Scour Impact on the Horizontal Bearing Capacity of Pier-Type Dolphin Structures

Abstract

A study using numerical analysis techniques was conducted to examine the scour effect of pier-type dolphin structures installed in the domestic marine environment, and the effect of scour on horizontal bearing capacity was examined. In this study, we designed the berthing structures, taking into account the environmental and ground conditions of the target maritime area, and after calculating the predicted scour area, stability evaluation was performed by removing the ground elements of the area. The increase in scour depth was found to induce a direct decrease in horizontal bearing capacity due to soil loss in contact with the foundation, establishing a relationship that increases horizontal displacement. However, in the foundation designed to withstand the design load by reflecting the safety rate, the increase in horizontal displacement formed by possible scour is not large, which did not have a dominant effect on the horizontal bearing capacity of the foundation. In the future, research is required to analyze the impact of each factor and formalize evaluation and design techniques to evaluate the scour safety of marine foundations and pier-type structures installed in various ground conditions and structural formats.