Dynamic Evaluations of Quay Wall Performance for Pier 6 Expansion, Thessaloniki Port, Greece
GR8 GEO supported Rogan Associates and COWI with geotechnical earthquake engineering services for the update of the design for Pier 6 expansion of the Port of Thessaloniki. The selected concept for the new container berths in the Pier 6 expansion involved a relatively complex geometry comprising a partially-infilled concrete caisson, ground improvement of the relatively weak foundation and the use of lightweight fill in the form of a relief prism behind the caisson and a Ship to Shore (STS) crane that is supported with one rail on the caisson and one rail on support piles. The project is located in a seismically active area with significant ground shaking hazard.
GR8 GEO performed the following tasks for the project:
• Site characterization and development of soil properties for use in dynamic analyses
• Development of spectrum compatible time histories using spectral matching
• 1D site response analyses for the project design levels to develop input ground motions for the 2D dynamic soil-structure interaction analyses
• 2D dynamic soil-structure interaction analyses to estimate the earthquake-induced horizontal and vertical displacements of the caisson and the crane supports and kinematic demands in piles. During the design process multiple designs were analyzed to help select the most efficient one.
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