Analytical method to estimate the penetration of rock materials in soft clayey foundation

The problem of soft foundations on the coasts is one of the serious problems in the construction of marine structures, such as breakwaters. During construction of a breakwater, rock materials penetrate the soft clay bed, and the foundation of the breakwater is not formed on the seabed, which causes problems of excessive settlement, instability, and loss of rock materials. Estimating the depth of penetration of rock materials is necessary to evaluate the amount of settlement of the breakwater and estimate the volume of rock materials required for the implementation of the project. In this paper, an analytical solution related to the phenomenon of penetration of spherical particles into the sludge is introduced using the impact balance relationship. By considering the most important parameters effective in penetration as variable factors, a simple relationship has been developed. In addition to the rapid penetration of rock materials into the soft clay, the amount of material loss depends on other phenomena such as the consolidation of the clay layer, the flow of soft materials into the pores between the rocks, surface erosion, etc. By estimating the impact of each of the mentioned cases, the amount of loss of breakwater rock materials can be evaluated.