Occurrence of liquefaction in cyclic burial of a structure submitted to wave action and resting on the seabed

International audienceCoastal or offshore structures such as pipelines installed on the seabed are submitted to the hydrodynamic action of the waves either by a direct application of cyclic wave loads or through the cyclic movement of risers or flow lines transmitted by floating structures. In fine sandy or silty soils the cyclic loads can induce a liquefaction of the surrounding bed which can play an important part in the processes of erosion, trenching or self-burial of the pipes. A large 1 g physical model was built to study the fluid-soil-structure interaction with special emphasis on the conditions of occurrence of liquefaction around a pipe instrumented with pore pressure sensors. The experiments indicate a build up in pore pressure at the pipe-soil interface and a lateral visualisation showed a liquefaction of a soil band in the vicinity of the pipe. The penetration of the structure can be related to the phenomenon of liquefaction