Minimum Design Standards for Piers and Wharves: Ancillary Components and Other Load Considerations

Abstract: The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Coast, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute (COPRI) Ports and Harbors committee has established a Standards Committee to prepare a minimum design standards document tailored for marine and waterfront structures. Comprising practicing engineers, owner/operators, and maritime industry contractors, this committee is dedicating voluntary efforts towards delivering the minimum design standard document by the conclusion of 2026.

Upon release, the ASCE/COPRI Minimum Design Standards for Piers and Wharves will furnish a consensus-driven, comprehensive document. It will offer consistent analysis and design guidance encompassing loads such as mooring, berthing, and other metocean loads. The new standard will specify applicable load combinations and additional minimum design requirements for pier and wharf structures, including their ancillary components.

This paper focuses on the proposed standards development of the Ancillary Components and Other Loading Considerations chapter within the Minimum Design Standards for Piers and Wharves.

Waterfront access provided by a pier or wharf serves various functions. While the construction of the main pier or wharf structure typically dominates the project's schedule and cost, the ancillary components truly deliver the functionality owners and operators need. Additionally, factors such as loading considerations from equipment directly influence the structural design of the main pier or wharf.

ASCE 7 does not explicitly cover maritime-specific ancillary components and other loading considerations that may be typical for pier and wharf structures. Consequently, engineers may resort to alternative design codes or engineering judgment to inform their decisions. The Ancillary Components and Other Loading Considerations chapter aims to establish minimum design standards for ancillary components and offer guidance on typical loading considerations beyond the scope of ASCE 7. The goal is to achieve consistency in structural reliability and resilience across piers and wharves nationwide.

The chapter on Ancillary Components and Other Loading Considerations will be divided into several sections, including scope, definitions, general design requirements, component-specific design requirements, considerations for cranes and equipment, anchorage of ancillary components, and references. The scope section clarifies the chapter's inclusions and exclusions. Definitions cover maritime-specific terms used throughout the chapter. General design requirements address assessing load demands on ancillary components, locating load combinations, and specifying requirements concerning relative displacements between components. Component-specific design requirements address typical maritime structures not explicitly covered in ASCE 7, such as fixed safety ladders, life safety rings, gangways, access structures, mooring hardware, fender systems, mooring line guides, and utilities and their supports. The section on cranes and equipment considerations sets out minimum requirements for evaluating loads from permanent traveling equipment, container cranes, ship loaders, other traveling cranes, and associated items like tie-downs, stowage pins, and crane stops. Additionally, requirements are outlined for anchoring the ancillary components to the pier or wharf structure. Finally, the reference section includes the references used by the committee to craft the chapter.

This paper will explore how the chapter team tackled various subsections, highlighting areas of common or uncommon approaches for analysis and design.

How does this project / topic contribute to the advancement of the industry and profession?: When published, the ASCE/COPRI Design Standards for Piers and Wharves will provide the maritime industry with a consensus-driven, single-resource document that presents consistent analysis and design guidance for determining loads, including mooring, berthing, and other metocean loads, the applicable load combinations to combine these loads, and other minimum design standards for pier and wharf structures and their ancillary components.

Does the project / topic implement new and innovative techniques, materials, technologies, and delivery methods?: The Ancillary Components and Other Loading Considerations chapter team has taken their years of experience and available resource material and consolidated it in one place to establish minimum design standards for the typical things found on piers and wharves that were outside the minimum design standards of ASCE 7. Although they are not new design concepts or analysis methods, the effort to consolidate components specific to piers and wharves in one place has not been undertaken yet in the United States.

What was the most challenging aspect of your project / topic and how did you handle it to ensure success?: Because there is no minimum standard for designing piers and wharves, consulting engineers use various resources to validate their design assumptions and methodologies. The biggest challenge is gathering and agreeing on the actual minimum design standards that should be used by engineers around the country who have vast amounts of different engineering experiences along the waterfront. Breaking up the specific components, allowing industry experts to craft specific sections, and holding regular meetings has helped progress the section forward, so once the standard is published, it will have been crafted and reviewed by the entire team.

Who is the target audience for this paper?: Everyone in the maritime community who has an interest in structural performance is the target audience. Owners and operations of maritime facilities can require design engineers to meet the minimum design standards for their facilities instead of requiring a large amount of design criteria documents. Consulting engineers would be able to hang their hat on a consensus-driven, single-resource document that presents consistent analysis and design guidance similar to ASCE 7.