About the Project

Longitude was engaged by undisclosed terminal owners to assess the strength of a piled berthing dolphin/jetty structure following a heavy impact with a vessel.

The client was concerned that if the structure required replacement, the facility would need to be closed for a  lengthy period.

Scope of work

Longitude provided a range of marine operations engineering services, to support with the following:

• Impact assessment of mooring dolphin
• Non-linear soil analysis with soil springs

Our integrated solutions included geotechnical engineering support, ensuring that the structural modelling provided, reflected the actual soil conditions.

The Results 

Longitude provided engineering analysis to show that whilst the structure had moved, it has adequate structural integrity for continued service without replacement.

The jetty structure was comprised of steel piles, tied to the bedrock using rock anchors and tied together with a concrete cap.

Longitude’s structural engineers undertook a non-linear FE assessment of the jetty structure under dynamic impact loading, to assess the likely extent of the damage to the piles and rock anchors.

Soil parameters for the analysis were provided by Longitude’s geotechnical engineers and an analytical model produced incorporating DNV plastic material profiles to allow for plastic deformation of the piles.

Longitude simulated the impact between the vessel and jetty to determine the loading on the structure and to estimate the extent of damage to the piles and rock anchors. It also estimated the residual structural integrity of the structure.

The analysis was therefore able to demonstrate to the client that the structure was safe for continued service.