Seismic fragility analysis of hunchbacked gravity quay walls using a multi-intensity measure approach

This study investigates the seismic resilience of hunchbacked block-type gravity quay walls with different back-face geometries using the finite element method (FEM). Three hunchbacked block-type quay wall models, identified as QW-I, QW-II, and QW-III, each with a distinct geometrical configuration,...

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Main Authors: Ali Akbar Ehterami, Babak Ebrahimian, Ali Noorzad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Results in Engineering
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025007686
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author Ali Akbar Ehterami
Babak Ebrahimian
Ali Noorzad
author_facet Ali Akbar Ehterami
Babak Ebrahimian
Ali Noorzad
author_sort Ali Akbar Ehterami
collection DOAJ
description This study investigates the seismic resilience of hunchbacked block-type gravity quay walls with different back-face geometries using the finite element method (FEM). Three hunchbacked block-type quay wall models, identified as QW-I, QW-II, and QW-III, each with a distinct geometrical configuration, are analyzed. The QW-I model represents the quay wall already built at the Pars Petrochemical Port in Asalouyeh, Iran, and serves as the reference case. Initially, the seismic response of these quay walls is evaluated under a range of seismic loads with varying dynamic characteristics. Subsequently, fragility curves are generated for the three wall configurations based on multiple intensity measures (IMs) to assess their vulnerabilities to seismic events. For this purpose, acceleration time histories derived from real earthquake records are utilized, with fragility assessments conducted using the incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) approach. The generated fragility curves demonstrate that increasing the hunch height from 3 m in QW-I to 5 m in QW-II and 6 m in QW-III significantly reduces the probability of exceeding the repairable damage level and reaching near collapse for a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.51 g, comparable to that of the 1990 Manjil earthquake. Specifically, this probability decreases from 69.49 % for QW-I to 55.99 % for QW-II and 49.51 % for QW-III. Correspondingly, based on the cumulative absolute velocity (CAV) indicator, the exceedance probability drops from 21.75 % for QW-I to 11.22 % for QW-II and 7.88 % for QW-III. Therefore, the interpretation of seismic vulnerability and associated failure probabilities can vary depending on the chosen IM for fragility analysis, emphasizing the necessity for developing multi-valued fragility curves.
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spelling doaj-art-c72d49bf1e6c4f29a17607b80d04fe022025-08-20T03:42:29ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-06-012610469110.1016/j.rineng.2025.104691Seismic fragility analysis of hunchbacked gravity quay walls using a multi-intensity measure approachAli Akbar Ehterami0Babak Ebrahimian1Ali Noorzad2Faculty of Civil, Water and Environmental Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University (SBU), Tehran, IranCorresponding author.; Faculty of Civil, Water and Environmental Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University (SBU), Tehran, IranFaculty of Civil, Water and Environmental Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University (SBU), Tehran, IranThis study investigates the seismic resilience of hunchbacked block-type gravity quay walls with different back-face geometries using the finite element method (FEM). Three hunchbacked block-type quay wall models, identified as QW-I, QW-II, and QW-III, each with a distinct geometrical configuration, are analyzed. The QW-I model represents the quay wall already built at the Pars Petrochemical Port in Asalouyeh, Iran, and serves as the reference case. Initially, the seismic response of these quay walls is evaluated under a range of seismic loads with varying dynamic characteristics. Subsequently, fragility curves are generated for the three wall configurations based on multiple intensity measures (IMs) to assess their vulnerabilities to seismic events. For this purpose, acceleration time histories derived from real earthquake records are utilized, with fragility assessments conducted using the incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) approach. The generated fragility curves demonstrate that increasing the hunch height from 3 m in QW-I to 5 m in QW-II and 6 m in QW-III significantly reduces the probability of exceeding the repairable damage level and reaching near collapse for a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.51 g, comparable to that of the 1990 Manjil earthquake. Specifically, this probability decreases from 69.49 % for QW-I to 55.99 % for QW-II and 49.51 % for QW-III. Correspondingly, based on the cumulative absolute velocity (CAV) indicator, the exceedance probability drops from 21.75 % for QW-I to 11.22 % for QW-II and 7.88 % for QW-III. Therefore, the interpretation of seismic vulnerability and associated failure probabilities can vary depending on the chosen IM for fragility analysis, emphasizing the necessity for developing multi-valued fragility curves.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025007686Hunchbacked quay wallSeismic vulnerabilityMulti-valued fragility curvePerformance-based designSeismic resiliencePars petrochemical port
spellingShingle Ali Akbar Ehterami
Babak Ebrahimian
Ali Noorzad
Seismic fragility analysis of hunchbacked gravity quay walls using a multi-intensity measure approach
Results in Engineering
Hunchbacked quay wall
Seismic vulnerability
Multi-valued fragility curve
Performance-based design
Seismic resilience
Pars petrochemical port
title Seismic fragility analysis of hunchbacked gravity quay walls using a multi-intensity measure approach
title_full Seismic fragility analysis of hunchbacked gravity quay walls using a multi-intensity measure approach
title_fullStr Seismic fragility analysis of hunchbacked gravity quay walls using a multi-intensity measure approach
title_full_unstemmed Seismic fragility analysis of hunchbacked gravity quay walls using a multi-intensity measure approach
title_short Seismic fragility analysis of hunchbacked gravity quay walls using a multi-intensity measure approach
title_sort seismic fragility analysis of hunchbacked gravity quay walls using a multi intensity measure approach
topic Hunchbacked quay wall
Seismic vulnerability
Multi-valued fragility curve
Performance-based design
Seismic resilience
Pars petrochemical port
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025007686
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AT babakebrahimian seismicfragilityanalysisofhunchbackedgravityquaywallsusingamultiintensitymeasureapproach
AT alinoorzad seismicfragilityanalysisofhunchbackedgravityquaywallsusingamultiintensitymeasureapproach