An Experimental Investigation of Tsunami Bore Impacts on a Coastal Bridge Model with Different Contraction Ratios

ABSTRACT Chen, C.; Melville, B.W.; Nandasena, N.A.K., and Farvizi, F., 2018. An experimental investigation of tsunami bore impacts on a coastal bridge model with different contraction ratios. Tsunamis are natural hazards that have damaged many coastal bridges worldwide in recent years. As a contribution to an important area of coastal research, this study investigated tsunami bore impact on a bridge model with different contraction ratios. The time histories of the horizontal force, vertical force, and overturning moment on a deck-pier structure in a tsunami flume were measured by a load cell at the base of the structure. Results show that different stages of the flow motion were observed during the bore-bridge interactions. The time histories of tsunami loads on deck-pier structures reveal that the horizontal force was characterized by four stages, the vertical force was characterized by three stages, and the overturning moment was characterized by four stages. The maximum upward force and the maximum ov...