Seismic Performance Assessment of Pile-Supported Wharfs: 2D Frame Analysis Method Considering Both Inertial and Kinematic Forces

Abstract

Frame analysis (FA) is known for its efficiency and low computer resource requirements. However, compared to finite element analysis (FEA), the applicability of FA for the seismic performance assessment of pile-supported wharves (PSWs) is limited, particularly in the ability to account for the kinematic force caused by ground displacement during an earthquake. This study aimed to develop a two-dimensional FA method for PSW seismic response analysis that considers a combination of inertial and kinematic forces. We performed FA and FEA and compared the results. First, we targeted the PSW model without considering the soil slope and discussed the spectral acceleration (SA) evaluation method for calculating inertial force. As a result, an equation for estimating a damping coefficient to evaluate the SA in accordance with the PSW width and natural period was proposed. Next, we targeted the PSW model by considering the soil slope and proposed a method to evaluate the kinematic force based on the amount of ground displacement and the soil spring characteristics. The results revealed that using the proposed method, FA, by considering kinematic and inertial forces, could reproduce the bending moments of the piles comparable to those calculated using FEA. Therefore, solely considering the inertial force for a PSW on a soil slope may cause the bending moment to be underestimated.

Keywords

• frame analysis
• pile-supported wharf
• seismic response
• finite element analysis
• ground displacement
• inertial force