Forces on a Vertical Dam due to Solitary Impulse Wave Run-Up and Overtopping

Abstract

Impulse waves feature tsunami-like characteristics and are generated by very rapid mass wasting, including landslides and avalanches, into water bodies. In engineered reservoirs, these waves may run up and overtop the dam, thereby exerting hydrostatic and dynamic forces on its structure. For this work, solitary waves were applied as a proxy for impulse waves and the forces acting on vertical structures during wave run-up and overtopping were investigated with hydraulic laboratory experiments. The solitary waves were generated in a wave channel with a piston-type wave generator and the horizontal pressure forces at a vertical wall as well as a vertical dam-like structure were measured with multiple pressure sensors. The discrete pressure data were used to interpolate pressure distributions and the resulting horizontal forces. Empirical equations were derived, approximating the measured maximum forces and their respective centers of pressure within ±7% for both cases with and without wave overtopping. For small freeboards, already small relative wave amplitudes may exert forces similar to those induced by an earthquake as estimated with a pseudo-static approach.