Estimation of the piles axial load in the Public Wharf of Porto Novo during an operation of a port cranes

Port structures are usually large and are subject to heavy loads such as the stresses caused by a port crane and other equipment used during a port operation. Therefore, for a meticulous analysis of the internal forces of the port structures, with the intention to optimize and turn more effective the design, is essential the use of computational tools and advanced mathematical methods, as, for example, the Finite Elements Method. The Porto Novo of the Port of Rio Grande moves millions of tons of materials per year, becoming one of the main ports in Brazil. Its structure has gone through two stages of modernization making it possible the use of larger and more efficient port equipment, operation with ships of greater load capacity, and more quantity of mooring berths available for simultaneous operation. This study will be intended to perform the computational modeling of the Public Wharf of Porto Novo of the Port of Rio Grande using the finite element method through the ANSYS software to estimate the axial loads of the wharf piles when a Mobile Port Crane is in port operation.