A NOVEL DESIGN OF CAISSON QUAY WALL BASED ON PILES AND INVESTIGATING THE SEISMIC PERFORMANCE USING FINITE DIFFERENCE TIME HISTORY ANALYSIS

Quay walls, which are an important part of maritime transportation system, function as a protective structure for the soil behind and all port facilities built on it, includingcargo and passenger shipping equipment; Thus optimal and innovative design of these structures is a high-priority issue in coastal engineering and important to the nationalinterest. Caissons are among the largest berthing structures which are used for the construction of quays, breakwaters, coastal walls, bridges, etc. caisson type quay wall, is one ofthe most widely used kinds of quays, specially due to its structural and economic advantages, including working as a breakwater, relatively easy and quick implementation,and also much less need for repair and maintenance compared to traditional pile-supported wharves which are highly vulnerable to corrosion, deformation of the pilesdue to chemical factors and dynamic loading. On the other hand, caisson walls demand a rigid and firm foundation to resist their significant weight and consequently cannot bebuilt everywhere. The present study suggests a novel design in order to make it possible to use the advantages of caisson quay walls even in lands with inappropriate soils[1-2]