Wave-Induced Seabed Instability: Difference Between Liquefaction and Shear Failure

Abstract

The mechanism of wave-induced instability in a permeable seabed have been studied for more than two decades. The distinction between shear failure and liquefaction, however, has not been clearly defined. This paper presents a fundamental study on the differences in two failure modes for a fully saturated seabed of both finite and infinite thickness. The wave-induced effective stresses and pore pressure, obtained from an analytical solution of Biot’s pore-elastic consolidation theory, were employed to examine the failure modes under a two-dimensional plane strain condition. A case study is presented to examine the failure modes with respect to several parameters, such as excess pore pressure, seepage flow, seepage force, failure areas and stress path in the seabed. The conclusions obtained from this study were as follows; (1) the thickness of a permeable seabed affects the pore pressure and effective stress response to ocean waves and the failure mode of the seabed, (2) either a liquefaction or shear failure, or both, occur in the seabed, even in the saturated seabed, (3) the Mohr-Coulomb’s failure criterion, when combined with elastic stresses, can not be employed to estimate the liquefaction failure in the seabed, (4) the liquefaction can be evaluated by a criterion in terms of the excess pore pressure, (5) The liquefied zone in the seabed is significantly different from the shear failure zone. The shape beneath the seabed surface for the former is almost identical to the contour where the upward seepage flow is concentrated.