Experimental and numerical investigation on the response characteristic of the crane-wharf structure in liquefiable site.

With the wide application of large cranes, what role does the crane play in the response of the pile-supported wharf needs to be carefully considered, but the effect of the crane is often ignored or considered by centralized mass simplification. Experimental and numerical investigation are effective ways to characterize the seismic performance of structures. To investigate the response characteristic of the crane-wharf structure located in liquefiable site, the study involves first conducting a centrifuge shaking table experiment to physically reproduce the behaviour of the crane-wharf structure from the experimental view, the response laws such as large deformation due to liquefaction of the crane-wharf structure are revealed. Furthermore, three-dimensional numerical simulation is carried out and the rationality is verified, and it lays a numerical foundation for further revealing the difference in structural response of crane wharf. Finally, the response characteristics of the pile-supported wharf with/without crane under different predominant frequencies earthquakes are discussed and compared, it is found that special attention should be paid to the predominant frequencies of earthquakes with crane. This study emphasizes the complexity of understanding different ground motion records in analysing the response characteristic and provides reference and guidance for the similar structures. • The centrifuge test is first performed to physically reproduce the behavior of the wharf with crane. • The response characteristic of the wharf with/without crane are analyzed by numerical simulation. • Special consideration should be given to the predominant frequencies of earthquakes with crane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]