Critical review on seismic performance-based design of quay walls as per Indian and Japanese codes

Earthquake geotechnical engineers have been working with the seismic design of quay walls for a very long time. In the present study, an attempt is made to perform seismic design of quay walls employing two international codes, namely, Japanese and Indian codes highlighting critical differences in approaches, safety factors, and performance outcomes and validating the use of finite element software GeoStudio. The study examines the limitations of current seismic design codes, particularly IS 1893 (Part 3), and compares performance-based design approaches from OCDI 2009 and Indian standards. Through detailed numerical analysis using Geo-Studio's Quake/W, this research demonstrates that Japanese standards provide the most economical solutions while ensuring adequate performance, with gravity quay walls designed as per Japanese Level 1 earthquake criteria achieving optimal width-to-safety ratios compared to other international codes.