Experimental investigation of tsunami waves-induced loads on a scaled building model

In recent years, the scientific community has shown a growing interest in studying the effects that tsunami loads may involve on structures, as these powerful natural forces impact coastal regions with a certain recurrence. Especially after the Great Indian Ocean Tsunami event in 2004, researchers have shown an increasingly aware that tsunami risk is a real and significant threat that must be taken into consideration, given the immense destruction and loss of life that it can cause, as has already been demonstrated in past events. Against this background, numerous experimental, numerical, and analytical studies have been addressed to this topic, driven by the need to understand the full range of consequences that can result from hydraulic tsunami actions on structures. The results gained from these studies are intended to provide valuable insights to assist engineers in designing safer structure and infrastructure in areas prone to such extreme loading. Nevertheless, despite the recent efforts, the mechanisms through which tsunami forces interact with structures and infrastructures remain not fully understood. As well as, the available technical documents are still incomplete, and the methodologies proposed continue to be a subject of debate. In the present study, some preliminary results of an experimental campaign conducted to investigate the response of a simplified two-storeys building model are presented and discussed. The experimental tests were carried out on a model, downscaled with a 1:25 ratio, subjected to tsunami wave action. These tsunami waves were generated in laboratory by a wavemaker inside a 2 × 2 × 40 m flow channel. In particular, these preliminary results refer to the high impact loading of focused waves on a scaled building model. The response of this building model was analyzed under varying inundation depths by measuring the time histories of forces. The results are discussed in detail and compared with the analytical formulations available in the literature.