The effects of variable permeability on the wave-induced seabed response

The topic of wave-seabed interaction is important for civil engineers with regard to stability analysis of foundations for offshore structures. Most previous investigations of such problems have simply assumed a seabed with uniform permeability, even if the evidence of variable permeability has been reported in the literature. This paper presents a finite-element model for investigating the wave-induced seabed response in a porous seabed, with variable permeability as a function of burial depth. The present finite formulation is established by using a combination of semi-analytical techniques and the Galerkin method. Based on the present numerical model, together with the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, the wave-induced seabed instability is estimated. The numerical results indicate that variable permeability affects the wave-induced seabed instability significantly, especially for gravelled seabeds.