Wave-Induced Instantaneous Liquefaction of a Non-Cohesive Seabed around Buried Pipelines: A Liquefaction-Associated Non-Darcy Flow Model Approach

Abstract

In complex marine environments, the wave-induced instantaneous liquefaction of the seabed is a key issue for the long-term safety control of marine structures. Existing computational frameworks for instantaneous liquefaction result in unreasonable tensile stresses in a non-cohesive seabed. To address this issue, a liquefaction-associated non-Darcy flow model has been proposed, but it has only been applied to the scenario of a pure seabed without a structure. In this study, we applied the previously proposed non-Darcy flow model to investigate the mechanism of wave–seabed–structure interactions under extreme wave loading considering a pipeline fully buried in a non-cohesive seabed. By comparing the liquefaction depths in the presence and absence of structures, it was found that the existence of structures weakens the attenuation of the pore pressure amplitude and influences the overall pore pressure distribution. Parametric studies were conducted. It was found that the liquefaction depth from the non-Darcy model is approximately 0.73 times that from the traditional Darcy model, regardless of whether or not a pipeline is involved. A quantitative relationship between the wave loading and structural size was established. The liquefied zone above the buried pipeline was found to be smaller than that in a pure seabed without a structure. A tentative explanation is provided for this phenomenon.

Keywords

• extreme wave loading
• wave-induced seabed liquefaction
• non-Darcy flow model
• wave–seabed–structure interactions
• non-cohesive seabed