Author(s): Jacob Stolle, Nils Goseberg, Caren Derschum, Ioan Nistor, Emil Petriu

Linked Author(s): Jacob Stolle

Keywords: Debris, tsunami, coastal flooding, impact forces, debris motion

Abstract: Large-scale tsunamis are devastating to local coastal communities. Recent events, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean and the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami, have brought to the forefront of research the evaluation of the loads associated with such extreme events. Among the various loads associated with tsunamis, debris entrained within the inundating flows result in loads that are also an important consideration in the design of resilient infrastructure. Current research into debris loads has primarily focused on single debris impacts on structures. This paper presents a study, performed in a dam-break flume at the University of Ottawa (Ottawa, Canada), examining multiple debris motion and impacts on structures. The study compares the debris spreading and loads to currently available design standard. Additionally, the study examines the effect of the hydrodynamic boundary conditions and the number of debris on the debris spreading and the associated loads observed. From the experiments, the authors concludes that the debris spreading and impact velocity was influenced by both the number of debris and by the hydrodynamic boundary conditions. The study also found that the impact of multiple debris results in larger impact forces than those predicted by current design standards

DOI:

Year: 2017