A Study of Lateral Resistance of Block Breakwater Combined with Piles

Abstract

Three-dimensional FEM numerical analysis was performed to understand the behaviors of blocks and piles according to the horizontal load for the block breakwater combined with piles. The Modified Mohr-Coulomb model, the improved version of the Mohr-Coulomb model, was applied for the ground modeling. The cases when the pile is embedded only into the block, embedded to the riprap layer (H = 4.29 cm), and embedded to the ground down to 2H, 3H, and 4H were examined. The results of the laboratory model experiment and the numerical analysis showed similar horizontal resistance force-displacement behaviors. The pile showed rotational behavior up to the embedment depth of 1H~2H and bending behavior in the case of 3H~4H depth embedment. When the embedment depth of the pile is 3H or more, the pile shows a bending behavior, so it can be considered that the pile contributes significantly to the horizontal resistance of the block breakwater. The results of this study will be used for various numerical analyses for real-size structure design.