Geosynthetic Reinforcing Technique against Earthquake-Induced Damage of Rubble Mound Breakwaters

Abstract

During past earthquakes, many breakwaters were found unstable due to the loss of seabed foundation stability and the deformation of its components. Limited studies are available on the seismic stability of rubble mound breakwaters. Hence, in this study, earthquake effects on RM breakwater were investigated. A series of shake table tests were conducted, applying sinusoidal input motion at the model’s base. The conventional model has seabed soils and breakwater mound. In addition, a reinforcing technique employing geosynthetic materials for mitigating the earthquake-induced damage of RM breakwater was developed. The geosynthetic reinforcing elements like geotextile sand-filled bags and geogrids were utilized at various locations of the model. The performance of the developed reinforcing model was compared with the responses of the conventional model using various parameters. The settlement and horizontal displacement of the developed model were reduced by 45% and 43%, respectively, during the mainshock. The developed model can be utilized for real-world applications. © ASCE.