ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
Transportation Department

HARBOUR
QUAY WALLS
RAMY ADEL ZAKI AHMED
01093039939
TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT

Prof. Dr. Mohamed El-Naggar 24/12/2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
Introduction ________________________________________________________________________________________ 1
‘Quay wall’ Definition ________________________________________________________________________2

Quay Wall in World History__________________________________________________________________________3

Function of Quay Walls ________________________________________________5
Quay Wall Construction System _______________________________________6
Main types of Quay Walls _________________________________________________7
Type of berths according to carrier ________________________________________13
different structural types for jetties_________________________________________14
DESIGN CRITERIA ______________________________________________17
DESIGN METHODOLOGIES OF BLOCK TYPE QUAY WALLS _________18
Sliding & overturning moment check ________________________22
Conclusion ____________________________________________________________________24
References ____________________________________________________________________25
Contact information _________________________________________________________26
QUAY WALLS

1- INTRODUCTION
Egypt enjoys a unique strategic location in the center of the world, from its
position overlooking the Red and the Mediterranean Seas. In addition, the
existence of one of the most important international maritime corridors
ʺSuez Canalʺ which serves almost all the trade between Asia and Europe.
All these advantages allow the country to become an important point of
shipping activity with the potential to play a vital role in regional and global
integration. The next figure shows the main important ports in Egypt.

The main important ports in Egypt.

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QUAY WALLS

• ‘Quay wall’ Definition

“Quay wall” is a retaining structure, separating the land from the
water, for the mooring of shipping.
Quay walls are earth retaining structures, that separate the land from
the water, for the berthing and mooring of ships. They should be
designed and constructed to resist safely the vertical loads caused by
traffic loads, trucks, cranes etc., as well as the horizontal loads from
ship impacts, wind, soil pressure, etc.. The aforementioned loads vary
according to the type and magnitude of the terminal.
This makes the design and construction of a quay wall interesting and
complicated.
Therefore, several design guidelines are available to give
recommendations for the design and construction of quay walls.

• BERTH Definition
Berth is the length of the quay required for berthing of design
ship and safe handling of cargo

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QUAY WALLS

Quay Wall in World History

For ages people are trying to move over water not only because they want to
explore and conquer the world, but also from an economical point of view.
Therefore, traders and conquerors were sailing the oceans. Those people
needed places to berth their ships, which later grow out to harbors. From
these developments not only a large growth of prosperity is visible, but also a
growth in knowledge about new technologies.
The oldest harbor known, is found in India near Lothal and probably dates
form4000 years ago. It is founded due to a large trade between countries in
Asia. Also in the Mediterranean, harbors were formed for trade. Alexandria
was the main trade centre in this region the last three ages before Christ.
Also the construction of harbors developed in these ages.
The Romans were the first who used a kind of concrete for the construction of
quay walls. In the middle ages the Vikings sailed the Western European waters
with very fast ships.
In this period there were two major problems: siltation of harbors and the
poor equipment available in the harbor. In general there were no quay walls of
stone and the cargo had to be transshipped by hand. Later, cranes became
available to do this work, but with these cranes the next problem raised: a
strong subsoil was needed.
This played a very important role in the development of quay walls with
vertical bearing capacity.
In the Netherlands, Amsterdam was the first place where quay walls were
constructed. In the Golden ages (1700 ac) this was the trade center of the
world.
This also gave raise to the construction of quay walls in Middelburg,
Dordrecht, Stavoren, Delft and Rotterdam.

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QUAY WALLS

In the nineteenth century the steam engine was presented and in the
twentieth century there was a large development in the tonnage of ships.
The consequences were larger ships with a larger draught. The draught of
the ship has a lot of influence on the retaining height of the quay wall.
Another consequence is the growing possibility of self-berthing of the
ships and the extra scour due to propeller currents. Also, the method of
transshipment changed, which lead to higher loads at the quay and
consequently larger quay walls.
These developments show the struggle for the search of a good solution
for a quay wall with large retaining height, high loads and a weak subsoil.
The draughts of the ships changed from 5 m in the 17th century up to 20
meters in the nearby future.

The harbour of Carthage 200 BC, afterGerrit

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QUAY WALLS

Function of Quay Walls

A Quay wall is a soil retaining structure, which occurs in many shapes. All
these structures have the same function.
•Mooring place for ships.
• Soil retaining function.
• Bearing capacity for crane loads, goods and storage.
• Sometimes a water retaining function.

Features of Quay Walls

The requirements of the quay wall show variety according to the users as for
the handling of freight, there must be a big enough storage area and that has
sufficient bearing capacity to provide future transshipment storage.
for the ships, there must be sufficient draught for the biggest vessels to
berth. In addition, the following requirements are;
• The design and construction of quay walls must be well and there must be
reasonable price quality relationship during the design and construction
stages.
• The quay should have a low maintenance requirement and a long service
lifetime.
• The area must be sufficiently elevated to remain dry at high tides.
• Water levels, tidal influences, soil characteristics of the ground and the
climatic conditions of every place in the world are different, so great deal of
experience, ingenuity and creativity should be gathered to make an
optimum design essential in the design of quay walls.

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QUAY WALLS

Quay Wall Construction System

• Gravity System
◼ Block type
◼ Caisson type
◼ Counter fort system
• Wall System
◼ Anchor Sheet Pile
◼ Cellular Cofferdam type
◼ Diaphragm Wall system
• Deep Foundation System
◼ Jetty quays
◼ Deck on pile
◼ Composite system
• Sheet piles + Piles
• Diaphragm wall + Piles

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QUAY WALLS

Main types of Quay Walls

Gravity walls :
• Block wall
• L-walls
• Caisson walls
• Cellular walls
• Reinforced earth structure
Embedded walls :
• Cantilever Walls
• Anchored Walls
• Embedded Walls(with relieving plat form)
Open berth quay walls
• Open berth quay walls (with retanin walls)
• Open berth quay walls (with embankment)

Gravity Quay Walls :

A gravity quay wall is made of a caisson or other rigid wall put on the seabed,
and maintains its stability through friction at the bottom of the wall. These types
of quay walls are so heavy and they cannot tilt or slide. Gravity quay wall
construction is suitable for the following cases;
• When the subsoil consists of rock or very firm sand.
• When the subsoil has sufficient bearing capacity.
A superstructure is used for mooring and berthing of ships, such as bollards. To
provide protection for both ships and quay from damage, rubber and wooden
fenders are installed on the quay. It is also important to protect the bed of the
harbor in front of the soil retaining structure against erosion. Drainage can be
necessary for the excess of pore pressure behind the structure to be prevented.

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QUAY WALLS

Block Type Walls :

Block type wall is the simplest type of gravity

wall, which consists of blocks of concrete
or natural stone placed from the water side on
a foundation consisting of a layer of gravel or
crushed stone on top of each other.
After placing, the blocks a reinforced concrete
cap is placed as cast in situ.
Block walls require much building material,
however labor necessity is relatively little.
The height of this structure exceeds20 m. It is
important to have a good filter structure behind the wall to prevent the
leakage of soil.
Blocks maintain their stability through friction between them selves and
between the bottom block and the seabed.

This type of structure consists of blocks of concrete

or natural stone, piled on the top of
each other. The blocks are placed from
the water side on a natural
foundation consisting of a layer of
gravel or stones.
The great weight of the blocks and the
total weight of the whole structure
make it suitable only for stiff subsoils with a high bearing capacity.
By using this method retaining heights up to 20 m can be achieved with
a relatively low cost of labour but a big amount of building material.

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L-quay Walls :

They provide their stability by the weight of concrete structure and

the weight of the earth that retains them.
This construction method is used if the bearing capacity of the subsoil
is not sufficient for a block wall or if the aim is to save on material
costs of a block wall.

Large prefabricated L-quay walls can be built in any subsoil, but it has
to be placed on a gravel or stone bed layer, and a filter from rock filling
material on the rear side should always be considered.

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QUAY WALLS

Caisson Walls :

Caissons are big concrete elements.

They are floated to the place where
they are sunk onto the subsoil. This
implicates that poor layers under
the foundation must be removed
and replaced by harder materials.
Then, these prepared caissons are
filled with the soil or other
material in order to provide
sufficient mass to resist the
horizontal soil pressures.

The alternative of a caisson

quay wall is economical in
material use, but it is labour
intensive.
To construct the caissons and
to transport them in the project
location requires a
construction
dock, a pontoon and a waterway over which the transportation will
take place. These
parameters make this solution difficult and rarely used.

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QUAY WALLS

Cellular Walls :

The cells are constructed in water or

on land and they are filled with
sand or other material. The cellular
wall consists of soil enclosed by
steel rings in which only tensile
stress occurs.
Relatively little material is required
but the walls are thin so they can damage when collisions occur.

Reinforced Earth Walls :

Steel strips, steel rods and polymer reinforcements called as tension

elements are inserted in the ground.
The friction between the contact surfaces of tension elements and soil
form the basic mechanism of stress transfer between the
reinforcement and soil.

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QUAY WALLS

Type of berthes according to carrier :

Bulk Carrier

Passenger Berth

LNG Berth
Tanker (Single Point Mooring)
General Cargo
Deck on Piles
Diaphragm Wall
Jetty on Pile

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QUAY WALLS

The following table illustrates the different structural types

for jetties:

Structural
Advantages Disadvantages
Type

May be expensive and / or

difficult to construct for open
Mooring may be
water or high wave conditions
possible when the
Pile driving depends on
current speed is high
seabed conditions
Open Suitable for moderate
Can be susceptible to wave
Structure size vessels and berthing
uplift forces
forces.
with a May require under-deck slope
Suspended protection Can be a complex
When coupled with
structure if raking piles are
Deck under deck slope
required to resist lateral forces.
protection can limit
High maintenance
reflections and reduce
requirements and cost
wave climate.
Requires corrosion protection
measures.

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QUAY WALLS

Structural
Advantages Disadvantages
Type

maintenance.
Avoids use of steel
reinforcement, increasing
durability and longevity of the
structure. Relatively long construction
Capable of providing in excess period Heavy self weight
of100 years design life with making handling of blocks
minimal maintenance. difficult Relatively expensive
Construction in the wet is compared to other options
possible, dewatering is not Requires divers if not
Gravity required. constructed in the dry
Suitable for handling heavy Requires time and space for pre
Structure loads Low maintenance casting Can induce wave
(Mass requirements and cost reflection so preferable to
concrete No corrosion protection use only in sheltered
measures required locations Foundation
Block Suitable for resisting high(er) requires favourable
work) berthing forces Aesthetically seabed conditions
pleasing Plain faces make Production of blocks is a
for simpler incorporation of significant operation; batching
fenders and other quay and storing can occupy a large
furniture Relatively common area.
, tried and tested Setback distance required (can
Typically cheaper whole-life be used as promenade area).
cost over long term

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QUAY WALLS

Structur
Advantages Disadvantages
al Type

Relatively short construction Susceptible to corrosion

period Relatively lightweight May require tie back to
structure Sheet piles are provide lateral
simple to handle during support Requires
construction No need for corrosion protection
soil improvement measures Installation
Sheet Can be designed to limited in certain
Piled accommodate less favorable bedrock or may require
ground conditions auguring
Wall Relatively common, tried Can induce wave reflection
and tested so preferable to use only in
Well suited to industrial sheltered locations
structures with shorter Less aesthetically attractive
design life Lease time for procurement
(approximately 30 years) of piles.

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QUAY WALLS

DESIGN CRITERIA

• Design Loads
• Type of Cargo
• Type of Handling System
• Life Time of The Berth
• Standards
Type of Loads
• Vertical Loads
◼ Surcharge Loads
• 4.0 ton/m2 for general cargo
• 6.0 ton/m2 for container terminal
• 6.0 ton/m2 for multi-purpose terminal
◼ Handling System loads
• Crane Loads (for container terminal)
• Built conveyer system
• Portal Cranes
• Loader and Un-loader system
• Horizontal Loads
◼ Earth Pressure
◼ Water Pressure Difference
◼ Side Pressure due to surcharge
◼ Berthing Forces
◼ Mooring Forces
◼ Seismic Loads
Earthquake Loads (Seismic)
• Static equivalent load method according to EAU 1990
• Factor for lateral forces is given as kh = 0.2
• Fh = M * g * 0,2

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 QUAY WALLS

DESIGN METHODOLOGIES OF BLOCK TYPE QUAY WALLS:

Due to the unique physical infrastructure, long range planning process,
complex operational structure, ports have seismic risk issues not
encountered in other types of facilities and infrastructure systems.
Thus, several methods have been developed and implemented in design
practice of ports in many regions, often in the form of codes and standards.
These codes and standards differ for each country and type of structure.
In this thesis the difference
between design guidelines for
block type quay walls used in
Alexandria compared to find
an overview of design
method.
In order to define the
relationship between the
block type quay walls and the
earthquake considerable
researches have been
conducted related retaining
wall problems.
These researches can be Typical section of block type quay wall
divided in two categories, theoretical studies and experimental studies.
Analytical and numerical methods compose the theoretical studies.
Shaking table tests performed under earth's gravity (1g), seismic centrifuge
tests, and any rare occurrences of field testing compose experimental studies.
Fseismic = C W BF : Bollard Force Zi : Seismic Force
Pi : Weight of the each block ei :Earth Pressures E0:Bollard force
O: Moments are are taken Ei :Earth Force

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QUAY WALLS

Loads both static and dynamic acting on block type quay walls

active earth pressure coefficient (KA)

active earth pressure (PA)

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QUAY WALLS

Forces both static

and dynamic cases
acting on a vertical
wall

The static forces

affecting on the block
type quay walls

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QUAY WALLS

The dynamic forces

affecting on the
block type quay
walls

Methodology:
Conventional design methods usually require estimating the earth
pressure behind a wall and choosing the wall geometry in order to
satisfy equilibrium conditions with specified factors of safety. In
general, earth pressure acting on a vertical wall is assumed to be
active earth pressure, and is determined taking into account the
influence
of surcharge on the ground surface behind the wall and the influence
of hydraulic pressure
(due to water level difference both two sides of the wall).
The researches have shown that the inertial forces of the quay wall,
the dynamic earth and
pore water pressures generated in the backfill, and the reduction of
shear resistance at
the interface between the quay wall and the foundation soils are the
causes of wall movement
during earthquakes.

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QUAY WALLS

Geotechnical parameters:
c : cohesion of soil (kN/m2)
φ : internal friction angle of soil (deg)
γ: unit weight of soil (kN/m3)
δ : wall friction angle (deg)
2.Geometric parameters
H : wall height (m)
β : inclined angle with the horizontal
θ : angle between the back of the wall and the vertical plane (deg)
SWL : still water level (m)
3.Load-related parameters
q : surcharge on the ground surface behind the wall (kN/m2)
kh : horizontal seismic coefficient
W: weight of the soil

where; µ is coefficient of friction between the bottom of the wall body and
the foundation, Fv is resultant vertical force acting on the wall (kN/m), Fh is
resultant horizontal force acting on the wall (kN/m), ∑Mr is the sum of the
resisting moments around the toe of the wall, ∑Mo is the sum of the
overturning moments around the toe of the wall, FSs is factor of safety
against sliding, FSo is factor of safety against overturning.

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QUAY WALLS

crown wall

Block one

Mo.Total = Mo.c+∑M b,o 1

Mr.Total = Mr.c+∑M b,r 1
∑ Horizontal Force (FH.b1) = FHc + Ph2 + Fh2 +Fh5 ıı + F2dw
∑ Vertical Force (FV.b1) = FVc+P2 + P4+Pv2
Resisting Moments (Mr.b1) = Mrc + (P2)( xmw 2 )+ (P4)( xmw 4 )+
(Pv2)( xPv2 m )
Overturning Moments (Mo.b1) = Moc+ (FHc)(h2)+((F2(se))( ym2se )+
(F2(ss))( ym2ss ) + (F2(de))( ym2de )+ (F2(ds))( ym2ds )) cos +
(Fh2)( ymw 2 )+(Fh5 ıı )( ymw5ıı )+ (F2(dw))( ym2ss )

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QUAY WALLS

Conclusion

For blockwork walls, sheet piled walls and earth reinforced jetty structures,
consideration should be given to settlement of the internal fill material and the
form of pavement to be adopted.
The design should consider the effects of berthing and mooring actions on the
structure.
Where piled structures resist lateral actions by sway, the movement of the
structure under load should be minimized when it is accessed by the public and
the dynamic response of the structure should be designed to prevent oscillation.
Allowance should be made in the design for lowering of the sea bed level by
accidental over-dredging or scour. Where appropriate, protection should be
provided against scour caused by propellers and thrusters.
The effect of jetties, especially solid structures, on the local sediment transport
regime and siltation allowances should be considered.
Other considerations include the provision of recesses along the face of the cope
for safety and access ladders, and the provisions of fendering and bollards. In
some cases, works required for these items might be integral to the cope
structure.

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QUAY WALLS

References
1.1 Design Code for Maritime Infrastructure, Abu Dhabi.
1.2 Handbook of Port and Harbor Engineering
1.3 Port Designer’s Handbook – third edition – carl A. thoresen
1.4 MARINE STRUCTURAL DESIGN – BY YONG BAI
1.5 PORT ENGINEERING – PLANING, CONSTRUCTION,
MAINTENANCE, AND SECURITY.

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 QUAY WALLS

2- Contact Information
RAMY ADEL ZAKI

Mob +2 01093039939
TEL +2 035277448

Email: www.ramyadel.realife@gmail.com

Company Information
Position: Civil engineer, Marin constructions.
Company: Alexandria Port Authority
Address: Nasr street, Gomrok, gate no (10), Alexandria
www,apa,gov.eg

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