Performance of Port Facilities in Southern Chile during the 27 February 2010 Maule Earthquake

Abstract

This article describes the seismic performance of a group of ports in southern Chile during the 27 February 2010 Maule, Chile, earthquake. Direct costs in damage for these ports have been estimated in slightly less than US$300 million. Similarly to the performance of other ports in previous earthquakes, the most common failures observed were soil related, and include soil liquefaction, lateral spreading, and pile failures. Structural failures were mostly due to short pile effects and natural torsion. This situation is contrasted herein with the performance of the South Coronel Pier, which was seismically isolated in 2007. The isolated portion of this port remained operational after the earthquake, which was the main design goal. Post-earthquake preliminary analyses indicate that the structure was subjected to deformations and forces of approximately 60% to 70% of their design values, respectively. Piles and superstructure remained within elastic range, while the isolators experienced important nonlinear deformations.