Experimental study on behaviour of piles in berthing structure

Abstract

This paper deals with an experimental investigation on laterally loaded piles of a berthing structure. A prototype berthing structure constructed at Chennai Port in India is simulated in a 1∶40 laboratory scale model. The model consists of a row of five piles connected at the top by a wooden beam for rigidity and to transfer the load laterally to the piles. A tie rod is incorporated in this frame to study its effect. A series of seven experiments was conducted with and without the anchoring tie rod, in sloping and horizontal ground under berthing and mooring forces. The experimental results were analysed to assess the effect of the tie rod anchor on the berthing structure. The distribution of load among the piles and the tie rod anchor, the lateral capacity of the pile under various cases and the reduction in deflection and bending moment due to the provision of a tie rod anchor are discussed in this paper. The provision of tie rods is found to be effective for open-type berthing structures.