Issue 78

S. Majer et alii, Fracture and Structural Integrity, 78 (2026) 504-518; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.78.29

investigation, appropriate ground improvement measures, and pavement solutions adapted to specific operational requirements. K EYWORDS . Port pavements, Offshore wind energy, Extreme operational loads, Soft soils, Ground improvement, Settlement analysis.

I NTRODUCTION

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he rapid expansion of maritime transport, logistics infrastructure, and the offshore wind energy sector has significantly increased the demands placed on port pavements. Modern port facilities must accommodate a diverse range of operational loads generated by heavy cargo-handling equipment, specialized transport vehicles, container stacking systems, and oversized cargo. Unlike conventional highway pavements, port structures are frequently subjected to highly concentrated static and dynamic loads, necessitating specialized engineering approaches to ensure long-term serviceability and structural reliability [1]. In recent years, the offshore wind industry has emerged as a major driver of port infrastructure development across Europe. Ports serving as manufacturing, storage, and installation hubs for offshore wind farms are required to handle increasingly large turbine components, including tower sections, nacelles, blades, monopiles, and transition pieces. The dimensions and weights of these elements often exceed those encountered in traditional cargo operations, generating extreme loading conditions that govern pavement design and operational requirements [2]. The engineering of port pavements is further complicated by the challenging geotechnical conditions typically encountered in coastal and estuarine environments. Weak organic soils, soft clays, high groundwater levels, and heterogeneous subsoil profiles may significantly affect pavement performance by inducing excessive total and differential settlements. Consequently, the successful design of heavy-duty port pavements requires not only adequate structural capacity but also a comprehensive assessment of subsoil conditions and, where necessary, the implementation of appropriate ground improvement techniques [3,4]. Furthermore, while traffic loading on public roads is generally standardized, port pavements must be designed for a broad spectrum of operational scenarios involving mobile harbour cranes, rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes, reach stackers, and self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT). The magnitude and distribution of these localized loads often require advanced analytical and numerical methods, including Finite Element Method (FEM) analyses, to accurately evaluate stresses, strains, and settlement behaviour. The Ports of Szczecin and Ś winouj ś cie constitute one of the most important port complexes in the Baltic Sea region and play an increasingly important role in supporting offshore wind developments in Poland. The ongoing expansion of logistics, manufacturing, storage, and installation facilities within the port area has created a growing demand for pavement structures capable of sustaining extreme operational loads under difficult ground conditions. Despite the availability of established guidelines for the design of heavy-duty port pavements, including recommendations for port pavement structures and offshore wind port infrastructure, the design of facilities subjected to extreme and highly localized operational loads remains challenging. Existing guidance generally provides principles and design approaches, but practical projects increasingly involve load configurations that are highly specific to individual handling, storage, and transportation operations. This is particularly relevant to offshore wind facilities, where individual components may reach several hundred tonnes and where loads are transferred through relatively small contact areas or discrete support points. In addition, the combination of such extreme loads with heterogeneous reclaimed ground and organic or highly compressible soils creates a coupled pavement–subsoil design problem that cannot be addressed solely by conventional pavement thickness design. The original contribution of this paper is the presentation and comparison of real design cases from the Szczecin– Ś winouj ś cie port complex, combining extreme operational load characterization, pavement selection, ground improvement solutions, and settlement assessment within a single design framework. The cases cover different pavement concepts and loading scenarios, including RTG crane operations, heavy cargo handling, reinforced concrete slab pavements, geosynthetic-reinforced aggregate pavements, and storage of large offshore wind components. Particular attention is given to the interaction between extreme operational loads and difficult subsoil conditions, including reclaimed land and organic soils. The presented cases provide practical evidence of how pavement type and ground improvement measures can be adapted to the specific combination of operational and geotechnical constraints encountered in developing offshore wind port infrastructure. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to present selected design cases from the Ports of Szczecin and Ś winouj ś cie and to demonstrate how extreme operational loading, geotechnical conditions, pavement selection, and settlement considerations

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