Experimental Investigation On Tsunami Acting On Bridges

Abstract

Two tragic tsunamis that devastated the west coast of<br> Sumatra Island, Indonesia in 2004 and North East Japan in 2011 had<br> damaged bridges to various extents. Tsunamis have resulted in the<br> catastrophic deterioration of infrastructures i.e. coastal structures,<br> utilities and transportation facilities. A bridge structure performs vital<br> roles to enable people to perform activities related to their daily needs<br> and for development. A damaged bridge needs to be repaired<br> expeditiously. In order to understand the effects of tsunami forces on<br> bridges, experimental tests are carried out to measure the<br> characteristics of hydrodynamic force at various wave heights.<br> Coastal bridge models designed at a 1:40 scale are used in a 24.0 m<br> long hydraulic flume with a cross section of 1.5 m by 2.0 m. The<br> horizontal forces and uplift forces in all cases show that forces<br> increase nonlinearly with increasing wave amplitude.