elements (beams and deck panels) and cast-in-place concrete topping, supported on high-capacity, driven steel pipe piles. The connectivity between the steel piles and the concrete deck was provided via PC plug/subcap units. A key design consideration for the quay and trestle structures was the need to comply not only with high seismic accelerations at the site but also with seismic capacity protection requirements calling for the concrete deck to remain structurally unharmed upon the occurrence of a contingency level seismic event.
The paper describes in detail the structural analysis process of the quay expansion and the trestle structure, including key considerations related to treatment of steel pipe pile slenderness, the connectivity between the existing quay and the new 300-meter quay expansion, as well as the way the different PC elements forming the wharf deck system were proportioned, designed, detailed, erected, and connected, to emulate the response of a cast-in-place concrete deck.
The structural concept selected by the Designer was also deemed to be ideal for the implementation of a linear construction approach making use of a top-down platform system that uses previously-driven steel pipe piles as supporting elements of a platform that moves forward to continue installing the piles, and a second top-down platform, following behind, that installs the PC deck components and then moves forward, in tandem with the piling platform, to continue with the construction of the quay expansion.

How does this project / topic contribute to the advancement of the industry and profession?: This project is a good example of the benefits that precast concrete deck construction could bring to marine pier projects in remote areas. When coupled with a compatible steel piling solution, the construction process can be expedited significantly. The paper also addresses design of slender steel pipe piles as well as state-of-the-art design recommendations for precast pile plugs connecting steel pile piles to concrete deck components.

Does the project / topic implement new and innovative techniques, materials, technologies, and delivery methods?: Yes. The proposed structural solution for the quay extension and the trestle present advances in the understanding of the connection of steel pipe piles to concrete decks via precast plug systems as well as the implementation of capacity protection concepts for seismic design of piles and deck elements.

What was the most challenging aspect of your project / topic and how did you handle it to ensure success?: The most challenging aspects of the project were to understand and characterize the silty clay soils to properly design the piles and the deck components for very high STS crane loads as well as to ensure that the concrete deck can be capacity-protected for operational and contingency-level seismic events. Equally important was the design of the connection between the two quays (existing and extension).

Who is the target audience for this paper?: The paper's target audience involves Designers, Contractors, Precasters, Owners, and Operators of Marine Terminals in general.