Optimum Design of Multicellular Reinforced Concrete Box Docks

Multicellular concrete box docks are an extensively used structural alternative for building vertical harbor quays or breakwaters. The prefabrication techniques employed for building them guarantee quality, speed, and cost control, conditions difficult to achieve with more traditional technologies. However, a major problem arises from the fact that both their constructive process and their setting in operation may generate levels of strain above those corresponding to normal service. Consequently, intermediate load states need to be considered in the design phase of the box dock. Another aspect to be taken into account is the three-dimensional behavior of the box dock that cannot be completely described using the traditional simplified approaches almost exclusively employed in actual design. It is shown how a global safety factor may be deduced through use of material nonlinear analysis and how this may help in the design process of a box dock. This study is focused on the possibility of eliminating the vertical reinforcement steel bars of box docks.