Inline force on human body due to non-impulsive wave overtopping at a vertical seawall

Cao, D., Chen, H. and Yuan, J. (2021) Inline force on human body due to non-impulsive wave overtopping at a vertical seawall. Ocean Engineering, 219, 108300. (doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2020.108300)

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Abstract

Wave overtopping endangers pedestrians on a seawall’s crest area, but quantitative assessment of the risk is still a challenge. In this study, a circular cylinder is taken as a schematisation of human body. Physical model tests and numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the inline force on the cylinder due to overtopping flow at a vertical seawall. It is found that the overtopping flow is well reproduced by the numerical model. When the overtopping flow encounters the cylinder, a high pressure zone is developed on the front surface of the cylinder due to the local flow stagnation, while a shallow wake flow occurs behind the cylinder due to the blockage effect. The asymmetric pressure distribution produces the inline force on the cylinder. When the cylinder is further moved inland, the depth of the local overtopping flow it faces is smaller. However, the inline force does not decay accordingly, which is due to the variation of the flow velocity along the seawall’s crest. Finally, a predictor is developed for desktop computation of the maximum inline force. A prototype-scale numerical case study is carried out to demonstrate the capability of this predictor.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This work was supported by the Climate Resilience Study Funds (CRSF) through Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Public Utilities Board (PUB) of Singapore.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Chen, Dr Hao
Authors: Cao, D., Chen, H., and Yuan, J.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering
Journal Name:Ocean Engineering
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:0029-8018
ISSN (Online):1873-5258
Published Online:03 November 2020
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd.
First Published:First published in Ocean Engineering 219: 108300
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

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