Countermeasures for breakwater foundation subjected to foreshocks and main shock of earthquake loading

Abstract

ABSTRACTCoastal protective structures, such as composite breakwaters, are generally vulnerable to earthquake. It was observed that breakwaters damage mainly due to failure of their foundations. However, the seismically induced failure process of breakwater foundation has not been well understood. This study describes failure mechanism of breakwater foundation as well as a newly developed reinforcing model for breakwater foundation that can render resiliency to breakwater against earthquake-related disasters. Steel sheet piles and gabions were used as reinforcing materials for foundation. The experimental program consisted of a series of shaking table tests for conventional and reinforced foundation of breakwater. Numerical analyses were conducted using finite difference method, and it was observed that the numerical models were capable to elucidate the seismic behavior of soil–reinforcement–breakwater system. This paper presents an overview of the results of experimental and numerical studies of the seismic response of breakwater foundation. Overall, the results of these studies show the effectiveness of the reinforced foundation in mitigating the earthquake-induced damage to the breakwater. Moreover, numerical simulation was used for parametric study to determine the effect of different embedment depths of sheet piles on the performance of breakwater foundation subjected to seismic loading.