Overturning is one of principal failure types of caisson breakwaters and is an essential content of stability examination
in caisson breakwater design. The mass-springdashpot model of caisson-foundation system is used to simulate the vibrating-uplift
rocking motion of caisson under various types of breaking wave impact forces,
i. e., single peak impact force, double peak impact force, and shock-damping oscillation impact force. The effects of various breaking
wave types and the uplift rocking motion on dynamic response behaviors of caisson breakwaters are investigated. It is shown
that the dynamic responses of a caisson are significantly different under different types of breaking wave impact forces even
when the amplitudes of impact forces are equal. Though the rotation of a caisson is large due to the uplift rocking motion,
the displacement, the sliding force and the overturning moment of the caisson are significantly reduced. It provides the theoretical
base for the design idea that the uplift rocking motion of caisson is allowed in design.
Key words breakwater - breaking wave type - vibration - uplift rocking motion
Chinese Library Classification U656
Document code A
2000 Mathematics Subject Classification 74L10
Communicated by DAI Shi-qiang
Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50279027) and the Science Foundation of Tianjin
Municipal Commission of Science and Technology (No. 043114711).