Displacement-Based Seismic Design for Graving Docks

Displacement-based design is the standard approach for seismic design of marine structures. The method has been well developed for freestanding structures, such as piers and wharves. However, no standard exists for applying displacement-based seismic design to graving docks, which are buried structures influenced heavily by the surrounding soil. This paper introduces a displacement-based design method for graving docks. This method integrates soil-structure interaction (SSI) into the development of a seismic demand curve that can be paired with traditional pushover analysis to determine design structural displacement. In addition, the paper extends the method to 3D to provide a more comprehensive design approach that can be used for detailed design.