Flow and hydrodynamic force characteristics associated with a tsunami acting on a bridge

Abstract

This study investigated the flow and the hydrodynamic force characteristics acting on a bridge during a tsunami event using hydraulic experiments and numerical analysis. Characteristics such as wave height, flow regime, and the hydrodynamic force for rectangular and channel section bridge models were measured, and numerical analysis using the particle method was conducted. The experimental results showed that the impulsive hydrodynamic force acting on a rectangular section model during a tsunami event was larger than that observed using a channel section model. Thus the shape of bridge girder needs to be taken into account in the design load for a tsunami event.