Nonlinear Behavior of Marine Soil on the Dynamic Stability of Upper Wharf Structures: A Numerical Simulation Approach

Shen, C.; Qian, J.; Chen, X.; Xie, F., and Zhu, J., 2021. Nonlinear behavior of marine soil on the dynamic stability of the upper wharf structures: A numerical simulation approach. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(1), 149–155. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. This paper investigates the influence of mechanical behavior of marine soil on the dynamic stability of the upper wharf. A series of triaxial consolidation undrained shear tests and one-dimensional consolidation compression tests was conducted to analyze the influence of fine particle content on the nonlinear behavior of marine soil. It was found that the relationship between stress and strain, the undrained shear strength, and residual strength of soil samples strongly correlated with the content of fine particles. In addition, the content of illite soil had a significant impact on the characteristic of the stress–strain curves, with a threshold of about 10%. A numerical model of the foundation-pile-superstructure under wave load was established. The results showed that the dynamic response of a wharf under wave load depended on the strength and nonlinear behaviors of the marine soil foundation. The strain-softening foundation with high peak strength led to more damage on the wharf. However, the strain-hardening characteristics resulted in more damage on the wharf when the peak strength was low. This suggests that the mechanical properties of soil foundation should be taken into account for the long-term durability and stability in the design of the wharf.