During the Chilean earthquake of March 3, 1985, failures and excessive movements of waterfront quay walls occurred in Valparaiso and San Antonio, Chile. Accelerographs located in both cities gave useful records of measured ground motions, and information is available on the construction and soil conditions at the site of the failures. The major objective of this research program is to use this information to improve the understanding of failures; in particular, to test the applicability and accuracy of methods for analyzing and designing quay walls to resist seismic loading conditions.
