Mitigation Effect of Vertical Walls on a Wharf Model Subjected to Tsunami Bores

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the mitigation effect of vertical walls on a wharf model subjected to tsunami bores. Dam-break waves were generated in a flume to simulate tsunami bore propagation, the bore characteristics were observed, and the tsunami pressures on vertical walls and a wharf model were measured. Results indicate different characteristics for bores traveling on wet-bed and dry-bed. The tsunami bore impact on a vertical wall was shown to exhibit four stages, and the time-history of the pressure exhibits three phases accordingly. Based on the law of conservation of energy, an equation for estimating the pressure exerted on the mid-point of the wall was proposed with coefficient of 1.8-2.4, and found to be suitable in this experimental range. Based on experimental data, an equation of the mitigation effect of vertical walls on tsunami was proposed as a function of the inundation depth, the wall height and the deck height. The predicted values from the equation are generally within ±20% of the measured values.