Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Field observation of the wave-induced pore pressure response in a silty soil seabed

  • Original
  • Published:
Geo-Marine Letters Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Liquefaction of seabed sediments under the action of storm waves is an important form of seabed instability, which may cause damage to submarine structures such as pipelines and cables. A commonly used parameter to identify sediment liquefaction is pore pressure. The pressure response of the pore water at different depths of a silty soil seabed under storm waves was monitored by a probe rod in the Yellow River delta. The probe is made of a steel pipe with a length of 8 m and an outer diameter of 10 cm, which is equipped with 10 pore pressure sensors. According to the collected data, under a water depth of 8 m, silty soil seabed liquefaction starts when the significant wave height reaches 0.5 m, and the liquefaction depth is between 3.3 and 3.8 m under waves with a significant wave height of 3.65 m. Seabed liquefaction develops in a top-down manner, and the average development rate of the liquefaction depth is approximately 0.17 m/min.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

d :

grain size

h :

water depth

H :

wave height

\( \overline{H} \) :

average wave height

H max :

maximum wave height

H 1/3 :

significant wave height

K :

coefficient of permeability

K P :

pressure coefficient

k 0 :

lateral earth pressure coefficient at rest

P :

magnitude of the pressure change at the water bottom

P e :

excess pore pressure

\( {\overline{P}}_e \),:

residual excess pore pressure

P m :

measured pore pressure

P z :

magnitude of the pressure change at burial depth z

P 0 :

static pore pressure

T :

wave period

\( \overline{T} \) :

average wave period

T 1/3 :

significant wave period

v :

development rate of liquefaction depth

W g :

water content

z :

burial depth of the sensor

γ :

unit weight

γ s :

effective unit weight of soil

γ w :

effective unit weight of sea water

σ ′ :

effective stress

σ v0 ′ :

initial vertical effective stress

σ 0 ′ :

initial effective stress

References

  • Bennett RH (1977) Pore-water pressure measurements: Mississippi delta submarine sediments. Mar Geotechnol 2:177–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett RH, Faris JR (1979) Ambient and dynamic pore pressures in fine-grained submarine sediments: Mississippi Delta. Appl Ocean Res 1:115–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bornhold BD, Yang Z, Keller GH, Prior DB, Wiseman WJ, Wang Q, Wright LD, Xu W, Zhuang Z (1986) Sedimentary framework of the modern Huanghe (Yellow River) delta. Geo-Mar Lett 6:77–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cha D, Zhang H, Blumenstein M (2011) Prediction of maximum wave-induced liquefaction in porous seabed using multi-artificial neural network model. Ocean Eng 38:878–887

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen W, Yang Z, Prior DB (1992) The classification and analysis of seafloor micromorphology on the Huanghe (Yellow River) subaqueous slope. J Ocean Univ Qingdao 22:71–81

    Google Scholar 

  • Christian J, Taylor P, Yen J, Erali D (1974) Large diameter underwater pipeline for nuclear power plant designed against soil liquefaction. Proc. 6th Offshore Tech. Conf., Dallas. pp. 597–606

  • Dalrymple RA, Liu PL (1978) Waves over soft muds: a two-layer fluid model. J Phys Oceanogr 8:1121–1131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis EE, Horel GC, Macdonald RD, Villinger H, Bennett RH, Li H (1991) Pore pressures and permeabilities measured in marine sediments with a tethered probe. J Geophys Res-Sol Ea 96:5975–5984

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gagniere S, Smith SGL, Yeh HD (2018) Excess pore water pressure due to ground surface erosion. Appl Math Model 61:72–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirca VSO (2013) Sinking of irregular shape blocks into marine seabed under wave-induced liquefaction. Coast Eng 75:40–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirca VSO, Sumer BM, Fredsøe J (2013) Residual liquefaction of seabed under standing waves. J Waterw Port Coast 139:489–501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Z, Jeng D, Chan AHC, Luan M (2010) Wave-induced progressive liquefaction in a poro-elastoplastic seabed: a two-layered model. Int J Numer Anal Met 33:591–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miyamoto J, Sassa S, Sekiguchi H (2004) Progressive solidification of a liquefied sand layer during continued wave loading. Géotechnique 54:617–629

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mory M, Michallet H, Bonjean D, Piedra-Cueva I, Barnoud JM, Foray P, Abadie S, Breul P (2007) A field study of momentary liquefaction caused by waves around a coastal structure. J Waterw Port Coast 133:28–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prior DB, Yang ZS, Bornhold BD, Keller GH, Lu NZ, Wiseman WJ, Wright LD, Zhang J (1986) Active slope failure, sediment collapse, and silt flows on the modern subaqueous Huanghe (Yellow River) delta. Geo-Mar Lett 6:85–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prior DB, Suhayda JN, Lu N, Bornhold BD, Keller GH, Wiseman WJ, Wright LD, Yang Z (1989) Storm wave reactivation of a submarine landslide. Nature 341:47–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puzrin AM, Alonso EE, Pinyol NM (2010) Caisson failure induced by liquefaction: Barcelona Harbour, Spain. In: Geomechanics of Failures. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 85–148

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Qi W, Gao F (2018) Wave induced instantaneously-liquefied soil depth in a non-cohesive seabed. Ocean Eng 153:412–423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ren Y, Xu G, Xu X, Zhao T, Wang X (2020) The initial wave induced failure of silty seabed: liquefaction or shear failure. Ocean Eng 200:106990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richards AF, Øten K, Keller GH, Lai JY (1975) Differential piezometer probe for an in situ measurement of sea-floor. Géotechnique 25:229–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sassa S, Sekiguchi H (1999) Wave-induced liquefaction of beds of sand in a centrifuge. Géotechnique 49:621–638

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sassa S, Takayama T, Mizutani M, Tsujio D (2006) Field observations of the build-up and dissipation of residual pore water pressures in seabed sands under the passage of storm waves. J Coast Res 39:410–414

    Google Scholar 

  • Sumer BM (2014) Liquefaction around marine structures. World Scientific, Singapore

  • Sumer BM, Fredsøe J, Christensen S, Lind MT (1999) Sinking/floatation of pipelines and other objects in liquefied soil under waves. Coast Eng 38:53–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sumer BM, Hatipoglu F, Fredsøe J, Sumer SK (2006a) The sequence of sediment behaviour during wave-induced liquefaction. Sedimentology 53:611–629

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sumer BM, Truelsen C, Fredsøe J (2006b) Liquefaction around pipelines under waves. J Waterw Port Coast 132:266–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang X (2010) Experimental study on movement characteristics of liquefied silty seabed under waves. Dissertation, Ocean University of China

  • Wang G, Xu G, Liu Z, Liu H, Sun Z (2017) Experimental study of the physical and mechanical characteristics changes of wave-induced liquefied silt. Mar Geol Quat Geol 37:176–183

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams S, Arsenault MA, Buczkowski BJ, Reid JA, Flocks J, Kulp MA, Penland S, Jenkins CJ (2006) Surficial sediment character of the Louisiana offshore continental shelf region: a GIS compilation. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report. 2006–1195. Online at 〈http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1195/index.htm〉

  • Xu G, Sun Y, Wang X, Hu G, Song Y (2009) Wave-induced shallow slides and their features on the subaqueous Yellow River delta. Can Geotech J 46:1406–1417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu G, Liu H, Liu J, Yu Y (2012) Role of clay content in silty soil liquefaction. Mar Geol Quat Geol 32:31–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu G, Liu Z, Sun Y, Wang X, Lin L, Ren Y (2016a) Experimental characterization of storm liquefaction deposits sequences. Mar Geol 382:191–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu G, Wang G, Lv C, Sun Z (2016b) Experimental study on the motion forms of outflowed sediments from wave-induced liquefied seabed. Period Ocean Univers China 46:98–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Zen K, Yamazaki H (1990a) Mechanism of wave-induced liquefaction and densification in seabed. Soils Found 30:90–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zen K, Yamazaki H (1990b) Oscillatory pore pressure and liquefaction in seabed induced by ocean waves. Soils Found 30:147–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zen K, Yamazaki H (1991) Field observation and analysis of wave-induced liquefaction in seabed. Soils Found 31:161–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41576039).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, People’s Republic of China

    Xingbei Xu, Guohui Xu, Junjie Yang & Yupeng Ren

  2. Services Authority of Qingdao International Cruise Port Zone, Qingdao, 266005, People’s Republic of China

    Zhongqian Xu

Authors
  1. Xingbei Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Guohui Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Junjie Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Zhongqian Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yupeng Ren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guohui Xu.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xu, X., Xu, G., Yang, J. et al. Field observation of the wave-induced pore pressure response in a silty soil seabed. Geo-Mar Lett 41, 13 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-020-00680-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-020-00680-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation