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The Floaterm Concept: Reducing Terminal Congestion with Waterside Cranes

March 2007

by Michael Jordan, Cathy Morris, and Anna Dix

Presented by Michael Jordan at the Ports 2007 conference

Container terminals are becoming increasingly more congested and expensive to operate. Highways and railways are already congested by container traffic and this congestion will worsen. Pollution from port operations is also a rising concern. These factors create a growing need for new, more economical terminal operation methods. Floaterm is a concept that helps alleviate congestion and pollution.

This presentation discusses two variations of Floaterm concepts: midstream and ship-in-a-slip operations. Engineering calculations have been prepared to verify the technical feasibility of the concepts, but are not included here.

Tandem 40 Dockside Container Cranes and Their Impact on Terminals

March 2007

by Derrick Lind, Jonathan Hsieh, and Michael Jordan

Presented by Derrick Lind at the Ports 2007 conference

Conventional single-hoist container cranes have been in use since the mid-sixties. Many innovations have been developed to improve the productivity, including increases in trolley/hoist speeds, cranes with two trolleys, and elevating girder cranes. The latest development is a tandem-40 crane that can handle two 40-foot containers for each lift.

This presentation discusses single-hoist tandem-40 (SHT40) and dual-hoist tandem-40 (DHT40) cranes. These cranes pick up two or more containers with a single trolley running on a conventional runway. We compare these cranes to conventional container cranes and discuss tandem crane components, the importance of improved yard operations to accommodate the tandem 40s, impact on wharf structure design, and possible productivity improvements.

Increasing Hurricane Winds? Dockside Crane Retrofit Recommendations

March 2007

by Patrick McCarthy, Kenton Lee, Michael Jordan, and Stu Werner

Presented by Patrick McCarthy at the Ports 2007 conference

Studies indicate that the intensity, size, and duration of tropical cyclones (hurricanes and typhoons) are increasing dramatically and may be correlated, at least in part, to increasing ocean surface temperatures. This appears to be a global phenomenon and many scientists predict the trend is not likely to abate any time soon.

This paper presents recent trends in hurricane wind loading, a novel new design “ductile link” tie-down system, and an economy vs. risk approach for retrofitting existing structures making comparisons to current approaches for seismic retrofit of buildings. This paper also reviews performance of cranes in the US East and Gulf coasts during recent hurricanes.

Seismic Response of Jumbo Container Cranes and Design Recommendations to Limit Damage and Prevent Collapse

March 2007

by Erik Soderberg and Michael A. Jordan

Presented by Erik Soderberg at the Ports 2007 conference

Container cranes have evolved to serve ever increasing ship sizes. Today's typical container cranes are about triple the size of the first cranes, much heavier, and more vulnerable to damage from seismic events. The seismic vulnerability of these large cranes was only recently recognized as a result of detailed time history analysis.

This presentation discusses what changed to cause the vulnerability, the results of the time history analysis, a physical explanation of the crane-wharf interaction, the inconsistency of seismic design criteria for wharves and cranes, recommended design criteria, and some base isolation and modification concepts.

EQ Response - 50’ Gage Container Crane

Video of linear elastic response of 50’ gage container crane on typical West Coast wharf subjected to ground motions transverse to the wharf from a Port of Los Angeles design earthquake with 475 year mean return interval. Analysis based on no damage to crane structure.

EQ Response - 100’ Gage Container Crane

Video of linear elastic response of 100’ gage container cranes on typical West Coast wharf subjected to ground motions transverse to the wharf from a Port of Los Angeles design earthquake with 475 year mean return interval. Analysis based on no damage to crane structure.

EQ Response - Cement Unloader

Video of linear elastic response of cement unloader on typical West Coast wharf subjected to ground motions transverse to wharf from Port of Los Angeles design earthquake with 475 year mean return interval. Analysis based on no damage to unloader structure.

Evaluating the Seismic Capacity of a Newly Designed Wharf at the Port of Oakland

March 2007

by Shah Vahdani, John Egan, Robert Pyke, Chih-Cheng Ching, Tom LaBasco, and Tom Griswold

Presented by Erik Soderberg at the Ports 2007 conference

This presentation discusses the findings of seismic capacity study of a recently designed and constructed wharf (Berth 59) at the port of Oakland (Port).

This study was conducted to evaluate the reserved capacity of the wharf to resist structural collapse during a major seismic event in the Bay Area, California. The wharf was designed according to the Port's seismic design requirements.