Deformation-based evaluation of pile-wharf structures

With the development of port transportation, different types of marine structures being considered for design purposes. One of these structures are pile-wharfs which can be built parallel or vertical to the shoreline. Piles, which are structural elements of each of these marine structures, may be designed vertical or batter manner.Seismic performance evaluation of a pile-wharf structure based on performance-based evaluation criteria is set forth by the Turkish Code for shore structures (TCSS, 2008). TCSS (2008) recommends two methods namely strength-based design and deformation-based design for design and evaluation of pile-wharf structures. According to TCSS (2008), a pile-wharf structure is expected to withstand D1 level of earthquake ground motion with minor or no damage (Serviceable Damage Level) and D2 level of earthquake ground motion with short-term loss of serviceability (Controlled Damage Level). The nonlinear interaction between soil and pile should somehow be considered in the pushover analysis. In this study, nonlinear static analysis (Pushover) of the vertical and batter pile-wharf structures are separately accomplished according to TCSS (2008) and results have been discussed.