Many regions around the world are prone to
tsunami risk, and their populations are expected to increase. Moreover, past
events like the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami resulted in numerous
fatalities and the failure of many coastal protection structures. These events
underscore the urgent need for further research in tsunami engineering and the
mitigation of tsunami risk. In fact, the capability of coastal protection
structures, such as breakwaters, to withstand tsunami loads is not yet fully
understood. Additionally, these structures are typically designed to resist
wind waves loads rather than the longer waves produced by tsunamis. This
research provides further insight into the interaction between tsunamis and
composite breakwaters by analyzing experimental results where a unique
technique capable of accurately reproducing tsunamis as scaled N and E-waves
was used. The experiments employed a 2-dimensional flume where waves were
generated with a tsunami simulator and propagated until they impacted a
composite breakwater model, inspired by the world-record breakwater in the
Kamaishi bay in Japan. This research thoroughly analyzed the results of one of
the experiments conducted at the HR Wallingford research center in the UK, with
the objective of understanding the response of a composite breakwater when
impacted by a tsunami, focusing particularly on the caisson on top of the
structure and its stability. Another objective was the development of a
numerical model based on the coupling of the two software OceanWave3D and
OpenFOAM, aiming to reproduce physical experiments on tsunami-structure interaction
and provide further insights beyond the capabilities of physical tests. The
results of this research indicate that the pressures and forces induced by a
tsunami on the caisson of a composite breakwater have a dominant hydrostatic
contribution. The absence of wave breaking as the tsunami approaches the
breakwater and shoals on its rubble mound prevents the generation of impulsive
forces on the structure. The analysis also shows that, for the considered
tsunami at prototype scale, the caisson would be unstable and fail due to
sliding, primarily because of the water level and pressure differences on the
two sides of the structure. The model developed in this research demonstrated a
good accuracy in representing the physical experiment, as evidenced by
elevation and pressure time series, with minor limitations on the lee side of the
structure and on its rubble mound. With further validation using additional
experimental results, this model can serve as a starting point for future
studies on tsunami-structure interaction. It overcomes some limitations of
physical testing, potentially provides more accurate results for caisson
stability analysis, and offers a cost-effective alternative to physical
experiments.