Wave-monopile-seabed interaction considering nonlinear pile-soil contact

Abstract

Abstract Wave-structure-seabed interaction has drawn growing attention in the assessment of offshore installation stability. This study developed an integrated numerical model to simulate the wave-monopile-seabed interaction considering a nonlinear contact at the pile-soil interface. Biot’s consolidation model and Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with k-e turbulence model are employed to govern the seabed response and wave motion, respectively. Unlike the previous studies in which the pile-soil interface is assumed to be non-slip condition (conode pile-soil interface model), a static Coulomb friction contact is adopted to simulate the pile-soil interaction. The results reveal that the pile-soil sliding takes place under the dynamic wave loading. The effect of nonlinear pile-soil contact on pore pressure response is insignificant, whereas the seabed displacement and pile behavior are remarkably influenced in comparison with the conode pile-soil interface model. Hence, it is suggested to implement the nonlinear pile-soil contact into the future numerical simulations on wave-pile-seabed interaction.