Experimental investigation of wave-driven pore-water pressure and wave attenuation in a sandy seabed

Wave–seabed interaction has become a big concern of coastal researchers and engineers in the past decades as it may largely contribute to the seabed instability and failure of marine foundations. A series of laboratory experiments are carried out in a wave flume to study the wave-driven pore-water pressure in a sandy seabed and the attenuation of wave height. Waves propagating over a sandy seabed lead to oscillatory excess pore-water pressures within the porous seabed. Amplitude of pore-water pressure within the seabed decreases toward the bottom. A phase lag of pore-water pressure is clearly observed, and it contributes to net upward pressure related to seabed instability. Height of the incident wave is reduced as part of wave energy is dissipated by bottom friction, and a maximum attenuation of the incident wave height is up to 7.23% in the experiments. The influences of wave period and height of the incident wave on pore-water pressure and wave attenuation are also analyzed and discussed.