EXPERIMENTAL AND FEM SIMULATION OF THE DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF A CAISSON WALL AGAINST BREAKING WAVE IMPULSIVE PRESSURES

After presenting a summary of field survey-observed damage incurred over the past 20 years by caisson walls of Japanese breakwaters, this study describes a series of model experiments and three-dimensional FEM simulations performed to evaluate the dynamic response of a caisson wall subjected to breaking wave impulsive pressure. The important roles played by "elastic" and "inertia" soil pressures are subsequently clarified, and good agreement is obtained between measured and calculated results. The proposed calculation method, which applies the Goda pressure formulae in conjunction with the impulsive pressure coefficient a,, is expected to provide a practical design method against impulsive pressures.