Experimental investigation of tsunami waterborne debris impact on structures

Abstract

Tsunamis and hurricanes cause a lot of damage to structures. The water-borne debris that is produced during these natural disasters can cause a considerable damage to the many structures if they have not been constructed for such loads. Tsunami field survey observations have indicated that the damage is aggravated by heavy objects like wooden logs, automobiles, boats, storage barrels and other containers. This paper presented the results of experimental study for the quantification of the debris impact force on the structures. Moreover, it studied the formulas, which have been specified in the recently published tsunami-resistant engineering design guidelines (FEMA P-646, 2012) and the Coastal Construction Manual (FEMA P-55, 2011) with the results of experiment.