Kinematic Demands on Pile-Supported Wharves Due to Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Ground Deformations

Abstract

Kinematic demands from lateral soil deformations can be a major cause of damage to maritime and highway transportation structures such as wharves, ports, and bridges. Data from five centrifuge tests on pile-supported wharves were used to evaluate the accuracy of Newmark Sliding Block Analysis in estimating the kinematic demands on piles. The piles in the centrifuge tests were subjected to varying degrees of liquefaction-induced lateral ground deformations. Pile-pinning effects were included in the analysis by incorporating the lateral pile resistance in the limit-equilibrium slope stability analysis. The results of the analysis have shown that the median Newmark displacements better estimated the centrifuge permanent end-of-shaking displacements but underestimated the measured peak transient displacements. On the other hand, the median + 1σ Newmark displacements better estimated the peak transient displacements. The measured peak transient displacements were on average 2.3 times larger than the measured permanent displacements in these centrifuge tests. The median + 1σ Newmark displacements were on average 1.4 times larger than the median displacements.