QUETZAL HARBOUR (GUATEMALA, 2014-2015)

Puerto Quetzal dock (Escuintla, Guatemala) is 350 m long and 37 m wide. Dredge level is 16 m below sea surface and is aimed to container transport. It is an open dock with concrete piles. One of the most relevant aspects of this harbour is the high seismicity of the site (peak design acceleration: 0.56 g, Magnitude: 7.5).

Among other questions, our contribution helped to carry out a detailed assessment of the dock behavior under seismic events. This fact allowed an important improvement in foundations design.

PRO GEO geotechnical design experience has helped to solve the following problems:

  • Geotechnical survey design.
  • Assessment of liquefaction risk.
  • Geomechanical modeling of the different dock sections. Soil structure interaction.
  • Geotechnical dynamic modeling.
  • Geotechnical monitoring results analysis.
  • Pile static load tests definition, prediction and analysis.