In the early project phase, decisions are made when considering a port basin berth layout that affects the outcome and the success of the project. In order to make a decision regarding the berth layout, port planners create a set of variants for comparison and assessment in order to pick the basin berth layout that suits the project goals the best. The selected basin berth layout is the preferred variant that will be used to eventually be realised. However, since the decision in the early project phase has a great influence on the entire project, port planners want to improve the decision-making for selecting the best berth layout. This research aims to improve the decision-making process for selecting the berth layout of preference by developing a design generation method for berth layouts and its respective pathway. This method might give insights into optimal berth layout configurations and its pathway in order for decision-makers to assess their preferred variant resulting from the set of variants developed by experts and the generated layout. After the method is developed, the method is tested on conceptual benchmark cases and a real case in order to assess whether such method can add value, or improve, design solutions of port basin layouts during the early project phase. Although limited studies and methods exist that have resemblance or commonalities with berth layout optimisation, the idea is in its infancy. Methods for berth layout optimization have been developed to generate berth layouts and its re spective pathway through the basin in this report. The optimization is separated into two steps: firstly, berth location optimization using a pre-defined central basin pathway, and secondly, optimization of the pathway belonging to the respective berth layout. The separation of the berth location and pathway optimisation reduces computational time. The heuristic berth location optimization optimizes the locations of the berths to minimize the central pathway dredging, while satisfying constraints prescribing a minimal distance between the berths. After the berth locations are optimized, the pathways can either be optimized by means of a heuristic pathway approach, or by means of an exact mathematical pro gramming approach, both of which are developed in this research. The heuristic pathway optimization approach models required dredging by translating the dredging for a berth into a graph with weighted edges and then sequentially defining the route that requires the least dredging per berth, eventually forming the complete basin pathway. The exact pathway approach uses a mathematical programming setup. The methods are applied to conceptual benchmark cases a real-life case. The benchmarks differ in basin dimensions, basin bottom profile, and fleet characteristics. The real-life case concerned the Scheurhaven, which is a small port basin for mainly tugboats. The layout of the Scheurhaven had to be adapted to fit more tugboats in the basin. The Scheurhaven case was optimised with the heuristic approach, due to the potentially large computational time of the exact approach. As the berth locations were limited and the method lacked features to make the design comparable, such as structures and berth geometry, only heuristic pathway optimisation was done.

During mooring operations, ships tend to make an extensive use of bowthruster in order to minimize the need for tug assistance. Jet caused by transverse thrusters directly impinges quay walls, and can cause scour on the bed, therefore threatening structural stability of quay walls. Presence of vertical quay walls induces reflection of bowthruster's jet, further complicating the already complex flow field. Despite extensive research has been conduced on free flow, several knowledge gaps are still present regarding propeller induced flow when confined, for instance by a vertical quay wall. In this research, focus is on flow field on the bottom of a vertical quay wall induced by channel-type bowthrusters, which are commonly used for inland vessels. Field measurements have been conducted at the Antarcticakade, Ports of Rotterdam, using inland vessel MTS Vorstenbosch. The vessel is equipped with a 4-channel Veth Jet type bowthruster system. Use of a combination of Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers allowed measurements of flow velocities on the bottom of the quay. Data from the measurements has been analysed to investigate influence of distance between outlet and quay wall, and keel clearance, on the flow pattern at the bottom. Results have then been contextualized within the literature framework, and their impact on design of bottom protection according to most used guidelines has been assessed. The results of this field measurement showed mean flow velocities near the quay wall generally in the order of magnitude of 1 m/s, with the exception of one test, where mean flow velocities in the order of magnitude of 2 m/s were recorded. This relatively low mean flow velocities were often correlated with large turbulent fluctuations, leading to values of relative turbulence intensities higher than the ones found in literature, and sometimes even equal to 1. Comparison with the theoretical calculations of velocities according to Dutch and German methods suggested by PIANC, showed both methods to be conservative if compared with data from most tests. Furthermore, it appeared that both formulae’s sensitivity to wall and keel clearance was not reflected by the data. Similarly, results from this measurement showed that the flow generated by simultaneous use of two bowthrusters was characterized by velocities on the bed lower than expected according to the guidelines. Recommendation would be to use either linear superposition or to multiply by square root of n (where n is the number of used propellers) when considering the use of multiple propellers, but this was not reflected by most of the data. However, two of the tests taken into exam represented an exception to these general observations: ADV1, the instrument nearer to the quay wall, recorded velocities higher than the theoretical values for tests 12 (use of bowthruster 2 at high water) and 22 (use of both bowthrusters simultaneously at low water). Results from this study showed how the use of a 4-channel bowthruster system induced a flow on the bottom of a vertical quay wall which is mainly divided in two zones. Near the quay wall is where the highest velocities have been measured, and where the flow is strictly influenced by use of the bowthrusters. There is a return flow beneath the ship, which is dissipated in the space of few meters. Underneath the suction points of the bowthrusters, it is the inflow to determine the flow characteristics on the bed. In this research, the extent of the bowthruster-induced flow was found to be less than 14 m from the quay wall. The instrument hereby located, in fact, didn't record velocities which were affected by the use of bowthrusters. This research represents a step towards filling the knowledge gaps about use of bowthrusters at a vertical quay wall. The unique dataset collected can be used in the future for validating numerical or on-scale models, working for a better understanding of the phenomenon and a more accurate and optimized design of bed protections.

The design and reassessment of quays is subject to uncertainties. Examples of these uncertainties are the soil parameters, soil behavior and the current state of the structural parts. Especially in the reassessment of existing structures it is hard to prove a quay to be safe. In this thesis Bayesian updating is used as a method to reduce this uncertainty. Bayesian updating is a technique to probabilistically update the model prediction based on measurement data. One of the solutions to obtaining this data is test loading a quay wall. How to perform a test load and possible other solutions to obtaining the measurement data are not part of this research. The research focusses on how to use the data one obtains from a test loading. The effectiveness of test loading is reviewed by performing Bayesian updates with several fictitious measurement cases. Both Blum and a finite element model are updated based on fictitious strain and displacement measurements. The results show that Bayesian updating successfully reduces the standard deviations in all model predictions. This has a significant impact on the calculated reliability indices. The key benefit of performing a Bayesian update is that a statistically most likely combination of stochastic input parameters is determined. The thesis gives recommendations towards an application of Bayesian updating in practice and as fictitious measurement cases are used, an overall strategy is given for obtaining the required measurement data in practice.

In practice, many structures among which quay walls are designed according the Dutch national guidelines (CUR). Dutch national practical guidelines (NPR), with guidelines for renovation, is still in development for the building industry. These guidelines follow the Dutch Norms (NEN) and Annexes. The guidelines propose procedures in which newly-built or existing quay walls are designed. This study investigates the effects of past performance on the semi-probabilistic level I method for the purpose of design and evaluation of quay walls. This research is performed with a case study considering a CUR class III quay wall from. The objective of this research is gathering insight into the different aspects of past performance, among which degradation and information about survived years, on the reliability level and corresponding influence factors. Firstly, prior analyses including deterministic validation are performed. The output resulting from characteristic values of the cross-section is validated by means of Blum and analyses with the subgrade reaction method. The computed deterministic output appears to be in accordance with the results from the reference study. Afterwards, prior probabilistic analyses were performed in which the reliability, weight factors and corresponding partial safety factors are reconsidered. Failure mechanism ’yielding of front wall’ is a frequent phenomenon and is assessed in this research. Level II FORM is used for the calculation and level III Importance sampling for the validation. The cross-section is adjusted according the reference case and the results are reasonably in compliance with the results found by GeoDelft for CUR class III. The computed 50 year reliability index β = 4.53 and corresponds well to the target reliability level of βt = 4.5. Additionally, the situation in which random input variables are correlated and model uncertainty is included, is considered as well. These correlations and model uncertainty are determined based on previous researches among which. The cohesion of clay, internal friction angles, wall friction angles and water levels are correlated. The model uncertainty factor is lognormally distributed and applies as multiplication factor on the maximum bending moment. Explicitly, the latter results in a significant influence on the limit state. Effects given the reference period are considered as well. Large numbers of the dominant load variable q are simulated. The (extreme value) distribution converges to a Gumbel distribution with σ = 0.61. The stochastic distribution of the dominant load is transformed from and to different reference periods: 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years. Eventually, for posterior analyses the 50 year reference case is translated to an annual situation in which the annual reliability index and sensitivity factors are derived. Including model uncertainty and cross correlated random variables, one finds a reliability index β = 2.33 as assumption for the posterior analyses. The Equivalent Planes method (EPM) has already been applied in the field of flood defences for reliability updating. This method formulates an failure plane equivalent to two or more combined limit states. In this research, the method has been applied in the temporal context. This means that the Equivalent Planes method is considered in the derivation of the reliability given effect(s) of past performance. The annual reliability index and sensitivity factors are used in this reliability updating method. The autocorrelation represents the correlation of the concerned variable in time. Time-dependent variables including uniform load and water levels assume an auto-correlation of 0, other parameters initially assume an auto-correlation equal to 1. The annual reliability index and sensitivity values are iteratively applied in this method for combining limit states. The equivalent failure plane Z uses a simplified expression in the standard normal space. Eventually a time-dependent reliability curve, as presented by the green line in figure 1, is found. Without model uncertainty, the blue curve is obtained. A higher initial annual reliability index results in a relatively smaller increase of the conditional reliability index. Hence, the effect of past performance decreases when a higher start value of the reliability index is used. Due to the reduced cross-correlation between the water levels on both sides, the time-dependent reliability significantly increases. At last, the time-related effects of quay walls are considered. These effects include: • The irreducible time-dependent uncertainty related to the model uncertainty factor. Randomness or natural variation is included in the model uncertainty factor. This is performed by considering situations with a reduced autocorrelation ρ(Zi, Zj) (0.25, 0.50 and 0.75). The reducible time-dependent uncertainty of load variables including q, wa and wp. Knowledge uncertainties (epistemic uncertainties) are reducible in time, meaning autocorrelation approaching 1. The autocorrelations of the considered variables distributions are derived by using transformed random distributions. • Degradation by corrosion of the stiffest elements in the steel front wall. Corrosion is studied by considering the effects of a log normally distributed wall thickness loss according to corrosion curve 3. This corrosion rate affects the primary element characteristics of the equivalent combined wall. The correlation between the water levels on the active and passive is reconsidered and changed from 0.75 to 0.25. As follows, the below figures show the annual development of the annual reliability as a function of time t. Notice that the annual reliability index increases as the extent to which the uncertainty is epistemic increases. Further, the reliability converges less rapid to larger value(s) in case of auto-correlation approaching 0. In this research, corrosion is considered as an epistemic uncertainty. Two modelling approaches have been considered: an engineering approach, a second order approach. The engineering approach solely considers a reducing section modulus W, whereas the second order approach is additionally including the second moment of inertia I. Corrosion curve 3 results in both approaches to a flattening of the conditional reliability index as time progresses. In addition, the speed in which the influence of time-independent epistemic uncertainties decreases, is less in case of corrosion. Hence, the involvement of stochastic degradation negatively affects the extent to which the uncertainties are reducible. The updated reliability index is also calculated per reference period. This is performed with probabilistic calculation rules. The corresponding sensitivity values, given survival of previous years (see figure(s) 5), can be used in the semi-probabilistic level I method for derivation of the updated partial safety factors. These factors can be applied in the derivation of the design values per random variable considering a service life time t. Hence, the reliability of a quay wall and the transformed sensitivity coefficients can be updated with the Equivalent Planes method. Incorporation of degradation and other time-related effects is seemingly possible. However, further research with finite element modelling is recommended for verification purposes.

Quay walls are often designed with Finite Element models (FE models) to take into account the complex soil-structure interaction and highly non-linear soil behaviour. These are complex models that rely on many input parameters that have uncertainties. Nowadays, new quay walls are often equipped with sensors that collect information about the behaviour of the quay wall. These quay walls are known as extbf{smart} quay walls. The measurement data of smart quay walls could be used to validate FE models and reduce parameter uncertainties. This could lead to an optimisation of the functionality of the quay walls. By means of a case study this thesis determines if measurement data obtained during the construction process has the potential to optimise the functionality of smart quay walls. The case used is the HES Hartel Tank Terminal (HHTT-quay), which is a smart quay wall in the port of Rotterdam. The HHTT-quay consists of sections with and without a relieving platform, both are considered in this thesis. In this thesis the functionality of a quay wall refers to the retaining or bearing functionality. Therefore, an optimisation of the functionality could consist of an optimisation in the retaining height or the surface loads. The case study used in this thesis shows that measurement data obtained during the construction process already provides important information that can be used to optimise the functionality of the quay wall. This indicates that for smart quay walls the construction process can act as a load test and this could reduce the necessity to perform a load test during the service life.

In response to the European Commission's initiative to shift freight transport from road to inland waterways, there is a need to expand the capacity of inland ports to accommodate larger cargo ships. This expansion requires lowering the water bottom, which will increase the forces exerted on the quay walls. The quay walls should therefore be reinforced by applying structural adjustments, for minimal costs and environmental impact. The goal of this thesis is therefore to develop a decision support tool, which is able to directly determine the preferred configuration of structural adjustments. To maximise the aggregated preference of all stakeholders involved while satisfying the systems constraints, the a-priori design optimisation method of the Preferendus is applied. The tool, developed using computational science, uses Python because of its capability to automate repetitive calculations. It integrates with the program D-Sheet Piling that is used for specific sheet pile calculations. The tool is designed to be used during the preliminary design phase, enabling quick assessment of potential reinforcement adjustments and facilitating insight into the preferred solution. It evaluates three main strategies for quay wall reinforcement: lowering active soil stress, increasing passive soil stress, and enhancing pile stability. The tool uniquely focuses on maximising the aggregated preference of involved stakeholders and is capable of evaluating failure mechanisms of sheet piles. It is tested on three case studies, all located in the industrial harbour Loven in Tilburg. The results show that the tool effectively proposes which structural adjustments are applicable to create a sheet pile design that satisfies. The thesis concludes by drawing specific conclusions for each structural adjustment considered in the project. Moreover, it concludes that the development of a decision support tool has been successful. In particular, the tool enhances efficiency in sheet pile calculations, offers detailed insights into the environmental and financial impact of adjustments and enables the direct determination of the preferred configuration of structural adjustments. This eliminates the need to choose the preferred configuration from a number of designed variants, which is the current approach. Additionally, the thesis recommends to conduct a follow-up research on the applicability of underwater anchors, which have shown significant structural potential. Furthermore, it recommends to conduct laboratory tests to potentially improve the cohesion and angle of internal friction of soil layers. If those soil parameters can be improved, no structural adjustment may be necessary to reinforce quay walls at all.

The abstract outlines a study focusing on improving the design approach for flexible dolphins, vital marine structures used for vessel berthing and mooring. Current design methodologies, particularly those outlined in the CROW C1005 handbook (2018), are questioned due to potential conservatism stemming from insufficiently calibrated partial factors. The study advocates for reliability-based assessments to address these concerns, which consider uncertainties inherent in dolphin design and quantify failure probabilities over their lifespan. The investigation identifies critical failure modes and determines main pile dimensions based on these modes, utilizing the API PY-curves for rapid computation in the design process. Probabilistic assessments, employing Directional Sampling, reveal the significance of berthing load in structural safety and identify soil parameters as dominant variables affecting fixity failure mode. Navigation conditions, ship arrival rates, and variation in ship sizes also influence partial factors, with recommendations provided for adjustments based on different conditions. The study suggests load testing to reduce uncertainties and increase reliability, exemplified by a Bayesian update from Calandkanaal full-scale load tests. Overall, reliability-based assessments yield insights into managing uncertainties in dolphin design, potentially reducing material usage by up to 20% while meeting safety requirements, and offering the potential to decrease failure probabilities tenfold when combined with test loading.

Inefficient installation of pile foundations may lead to high risks of material damage, inadequate pile capacity, and time delays that can have significant financial implications to any kind of project, both onshore and offshore. Therefore, there is high demand for a comprehensive driveability analysis that considers key aspects of the installation process, such as the soil conditions, the pile-soil interaction and efficiency of the driving equipment used. The total resistance during pile driving is usually estimated through numerical simulation techniques based on the wave equation, whereby the main inputs are the hammer, pile and soil properties. Commercially available driveability software, such as AllWave PDP, enable the modelling of the hammer-pile-soil system and simulate the stress wave phenomena during the installation process. Moreover, these programs have an integrated database of a variety of hammer models (hydraulic, diesel and more) that are used in practice, and also static and dynamic parameters for a variety of soils. One of the key aspects in which this Thesis focuses on, is the static component of the driving resistance, referred to as SRD. Over the years, various SRD models have been developed, with the aim of estimating the static soil resistance during driving, while the dynamic components of the total resistance (increasing resistance due to inertial and viscous rate effects) are commonly being quantified in terms of damping factors. This Thesis investigates the performance of frequently used traditional driveability models, such as the Alm & Hamre (2001), Toolan & Fox (1977) and Stevens et al (1982), in predicting the SRD in dense sand conditions. Furthermore, it examines the application of the Unified Method in SRD estimations. The Unified Method is a recently developed static capacity design approach for driven piles in silica sand. This design method will be included in the forthcoming 2022 edition of the ISO guidelines and will replace the four CPT based design methods (ICP, UWA, NGI, Fugro). The performance of the aforementioned models has been evaluated through predictions of blow count profiles by utilizing pile driving records from five sites in the Netherlands, namely the Eemshaven (project known as Euripides) and APM, RWG, SIF and HHT terminals in the Port of Rotterdam. The diameter of the open-ended steel tubular piles examined in this study, is 0.762 m for the Euripides project and 1.42 m for the rest of the projects. This research, will eventually highlight advantages and disadvantages of the commonly used SRD models, while it will further prove that by modifying the Unified Method, overall better driveability predictions can be made for a larger range of pile diameters than the current methods. The gain is that on one hand, with improved driveability predictions it is possible to minimize installation risks, optimize driving acceptance criteria, and select an appropriate hammering equipment. On the other hand, having a set of formulas that can be used both in estimating the SRD, as well as the static axial capacity, can reduce the engineering effort.

PIANC has published several working group reports related to the design of fender systems. The work of PIANC WG33 is widely accepted by the industry and has been used to design marine structures worldwide. However, the existing design approach does not distinguish uncertainties in fender engineering, e.g. uncertainties related to vessel sizes, berthing velocities, and berthing angles. This paper aims to show how to take into account some of these uncertainties into fender design using a reliability-based approach. The influence of multiple fenders contact and multivariate dependence between vessel size, berthing velocity, and berthing angle on the failure probability of a fender system was analysed. These correlations were modelled using a Vine-Copula, while the contribution of multiple fenders contact was investigated by performing simulation. Furthermore, the failure probability of the fender system was determined using the First Order Reliability Method and Monte Carlo simulation. The results show that uncertainty in berthing velocity, the effect of multiple fenders contact, and dependence between design variables largely influence the reliability of a fender system. It is highly recommended to incorporate all these aspects into the design approach to accomplish a cost-effective design solution. The key findings of this study can be used to update the existing design approach of fender systems and help to interpret the berthing records collected by Port Authorities.

This research focuses on reliability-based, Bayesian updating of grout anchors’ bearing capacity. Firstly, grouted anchors are commonly used in practice, even though large uncertainties surround their bearing capacity. Secondly, every anchor must be tested on their working load for quality assurance. Because of the combination of those two factors, Bayesian updating on grout anchors yields large potential. The measurement data can be used in the design process, to reduce uncertainties. The main goal of this research was to establish how reliability-based updating can be applied in the context of grout anchor bearing capacity. The motivation to use such techniques is to increase the efficiency of existing structures, like in this case study for quay walls, or to adapt the design during construction, effectively cutting costs in both cases. This research was conducted using measurement data from the HHTT quay wall at the port of Rotterdam, applying a recently developed analytical anchor displacement model, and the Bayesian updating technique ’aBUS-SuS’. The combination of both of these methods in this context is a novelty approach to the subject. The first step was to derive the soil parameters necessary to reproduce the measurements to prove firstly, that the model is capable to capture anchor behavior, secondly to get a better understanding of how the model functions in this context, and thirdly to establish a baseline of the parameters necessary for the estimation of prior distributions. The second step was the application of the Bayesian updating algorithm. There, the prior distributions, which are needed as an input, are generated using the results from the first step. The resulting posterior distributions are then related to failure limits of the critical soil parameters that were derived according to a common anchor failure criterion. This gives an indication of the anchor’s utilization and disposition to failure. The results exhibited failure conditions for those anchors that were at failure, verifying that the novelty approach can be applied to the problem. Another finding was that depending on the soil parameter, conclusions can be drawn about the likeliness of the failure type. This means how brittle or elastic the failure might be. The analyses showed that the studied procedure has potential and the anchor’s proneness to failure can be assessed. The underlying analytical model is suitable for the applied type of Bayesian updating because the results are in the same range as for the calibration, but on average slightly lower in their mean magnitude. Thus, additional information is obtained, and the overall uncertainty is reduced. Furthermore, the analyses of the suitability tests gave a quantifiable indication of the anchors’ reliability under failure load that was in line with measured failure indication under working load. Even though the uncertainty that surrounds the anchor-design was reduced, limitations to the framework arose. The analytical model requires uncommon soil parameters as an input. Those parameters need to be specifically determined in laboratory investigations and cannot be tested for on site. The model in- and output needs to match the measurements to the failure criterion of the anchors, and in anchor design, advanced analytical models, like the one used in this research are scarce. The measurement always have certain errors inherent. These errors can lead to diffuse and noisy posterior distributions. Furthermore, a minimum amount of measurements must be available in the first place, otherwise the algorithm does not converge properly towards a solution. This is why it is recommended to get detailed insight of the soil parameters at question also under higher stresses and strains than the anticipated working loads. This helps to give better estimations of the prior distributions and their bounds, and also gives larger confidence in the posterior distributions as a result. Furthermore, this also helps to establish precise parametric limits corresponding to failure, for which the reliability can be evaluated.

In the years to come, the Netherlands will face a substantial challenge as over 1,500 kilometers of aging quay walls and sheet pile walls approach the end of their technical lifespan. Infrastructure managers anticipate that the necessary replacements will necessitate investments amounting to billions of euros. Moreover, this task carries a significant environmental footprint, notably in terms of CO2 emissions. The construction work required for these replacements will also result in disruptions and reduced accessibility, inconveniencing users. This study addresses two pivotal aspects. Firstly, it focuses on enhancing the design aspects of new structures and optimizing costs, with a specific focus exploring how these enhancements can ease the financial challenges faced by infrastructure managers. Secondly, it investigates the safety of existing structures and explores ways to maximize their loadbearing capacity while maintaining safety standards. The expected outcomes of this study promise improved design aspects, cost-efficiency, and enhanced safety measures. Quay walls can fail due to various mechanisms. This research investigates three primary causes: yielding of soil, yielding of quay wall and anchor yielding. Quay walls illustrate the complexities of soil-structure interaction. To address this, models were developed in both Plaxis and D-Sheet Piling. D-Sheet Piling was the preferred choice due to its computational speed. The reliability analysis was conducted with Probabilistic Toolkit. Considering the calculation methods, First Order Reliability Method (FORM) was employed, emphasizing in efficient computational results in contrast to the Monte-Carlo approach. In the first aspect, the partial factors were recalculated and compared them with the existing EC partial factor approach. To optimize the current design methodology, the retaining height of the structure was adjusted based on its reliability index. Additionally, the maximum anchor force required was re-evaluated for the structure. This procedure has been conducted for two scenarios, considering and not considering model uncertainty. Furthermore, an analysis was conducted to understand how altering the retaining height can lead to reduced steel usage, subsequently impacting costs and CO2 emissions. In the second aspect, it was pursued to enhance the structure’s performance by introducing a factor "n" across four distinct scenarios: 1. Simultaneously increasing all loads. 2. Increasing the surcharge loads on the terrain. 3. Increasing the bollard load. 4. Raising the final excavation level in front of the quay wall. While this study aligns with the extensive body of research in the field of civil engineering, It seeks to offer a new and sustainable approach on understanding quay wall design, focusing specifically on the designers’ viewpoint. Through the exploration of innovative design frameworks and approaches, this research seeks to make a valuable contribution to the long-term sustainability of quay wall structures. It aims to redefine our approach to accessibility and safety in these crucial structures. The comprehensive investigations conducted throughout this study provide an enhanced comprehension of quay wall design, reliability, and the optimization of performance.

Structures have to meet a particular level of safety. Therefore, in the European design codes (Eurocodes), three reliability classes (RC) are introduced based on the potential consequence of failure of the structure. For each of the RC a maximum allowable probability of failure is introduced, corresponding to a reliability index. In recent research by Roubos et al. (2018), it is suggested that the marginal costs of safety investments for quay walls is quite low. Therefore, it is questionable whether the current reliability classes and the corresponding set of partial factors, as defined in the Eurocodes and CUR 211, are functional for quay walls. This gave rise to the present study. This thesis investigates the relationship between the construction costs and the reliability index for two quay walls located in the Port of Rotterdam; 1) a double anchored combi-wall and 2) a combi-wall with a relieving platform. In this study, more insight is acquired into the relationship between the construction costs and the reliability index of quay walls. Firstly, the two quay walls are designed semi-probabilistic in RC1, RC2 and RC3, using D-Sheet Piling for the double anchored combi-wall and using Plaxis 2D for the combi-wall with a relieving platform. Thereafter, the construction costs of these designs are calculated and compared. Besides that, the influence of the partial safety factors, which are defined in the Eurocodes and distinguish the reliability classes, on the construction costs is quantified. The same was done for the influence of three of the critical failure mechanisms; ‘passive resistance inadequate’, ‘sheet pile profile fails’ and ‘tension member anchorage fails’. For these failure mechanisms the reliability indices are estimated using the reliability analyses module of D-Sheet Piling, which is based on a probabilistic level II analysis, the First Order Reliability Method (FORM). It appeared that the marginal costs of safety investments for both quay walls is relatively low, even significantly lower than suggested by Roubos et al. (2018). It followed that the differentiation in construction costs between the reliability classes is considerably less than the differentiation in construction costs between quay walls in practice. Therefore, it seems that the current reliability classes and the corresponding set of partial safety factors, as defined in the Eurocodes and CUR 211, are non-functional for quay walls. Besides that, it can be concluded that when designing a quay wall, the determination of the angle of internal friction of the soil strongly influences the construction costs, followed by the surface- and crane loads. The influence of the cohesion of the soil and the bollard load on the construction costs is very small. Furthermore, the influence of the failure mechanisms ‘passive resistance inadequate’ and ‘tension member anchorage fails’ on the construction costs of the double anchored combi-wall is relatively low. Therefore, it is suggested that the reliability index of the quay wall can be increased in a economically attractive manner by increasing the length of the tubular piles of the combi-wall or the steel sectional area of the anchor rod. Due to these influences, it can be economically beneficial to increase the target reliability index of the failure mechanism ‘passive resistance inadequate’ and decrease the target reliability index of ‘sheet pile profile fails’.

Over the last two decades, the size and capacity of (container) vessels calling port at the Port of Rotterdam have increased considerably. To moor these huge and heavy ships safely at the quay, fenders are frequently installed. The present guidelines for the “Design of Fender Systems”, which were established in 2002, are due to be updated in 2023. Part of the update of these new guidelines for the design of fenders by working group 211 of the Permanent International Commission for Navigation congresses (PIANC) consists of the verification and validation of the hull pressure criterion, taking into account the recent growth of (container) vessels. Obtaining a generic criterion is challenging due to the enormous diversity in vessel sizes and structural layouts. In addition, fender dimensions and types may also have a significant influence on the fender-induced load. This leads to the following research question: “How can critical fender-induced loads acting on the parallel side hull be quantified, accounting for the diversity of vessels and fenders?” In this research, parallel hull sections are used in numerical simulations to investigate the allowable load of fenders and to derive the influence of panel size and dimensions (tall or wide). Including detailed parallel hull sections for a representative group of vessels, makes it possible to look beyond simplified geometries, such as stiffened panels, and specific case studies. First, the structural response and corresponding governing failure modes were studied. In addition to existing failure modes described in fender-induced loads, tripping of stiffeners as a possible governing failure mode was included. A modification to available analytical formulations was made to describe the critical tripping pressure of stiffeners with a flange under patch loads more accurately. The proposed critical tripping pressure induced by a fender is underestimated by the analytical model in comparison to the numerical simulations of the parallel sections. When the rotational restraint of the web frame attached to the tripping stiffener is considered, a closer correlation between the analytical results and the numerical simulations of the parallel hull is foreseen. For the numerical simulations, a parametric approach was adopted, where different impact locations and contact areas were applied for several vessel types and sizes. The lowest steel grade of vessels currently applied in shipbuilding was implemented to obtain the lower limit of allowable fender-induced loads. The key finding of this study is that allowable fender-induced loads are largely influenced by the vessel's structural dimensions, such as web frame spacing, and the size of the fender panel with respect to the ship's geometry. The constant hull pressure criterion currently used by PIANC can be maintained but should be limited to a total allowable reaction force, because, for large panels, it overestimates the capacity. Furthermore, it has been shown that for large ships, wide panels outperform tall panels because they activate web frame(s). Making panels much wider does not necessarily yield more capacity because the stress concentration remains in the web frames. For small vessels, the trend is less clear, as the web frame is activated at an earlier stage (less far apart) and the capacity does not increase exponentially with the width. In addition, high panels on small vessels sometimes lead to the activation of a deck and thus increase the allowable load. The overall conclusion of this research is that the PIANC criterion should be limited to a total reaction force. Furthermore, by correctly sizing fender panels, more efficient use of the vessel's capacity can be ensured, as web frames provide more capacity. The findings of this research can be used to allow small and large vessels to safely berth onto existing facilities.

Quay walls are often designed with Finite Element models (FE models) to take into account the complex soil-structure interaction and highly non-linear soil behavior. However, the effect of temperature variations is uncertain if it is taken into account in the design of the quay walls at the Port of Rotterdam. Nowadays, new quay walls are often equipped with sensors that collect information about their behavior. These quay walls are known as smart quay walls. The measurement data of smart quay walls could be used to validate FE models and reduce parameter uncertainties. This could lead to an optimization of the functionality of the quay walls. Smart quay walls have been observed to show much higher strain levels in the anchors during summer compared to the winter period. According to strain records, differences of up to 10% and 20% seem to be present, which is quite high. The objective of this thesis is to verify the effect of temperature on anchor force in quay walls using the data of smart quay walls. The data analysis that took place analyzed data from five different quay walls (HHTT, SIF, EMO, Brammen terminal, Brittanniëhaven). Deformations, strains, anchor forces, groundwater levels and temperatures are some of the measurements that were investigated in order to understand the quay wall reaction to the seasonal temperature fluctuation effect. The most useful measurement data proved to be the deformations of the combi walls and the anchor forces in the MV-piles. This research will eventually highlight the results of the extensive data analysis from different smart quay walls, while it will further prove that quay walls are affected by the effect of seasonal temperature fluctuation. The gain is that with the available data, it is verified that the wall is moving back and forth depending on the season. However, the deformations are minor compared to the deformations of the dredging period. After data analysis, a FE model was set up to predict the deformations and anchor forces of the quay wall during seasonal temperature fluctuations. For the parameter determination, CPTs, later research projects, design records and triaxial tests were used. Regarding the FE model, the case that was used is the HES Hartel Tank Terminal (HHTT-quay), which is a smart quay wall in the port of Rotterdam. HHTT quay wall was selected as the most well monitored quay wall regarding the needs of this research. Moreover, the HHTT-quay consists of sections with and without a relieving platform. Both types were considered in this thesis. Then comes the validation of the FE model with the measurement data. Moreover, having a FE model in PLAXIS 2D which can realistically model the cycle heating effects, could be used both to estimate deformations due to climate change effect, as well as the anchor forces leading to better quay wall design for the future. As with all of the cycle effects, heating and cooling of the quay wall could cause deformations that after many years of operation of a quay wall could lead to excessive deformations. Additionally, increasing temperature will cause higher temperature fluctuations, which means larger cycles. Therefore, further research with more cycles, better quality data and a FEM that could calculate the cycle heating effects is crucial to a better understanding of the cycle phenomenon.

Uncertainties in the soil parameters play a major role in the design of quay walls. In the current design approach, partial factors are prescribed to account for uncertainties in the soil, as well as for other types of uncertainties. This semi-probabilistic (level I) design approach needs to result in a reliable design for a range of quay structures and for multiple soil stratifications. It is therefore expected that, in general, this method results in overdimensioning of the structure. Whether this assumption holds, is investigated in this thesis by carrying out a reliability analysis for two quay walls in the Port of Rotterdam. The first case study covers a simple double-anchored combi-wall, whereas in the second case study a quay wall with relieving platform is considered. Only the most relevant failure mechanisms were considered, which are yielding of the combi-wall, yielding of the anchor bar, shear failure of the grout body and soil mechanical failure. These failure mechanisms are complex soil-structure interaction problems. Therefore, both the soil and the quay structure have been modelled with the finite element program Plaxis 2D, using the Hardening soil model. For performing the probabilistic calculations on this model, the probabilistic module ProbAna has been used. This is a package developed by Plaxis which couples several types of reliability methods to the finite element software of Plaxis 2D. As the computational effort is relatively large when using FEM, the First Order Reliability Method (FORM) was used over sampling methods like Directional Sampling and Crude Monte Carlo simulation. The results for the simple quay wall showed that the reliability level was sufficient for all considered limit states. Hence, almost all partial factors derived on this quay wall were lower than currently prescribed by the Eurocode. In the second case study, a quay wall with relieving platform, monitoring data of multiple years was used for calibration of the Plaxis-model. Thereafter, the reliability for the limit states yielding of the wall and soil mechanical failure was evaluated. It turned out that for both limit states, the reliability index was too low compared to the target reliability. Although each case study concerned a different type of quay wall, the results reveal that choices made in the design, either optimistic or pessimistic, can have large influence on the reliability. Perhaps just as important, are the assumptions made regarding the stochastic description of the soil. It is still under discussion up to what distance soil parameters are correlated in space and how spatial averaging should be applied. Reference calculations showed that choices regarding the amount of independent soil layers and the degree of spatial averaging have a large influence on the reliability. More fundamental research to these topics is therefore recommended.

The objective of this thesis is to enhance understanding of the behaviour of a flexible dolphin and its interaction with the surrounding soil in order to determine the optimal embedded depth. A comprehensive field test is conducted to gain deeper insights into the behaviour of the flexible dolphin and the soil surrounding the pile. The test measurements are then analysed to assess the pile's behaviour. Additionally, calculation models are employed to predict the pile's behaviour, and a comparison is made between the measurements and predictions. Four different calculation models, namely Blum, Brinch Hansen, P-y curves, and Plaxis are utilized to predict the pile's behaviour during the test. The pile behaviour is compared across these models. While most models do not account for repetitive loading, the best available inputs are employed to simulate the test as accurately as possible. The majority of the models exhibit similar top displacements of 0.9 meters, except for the drained Plaxis model, which calculates displacements of 1.05 meter, and Blum's model, which calculates a displacement of only 0.8 meters. During the test, multiple instruments are employed to measure various parameters of the pile, including load, displacement, water pressures, and strains at different depths and time intervals. The total station measurements indicate a maximum displacement of nearly 0.7 meters, which differs by 0.2 meters from the predictions. The deviation between the predictions and measurements can largely be attributed to inaccuracies in the hydraulic jack load measurements. The pile load was back-calculated using the strain data obtained from the pile. The loads estimated based on the strain measurements were found to be hundreds of kilonewtons lower than the hydraulic jack load measurements. As the strain measurements were considered more reliable, the actual load during the test differed from the prescribed load scheme. Consequently, the load inputs in the models need to be adjusted to align with the loads derived from the strain data. The displacement measurements are analysed and compared with each other. The Saaf and optical fibre measurements exhibit similar curvatures, enhancing the reliability of the optical fibre strain measurements during load analysis. However, the total displacement measured by the Saaf and the total station do not match due to the incorrect assumption of zero movement at the pile tip. Determining the exact displacement of the entire pile is impossible due to the inadequate number of boundary conditions available to translate the Saafs curvature measurements into displacement. The calculation models utilize the loads derived from the strain measurements to make predictions, and their results align comparably with the measurements. Plaxis is the only model capable of simulating different load cycles, which improves the comparability of the Plaxis results with the test. Load-displacement graphs obtained from the Plaxis results and the optical fibre measurements display hysteresis in load cycles, consistent with findings in existing literature. The initial load exhibits less stiffness compared to the repetitive loads in both datasets. The amount of energy absorption by the soil is determined from the areas of the loadcycles. When considering the most complete load cycles, Plaxis conservatively estimates the absorbed energy. Reducing the length of a pile results in larger displacements of the pile, while concurrently enhancing its capacity for energy absorption. However, it is crucial to strike a balance between these two parameters, while paying close attention to the permanent soil displacements.