Sensitivity Analysis of Soft Clay Parameters on an Existing Quay Wall at the East Port in Port Said, Egypt

Abstract

This paper presents a soil interaction sensitivity analysis using a three-dimensional finite element analysis of existing quay wall diaphragm at the east port in Port Said in northeast Egypt. The main objective of this analysis was to study the influence of soft clay layer parameters on the results of FEM analyses on an existing quay wall. At first, background information on the soil strata used in this study is introduced. Then, a full description of the existing diaphragm quay wall located at the east port is provided. A parametric study was carried out for three different soil profiles using strain-hardening constitutive model (HSM) parameters and clay layer thickness, and the results are presented and discussed. The recommended constitutive soil parameters of the marine clay determined using the HSM for the optimization analysis of the quay walls in that location are also presented.