Development of New ASCE Guidelines for the Seismic Design of Bulkheads

Abstract

While bulkheads are used in many seismically active areas in the United States and elsewhere, detailed seismic design guidelines for bulkheads are not available to practitioners. Available documents provide only limited guidelines for seismic design of bulkheads, while performance-based guidelines are practically non-existent. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) COPRI Task Committee for Seismic Design of Bulkheads (Task Committee) was formed in 2014 to develop practice-oriented guidelines for force- and performance-based seismic design of bulkheads. The Task Committee is documenting recommended design procedures that incorporate recent advances in pertinent topics such as specification of seismic ground motions for earth retention systems, seismic lateral earth pressure estimation, soil structure interaction for flexible structures, and soil liquefaction/lateral spreading issues. The performance-based focus of the guidelines will address bulkhead deflection and the associated impact on appurtenant structures and waterfront components such as cranes and cargo conveyance systems. The guidelines will constitute the basis for development of bulkhead design provisions for future editions of the ASCE 61 Standards for Seismic Design of Piers and Wharves. This paper presents the status and related discussion of the guidelines being developed by the Task Committee.