Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction of a Gravity Quay Wall and the Effect of Densification in Liquefiable Sites

Abstract

The lateral spreading of backfill soil caused by displacement of gravity-type quay walls is a major concern for geotechnical engineers. This paper evaluates the efficiency of a technique for mitigation of damage to quay walls, which involves densification of loose sand around the toe. The beneficial and unfavorable effects of densification of sand of different locations of the gravity-type quay walls are also answered. For these purposes, numerical simulations (using a finite-element code) and shake table tests were conducted. From numerical simulations and model tests, it was observed that the displacement of a gravity-type quay wall occurred mainly because of shear strain in the foundation. It was also found that the densification of soil at the toe could mitigate the quay wall damage significantly.