Sensitivity Analysis of Soft Clay Parameters on an Existing Quay Wall at the East Port in Port Said, Egypt-Article

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The study evaluates how soft-clay properties affect the behavior of the existing diaphragm quay wall at East Port Said, Egypt. The authors used PLAXIS 3D finite-element analyses with a hardening-soil model to assess three site-specific soil profiles. For each profile, six cases varied clay stiffness and undrained shear strength, covering stiffness ratios of approximately 200–500.<br /><br />Results show that increasing soft-clay stiffness generally reduces quay-wall movement, settlement, and structural forces. Across the cases, maximum horizontal wall displacement ranged from about 36 to 132 mm, while maximum vertical displacement reached about 66 mm. Settlement behind the wall reached approximately 151 mm. The effects differed by profile: Profile B generally produced greater horizontal displacement and axial forces, while Profile C produced the largest vertical displacement and settlements. Profile A produced the greatest shear forces, particularly at lower stiffness. The presence of a hard-clay layer beneath the soft clay substantially reduced settlement but increased shear forces in the barrettes.<br /><br />Regression analyses found strong relationships between the clay stiffness ratio and most modeled responses, though the relationship with shear force was weaker for Profile C. The authors recommend a hardening-soil model based on Profile C for future optimization analyses at East Port Said, while emphasizing that further verification and testing of additional soil parameters and locations are needed.

Keywords

soft clay

diaphragm quay wall

East Port Said

PLAXIS 3D

finite element analysis

hardening soil model

clay stiffness ratio

undrained shear strength

wall displacement

settlement