Consolidation settlement of quay walls, quay aprons and crane rails involving rockfill

摘要

High standards are now demanded for the quality of quay apron paving and the levels of crane rails. However, close tolerances, and particularly those specified for crane rails by crane manufacturers, are not always achievable in quay construction. The many advantages of rockfill in maritime work can be offset by an inevitable degree of self-weight settlement which, being time-dependent, can lead to maintenance problems. As the settlement of rockfill in relation to time follows a logarithmic law, the rate of settlement takes a long time to decay, which often creates misunderstandings as to its cause. Little is published in port engineering references, but considerable guidance is available from established literature on embankment and dam construction. The paper reviews the application of rockfill in quay construction and briefly discusses the mechanisms of settlement and examples of consolidation settlement of quay walls and backfill. The principles of rockfill settlement are explained. Case histories of the self-weight settlement of backfill are illustrated using extensive measurements taken in the field over periods of up to ten years. It is concluded that sufficient data and examples exist to enable rational provisions to be made for time-dependent self-weight settlement in rockfill.