• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.49-64
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• 2014

Seabed beneath and near the coastal structures may undergo large excess pore water pressure composed of oscillatory and residual components in the case of long durations of high wave loading. This excess pore water pressure may reduce effective stress and, consequently, the seabed may liquefy. If the liquefaction occurs in the seabed, the structure may sink, overturn, and eventually fail. Especially, the seabed liquefaction behavior beneath a gravity-based structure under wave loading should be evaluated and considered for design purpose. In this study, to evaluate the liquefaction potential on the seabed, numerical analysis was conducted using 2-dimensional numerical wave tank. The 2-dimensional numerical wave tank was expanded to account for irregular wave fields, and to calculate the dynamic wave pressure and water particle velocity acting on the seabed and the surface boundary of the structure. The simulation results of the wave pressure and the shear stress induced by water particle velocity were used as inputs to a FLIP(Finite element analysis LIquefaction Program). Then, the FLIP evaluated the time and spatial variations in excess pore water pressure, effective stress and liquefaction potential in the seabed. Additionally, the deformation of the seabed and the displacement of the structure as a function of time were quantitatively evaluated. From the analysis, when the shear stress was considered, the liquefaction at the seabed in front of the structure was identified. Since the liquefied seabed particles have no resistance force, scour can possibly occur on the seabed. Therefore, the strength decrease of the seabed at the front of the structure due to high wave loading for the longer period of time such as a storm can increase the structural motion and consequently influence the stability of the structure.