1. PANAMA CANAL THIRD SET OF LOCKS PROJECT Structural Design
Pablo Arecco
Civil Engineer
Buenos Aires, Argentina
PIANC
Setting the course

2. Panama Canal Location

3. April 2006 – High season
111 Vessels waiting
Waiting time: 10 days
June 2004
119 Vessels waiting
Waiting time: 7 days Cause: Maintenance activities
NEW LOCKS
12,600 TEU’s
EXISTING LOCKS
4,400 TEU’s

4. Third Set of Locks render - Pacific Locks Complex

5. Atlantic Locks complex
Upper Chamber
Middle Chamber
Lower Chamber
The most important thing is to identify the different elements to design. There are three lock chambers in the Atlantic and the Pacific side, the Upper, Middle and Lower Chamber as we can see in the picture and four lock heads, numbered from upstream to downstream. For example the Lock Head 1 is the one between the Gatun Lake and the Upper Chamber, consequently the Lock Head 4 is located between the Lower Chamber and the ocean. As we mentioned this denomination is used in both complex, here we can see a render from the Atlantic Locks Complex which its structural design is being developed in MWH Argentina (CICP Buenos Aires Design Center). The structural design for each chamber includes the analysis of the lock walls, the Floor Slab (only in the Atlantic), the Chamber Conduits under the floor slab and the Lock Heads.
Lock
Head 4
Three Lock Chambers and four Lock Heads in each site (Atlantic and Pacific)

6. TENDER DESIGN ANALYSIS
Stability analysis
Rock
Backfill
Concrete
2D simplified Finite Element Model

7. Issues to solve for Finite Element (FE) modeling
Lock Head 3D FE model
LOCK CHAMBER
CONCRETE STRUCTURE
Lock Wall 3D FE model
Lock Wall 2D FE model
Static and dynamic non-linear analysis
Appropriate boundary conditions
Soil-Structure interaction
Complex loading conditions
Several loads combinations
Lock Heads:
1 three dimensional model for each one.
Lock Walls for each chamber:
3 two dimensional models.
At least 3 three dimensional models.
Chamber Conduits and floor Slab:
1 two dimensional model for each one.
Issues to solve for Finite Element (FE) modeling

8. FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING HOW TO DEVELOP THE FINAL DESIGN FEM?
Lock Wall Typical Monolith
FINAL DESIGN
FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING
Final concrete volumes:
Lock walls ≈ m3
Lock heads ≈ m3
up to 350
HOW TO DEVELOP THE FINAL DESIGN FEM?
GEOMETRY
Evaluation and Idealization
Mesh definition
Material properties and material models to be applied
Interactions should be defined
STATIC LOADS
Dead Loads
Water pressures
Water in chamber and conduits
Groundwater and uplift
Backfill pressures
Live and crane loads
Bollards loads and vessel impact
SEISMIC ANALYSIS
Time history analysis
Two seismic levels
Seven seismic motion for each level
Deconvolution of earthquake records
Abosorbing Boundary Conditions (ABC)

9. Typical monolith 2D model
FINAL DESIGN
LOCK WALL FEM
Typical monolith 2D model
Lock wall 3D model

10. FINAL DESIGN
LOCK HEAD FEM
Rock Foundation
(Gatún Rock)
Rolling gates
(Steel)
Backfill
(Gatún Rockfill)
Lock Walls (Concrete)
Lock Walls
(Concrete)
Lock Head
Large Recess
Small Recess
Slab

11. FINAL DESIGN
LOCK HEAD FEM
Model implementation
Interactions
Model implementation
Loads assignment

12. FINAL DESIGN
LOCK HEAD FEM
Model implementation
Loads assignment

13. FINAL DESGIN
FEM RESULTS
Seismic behavior evaluation.
Foundation bearing verification.
Wall displacements time-history.
Critical stress time-history.
Units: MPa

14. CONCRETE DESIGN CRITICAL SECTIONS
USACE EM
ACI 318
All structural components will be designed for the internal forces (axial, bending and shear) obtained from the FEM Analysis by integrating the stresses.
FEM Stresses
Critical Sections
Internal Forces

15. CONCRETE STRENGTH DESIGN
Static Load Condition Flexure-Axial design
Design forces by averaging the seven peak forces
Level I Earthquake Flexure-Axial design

16. CONCRETE DEMAND CAPACITY RATIOS
DCR limit = 1.0
3 excursions allowed
Elastic domain
Level I
475 years
DCR limit =1.5
Limited non linear behavior
Level II
950 years

17. REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN
Chamber Floor Slab

18. REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN
Chamber Floor Slab

19. REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN
Crossunder slab and walls

20. REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN
Chamber Conduit

21. REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN
Lock Wall Monoliths – First Lift

22. REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN
Lock Wall Monolith toe

23. THANK YOU! THIS IS THE EFFORT OF HUGE TEAM
PIANC
Setting the course