The New ASCE Standard for Seismic Design of Piers and Wharves

Abstract

This paper describes the new ASCE Standard for Seismic Design of Piers and Wharves. This document has been under preparation for several years, and has been balloted and approved by the committee. The ASCE public comment period began on February 1, 2013, with publication expected fall 2013. The paper describes the background of why the Standard was developed, along with some of the key features of the new Standard related to seismic criteria, analysis methods, design detailing, and geotechnical design. BACKGROUND The criteria and methodologies for seismic design of piers and wharves have evolved enormously over the last 25 years. This has happened independently of changes in the seismic design practice in the building industry, and the result is that the marine industry treats seismic design very differently today than the building industry does. In the last 10-15 years, conventional building codes have attempted to specifically address seismic design of piers and wharves. However, building codes are still primarily controlled by building designers and many of the major code changes that significantly impact piers and wharves have been developed with minimal consideration for applications other than occupied buildings. Previous attempts to incorporate current port design practice into the model building codes have been unsuccessful, as the extent of major differences in the industries has proven to be an insurmountable obstacle to this point. Recognizing this, the code developers for ASCE 7 have decided to specifically limit the applicability of that Standard to piers and wharves that are accessible to the general