Work

Failure mechanism of a small vertical pier under post-typhoon wind-wave forcing

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This study investigated the failure process and major contributing factors of the north pier at Hongdo, located off the southwestern coast of Korea, which has experienced repeated damage and a history of repair and reinforcement. The 2016 damage event was selected for detailed analysis. Because direct wave observations were not available at the time of the damage, the offshore wind field was reconstructed using WRF, and the wave conditions were estimated using WAM and SWAN. The waves in front of the pier during the damage event were estimated to have been lower than the design wave adopted for the reinforcement design. In the two-dimensional hydraulic model tests conducted based on these estimated wave conditions, no visible structural movement was observed, and the measured wave-pressure distributions alone were insufficient to explain the observed damage pattern. In the three-dimensional tests reflecting the as-built condition, in which the upper block layers were not structurally connected, progressive block movement and displacement occurred under repeated wave action, and the extent of damage increased with increasing wave height. These results suggest that the 2016 damage cannot be explained solely by exceedance of the design wave or by local maximum wave pressures, and that three-dimensional wave transformation around the pier head, the structural connectivity of the upper block layers, and repeated wave action may have contributed jointly to the progression of the damage. Therefore, when existing marine structures are repaired or reinforced, their stability should be reassessed by considering not only the original design conditions but also the actual as-built configuration, structural connectivity and load-transfer conditions, and the three-dimensional wave conditions acting around the structure.

Source: Applied Ocean Research

DOI: 10.1016/j.apor.2026.105278

Authors: Kyu Tae Shim, Kyu Han Kim, Bumshick Shin, Hyun Dong Kim

Institutions: Kanto Gakuin University, Catholic Kwandong University, Old Dominion University

Language: English

Topic: Coastal and Marine Dynamics

Subfield: Earth-Surface Processes

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,950