Proving Up Capacity of Brotherson Dock Structures for Larger Container Ships.

The size of the world's largest container ships has increased more than seven-fold since construction of Port Botany's Brotherson Dock in the early 1980s. NSW Ports reviewed the vessel size forecast for Port Botany, and then assessed the load bearing capability of Brotherson Dock structures to support the projected growth in container vessel size. The assessment covered both geotechnical and structural capacity, considering a variety of load combinations from redefined forces associated with ship to shore cranes, berthing and mooring loads as well as earthquake loads. A unique probabilistic berthing energy assessment method was devised as part of the project, to accurately define design criteria taking full account of the variable characteristics of every vessel arrival. The Brotherson Dock quay structures comprise large precast concrete counterfort units, whose form of construction and scale is unique in Australia. This meant that typical judgement about how normal maritime structures behave did not apply. Considerable effort was put to understanding the structures' original design intent before embarking upon analysis, such that the analysis effort could be focussed in the right way. The geotechnical stability model was calibrated against survey and settlement monitoring undertaken over the period 2016 to 2020. The findings of the geotechnical assessment were incorporated into the structural model such that the structural model was accordingly calibrated to the geotechnical model and monitoring results. Structural models were iteratively developed to provide detail where preceding analyses showed focus was warranted. Ultimately, a 3D FEA model was developed to the extent that it included elasto-plastic separation of connections between primary components, to investigate their ultimate limit state behaviour. The conclusion of the assessment was that with careful upgrades of the fender and mooring infrastructure, the structures will be capable of supporting the projected vessel fleet, without modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of EA National Conference Publications is the property of Engineers Australia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)