CFD Modelling of a Tsunami Event

Graham, C. and Abdussamie, N., 2024. CFD modelling of a tsunami event. In: Phillips, M.R.; Al-Naemi, S., and Duarte, C.M. (eds.), Coastlines under Global Change: Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2024 (Doha, Qatar). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 113, pp. 654-659. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. This paper presents and discusses numerical results of a tsunami wave event and its interaction with a vertical, surface-piercing cylinder by employing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code. Focusing on generating tsunami-like wave events, common numerical tsunami approximation methods are investigated. A systematic approach was adopted including the development of numerical wave tank and wave-structure interaction analysis. The first step involves the development of a tsunami model using wave superposition, followed by validation against observed data through numerical sensitivity studies. Subsequently, the model is employed to simulate tsunami interactions with a fixed and a heaving cylinder. The comparison of the developed tsunami model results with solitary and Stokes 5th order approximations reveals conservative but inadequate representations of tsunami forces by both methods. This underscores the limitations of current approximations in capturing force magnitude and direction, emphasizing the need for improved numerical modelling techniques in tsunami analysis.