Design of Concrete Deep Draft Captured Camels

The Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor (NBK-Bangor) Service Pier, in the state of Washington, supports the homeporting and maintenance operations for naval attack submarines in the Puget Sound region. The existing facility, built in the late 1970s and expanded in the early 2000s, typically services multiple submarines per year. The service pier is currently undergoing a major operational upgrade, extending the existing pier by 520-ft (158.5 m) to better meet the needs of multiple classes of attack submarines (SSNs) with homeporting and repair capabilities. Key features of the pier extension are two deep draft concrete camels for berthing and mooring of the submarines. Measuring nominally 95 ft long by 19-ft wide (28.96-m by 5.8-m), these camels will be in relatively deep water along the waterside face of the pier extension. The pier deck, camels, and moored submarines will be connected via a network of movable pedestrian brows, platforms, and elevated walkways to accommodate 20-ft (6.1 m) tidal fluctuations. This paper outlines the features of these camels and describes the design process to meet strength requirements and serviceability criteria to provide a 50-year design life.