Civil Engineering Faculty of Engineering & Islamic Architecture

Berthing structures (quays)

(5-1) general:

Berthing structure is a general term used to describe a marine

structure for the mooring of vessels, for loading and unloading
cargo, for embarking and disembarking passengers.
In U.S.A. a berthing structure is referred to as a pier, and wharf,
and in European terminology, a jetty, and quay.

Berthing structures vary widely from port to port. The number of

berths will depend upon the number of ships to use the port and
the time it will take to discharge and take on cargo or passengers.
The selection of the type of berth and the material used for its
construction will depend upon a number of factors, such as:

 Local customs and practice: for example the massive quays

are generally used in Europe, whereas, open and light
structures are usually constructed in America.
 Availability of materials.
 Economy of construction.
 Size and weight of ships using the port.
 Method of construction.

Berthing structures should be located in the most sheltered part of

the harbor or along the lee side of the breakwaters. Where possible
the berth should be so oriented as to have the ship alongside headed
as nearly into the wind and waves as possible.

i- Classification of berths
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Broad classification:
 Berths of open construction with their decks supported by
piles.
 Berths of closed or solid construction, such as sheet-pile
cells, caissons, block-type wall, and gravity walls.

According to cargo type:

 General cargo.
 Dry bulk.
 Liquid or powdered bulk.
 Containers.
 Passengers.
 Petroleum tankers.
 Fish port.

According to the berth shape :( figure 5-1)

 A quay is a berth parallel to the shore.

 A basin, dredged inside the land when the water area of the
port is small.
 A pier or jetty is a berth projected into the water.
Sometimes it is referred to as a mole and in combination
with a breakwater it is termed a breakwater pier.
 Basins or moles inclined to the shore line by an angle =
60º: 75º.

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L= ship length, S= 25m

A quay a mole

600:750
A basin
S L S

Figure (5-1): classification of berths(Ref 4,5)

ii- Berth Planning

A mole with one vessel on each side:

See figure (5-2).

25m

25m

20m 30m 20m 30m ship beam

Shed width

Figure (5- 2): amole with one vessel on each side(Ref 4,5)

A mole with two vessels on each side:

See figure (5-3).

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25 m

L
15 m

L
25 m

25 m

Figure (5-3): a mole with two vessel on each side (Ref 4,5)

iii- Transit Sheds

It is a covered storage built of suitable width on the berth apron

adjacent to the ship.
The area of transit shed per berth will depend upon the average
cargo load carried by the ship.
The actual weight of cargo is to be doubled for loading and
unloading.
The cargo volume = actual weight of cargo (D.W.T.) * cargo
specific volume (see table 5-1 for specific volume of different
materials).
The real gross volume of cargo includes 25% of space lost
between stacks of ballets.
Then, the gross volume of cargo= cargo volume * 1.25.
The stacking height will be either 3m or 4m, for the stacking
being manual or mechanical using the fork-lift, respectively.
Then, the area of stacking =
The actual cargo load/ the stacking height,
and the total area of the shed = area of stacking + area of passages.
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Then, the total area of the shed = 2* stacking area.

Assuming that the length of the transit shed equals to the ship
length L, then,
Width of the shed = total area of the shed /L.

Specific volume m³/ton Type of cargo

Conserved food in boxes 1.1
Cement in bags 0.9
Packed cotton 2.0
Lead 1.75
Leather in rolls 0.17
Orange in boxes 6.35
Paper in rolls 1.95
Sponge 3.4
Timber 5.7
General cargo 1.0 : 2.1
1.25

Table (5-1): specific volume of different material at cargo

iv- Determination of number of berths

The approximate relation used for the determination of the

number of berths is:

N1= W/ R* H * D
Where,
N1= required number of berths for a certain cargo.
W = annual amount of this cargo imported and exported.
(T/year)
R = handling rate of this cargo on the berth. (T/ hour)
H = number of working hours per day. (hour/ day)

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D = number of working days per year. (day/ year)

N1 is calculated for each type of cargo, and the total number of

berths in the port N for all types of cargo is:
N = N1 + N2 + N3 +……..

v-Major patterns of berthing structures

There are three main groups under which lie the construction
material and the type of construction of any berthing structure.

Group I:
Are the berthing structures composed of steel sheet piles,
such as cantilever walls, anchored walls, cellular quay walls, and
relieving platforms.

Group II:
Are gravity walls structures, such as the precast block- type
walls, precast reinforced hollow blocks walls, closed or open
caissons walls, and counter fort walls. This type depends on its
own weight for equilibrium.

Group III:
Are structures supported on piles, and do not have a back fill.
This can be constructed parallel or perpendicular to the shore line.

In this stage of study we will be interested only in Group II

concerning the gravity walls.

vi- Gravity walls

Precast Block-type wall

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This type of berths is usually constructed of heavy precast plain

concrete blocks. The individual blocks of concrete may weigh
from 50 to 200 tons and are laid so as to give the wall a slight
backward inclination. The bottom course of blocks is usually laid
on a rubble base and a rock fill is placed in back of the wall so as
to reduce the lateral earth pressure. Above low-water level the
wall is usually constructed of cast-in-place concrete.

(5-2) Wall Elements :( See figure 5-4).

This wall consists of the following elements:

 Rubble base; acts as a plane surface to receive the blocks
and distribute their pressure stress on bigger area.
 Concrete blocks; made of pre-cast plain concrete. This part
has a height extending from the upper surface of the rubble
base and a level below the high tidal level by a certain
distance sufficient to pour the concrete forming the upper
part of the wall in place. Blocks are put in place using
floating cranes and by the help of divers.
 Cap; is the upper part of the wall to be cast in place. Its
height extends from the level of the upper block to the
design level of the top of wall. Most of the accessories
needed for the berth such as ladders, fenders, bollards, etc…
are fixed in the cap.
 Back filter & back fill; is formed of graded rocks or a sheet
of geotextile laid at the back of the wall. The space between
the filter and the wall is filled with rock of angle of repose
φ greater than that of the base soil. The filter prevents the
soil materials from being seeped during ground water
movement due to tides. Also, the back fill reduces the
lateral earth pressure on the wall.

(5-3) Design Procedure:

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1-Preliminary estimation of dimensions:

a) Determination of surface level of rubble base:

Level of rubble base surface = L.W.L. – [ship draft + 1.0m].

The thickness of the rubble base can be taken from 1.5m to 2.5m
with side slopes equals to 2:1.
b) Determination of cap level:
Lower cap level = L.W.L. + tidal range/2.
Upper cap level = H.W.L. + (1m: 2m).

c) Determination of number of vertical blocks:

Height of wall = Lower cap level – Surface level of rubble base.
Number of blocks = Height of wall / height of one block.
The height of one block is taken from 2m to 2.5m, but it is not
Necessary that all blocks have the same height.

2-Effective forces:
a) Disturbing forces:
 Tension in bollard: the ship is pulled out of the berth while
it is tied in bollards by cables. This force is transmitted to
the berth from bollards. The tension force is caused by wind
pressure acting on the projected area of the ship above sea
level, by currents force acting on the under water area of the
ship, and by wave impact on the ship. The tension force is
directly proportional to the ship weight. Generally tension
force is assumed from 2.0 to 4.0 t/ meter length of the
berthing structure.
 Earth pressure: the angle of repose Φ of the rock material
of back fill (450) is bigger than that of the sand (30 0). For the
calculation of earth pressure one can use the following
relations:
ΦAV. = ΦSAND + 2/3 (ΦROCK - ΦSAND)

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And, γ AV. = (γ ROCK + γ SAND) /2

The first relation gives the average angle of repose and the
second gives the average specific weight to be used in calculating
the earth pressure force on the wall.
 Lateral pressure due to dead & live load: it is due to the
fixed and moving loads on the berth deck.
 Water pressure: it may affect if there are no vertical joints
along the wall section, but in the case of block type walls,
blocks are put in such a way that vertical distances between
blocks are in the order of 5 cm. Thus in this case water
pressure is not effective.

b) Stabilizing forces:
 Weight of blocks: the weight of blocks is the main force to
cause the stabilizing of the wall. Blocks are made of plain
concrete. The specific weight of dry plain concrete
γ dry = 2.2 t / m3 and in case of blocks submerged in water
the specific weight will be γ sub. = 1.2 t / m3.
 Ship impact: due to the ship impact while berthing on the
quay. This force is in the opposite direction of the force due
to tension in bollard.
 Vertical weight of backfill: this may affect due to the
vertical soil weight acting on the extended parts of blocks in
the back of wall.
 Dead & live loads: these loads are effective on the structure
if they have direct action on the wall such as the loads from
cranes on the cap if the outer rail of the crane is laid directly
on the wall cap.
3-Cases of loading:
The worst case of loading is the case to be taken into consideration
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for the design of the wall. This case can occur at maximum
disturbing forces and minimum stabilizing forces. One can not
state a rule for the worst case, but the following can be taken into
account;
- Vertical weight of blocks and the effect of earth
pressure always act on the wall.
- We choose the unfixed loads; such as ship impact,
tension in bollard and moving live loads; which give
the worst case.
- Pressure and weights are calculated in the case of low
water level in the sea.
4-Check of wall stability:
The dimensions of the wall have been estimated using empirical
rules, but the final ones are to be calculated by checking the
stability of the wall. The check of wall stability is done at the
surfaces of contact between blocks, at the surface of contact
between the cap and the first block, and at the surface of contact
between the rubble base and the lower block. The calculations of
stability depend on, the check of sliding, the check of overturning,
and the check of stresses.
 Check of Sliding:
F.O.S. = μ Σ W / Σ E + T > 1.5
Where:
F.O.S. = factor of safety,

μ = coefficient of friction between the upper & lower surfaces,

W = the blocks weights above the studied surface,

E = effective earth pressure forces above the section,

T = the force in bollard.

 Check of Overturning:
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F.O.S. = M ST. / M OT. > 1.5

Where: M ST. = sum of stabilizing moments about the point of overturning in the section.

MOT. = sum of stabilizing moments about the point of overturning in

the section.

 Check of Stresses:
The stress over the section under study is determined by the
equation:
f 1, 2 = N / b ± Mc. (b/2)/ Ic
Where:
f 1,2 = normal stress acting on the section under check,
N = sum of normal forces on the section,
b = length of section,
Mc = sum of moments about point c (midpoint of length b),
Ic = moment of inertia for the section about c

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BERTH LEVEL PAVED APRON CAST IN PLACE CAP BOLLARD

FENDER
H.W.L.

L.W.L.
FILTER

CONCRETE
BLOCKS

BACK FILL

RUBBLE BASE

SEA BED
ٍ

FIGURE (5-4): percent block –type wall (Ref 4,D)

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