Nonlinear dynamic response analysis for hub ship lock structures under seismic action

The ship lock structures are responsible for enabling vessels to navigate between different water levels on coastal rivers and canal waterways. With the development of marine water transportation, the risk of earthquakes on ship lock structures has gradually increased. This study adopts ABAQUS to compute the dynamic response of ship lock structures under seismic action, aiming to investigate the corrosion effect on the seismic response and failure mechanism of ship lock structures. Mechanical tests on Q390D specimens are carried out. A detailed finite element model of a ship lock structure is established. The impact of hydrodynamic pressure and boundary conditions on the seismic dynamic simulation is explored. The accuracy of the finite element simulation is verified based on the analytical solution provided by the ANSYS platform and adequate experimental results. The influence of corrosion is systematically investigated in terms of the seismic response, failure mechanisms, and the fragility probabilities of the ship lock structure. The predicted results show that consideration of corrosion effects significantly increases the seismic fragility of the deteriorated ship lock structures up to 46.1%. The findings are expected to provide awareness of considering corrosion effects in the life-cycle design and seismic analysis of ship lock structures.