Generation of very long waves in laboratory for tsunamis research

Abstract

Over the last few decades, solitary waves have been commonly used as the model tsunami waves, but their wavelength-to-depth ratios are much smaller than that of tsunamis in reality. On the other hand, generating waves that are longer than solitary waves in laboratory is in fact a very challenging task. In this study, a new kind of wave maker is designed and investigated, which has a moving bottom at the toe of the beach as the wave generating mechanism with adjustable slope. By changing some characteristic parameters, different waves are generated and investigated theoretically and experimentally. ? Copyright 2016 by the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE).