Numerical Study on Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Using a Submerged Breakwater

Abstract

Most coastal structures have been built in surf zones to protect coastal areas. In general, the transformation of waves in the surf zone is quite complicated and numerous hazards to coastal communities may be associated with such phenomena. Therefore, the behavior of waves in the surf zone should be carefully analyzed and predicted. Furthermore, an accurate analysis of deformed waves around coastal structures is directly related to the construction of economically sound and safe coastal structures because wave height plays an important role in determining the weight and shape of a levee body or armoring material. In this study, a numerical model using a large eddy simulation is employed to predict the runup heights of nonlinear waves that passed a submerged structure in the surf zone. Reduced runup heights are also predicted, and their characteristics in terms of wave reflection, transmission, and dissipation coefficients are investigated.