Numerical evaluation of liquefaction-induced damages in composite breakwaters and its application for performance-based improvement design |
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| Authors: | Masoud Rabeti Moghadam Alireza Sadeghi Abdollahi |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran;2. Department of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran |
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| Abstract: | Breakwaters provide a calm sea basin for ships and protect harbor facilities by reflecting wave energy toward the open sea area. Their performance under environmental loadings is the main concern for coastal engineers. Liquefaction susceptibility of loose sediments of seabed threatens performance of these structures. The article investigates soil liquefaction effects on the seismic performance of Iran liquefied natural gas (LNG) composite breakwater. Performance-based design method, considering both grade of the breakwater and acceptable level of damages, was selected as design philosophy. Liquefaction-induced damages to the breakwater were determined by numerical analysis. Since the obtained level of deformations did not meet allowable damages, soil improvement against liquefaction was considered. Different improvement patterns were proposed based on distribution of pore pressure ratio (ru) beneath the breakwater to control its seismic performance. This investigation revealed that the most important area for soil improvement is located near the toes of breakwater to control the slope instability and performance of the breakwater. |
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| Keywords: | Composite breakwater damage improvement numerical simulation performance-based design seismic liquefaction |
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