Effects of the Porous Medium Seabed on the Wave Load Acting on the Single Pile

The characteristics of the seabed greatly affect the interaction between waves and the single-pile foundation structure. It is normal to simplify the porous medium seabed into a rigid, impermeable solid seabed, which ignores the effect of the porous medium seabed on wave energy. This study investigated the effects of the seabed characteristics of porous media on the wave load of the single pile based on the wave-flume test and the three-dimensional numerical model. Five seabed wave-flume tests and the common ocean conditions wave-soil-structure interaction numerical analysis model were designed to verify the accuracy of the numerical model and to analyze the effect of porous media seabed characteristics on wave loads. Results show that the wave load on the single pile depends on the seabed porosity, the average seabed-particle diameter, and the seabed thickness. The seabed-particle diameter has the most significant influence on the wave load of the single pile. The formula for the relationship between the wave load of the single pile and the seabed-particle diameter is derived under different wave conditions.