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In this paper we present a new method for numerically modelling landslide-generated tsunamis in OpenFOAM® by using a new approach based on the Overset mesh technique. This technique, which is based on the use of two (or more) numerical domains, is new in the coastal engineering field and appears to be extremely powerful to model the interaction between a moving body and one or more fluids. Indeed, the accurate resolution around the moving body (i.e. body-fitted approach), guaranteed by this method, offers a great advantage to study the momentum exchange between the body and the water. Furthermore, in order to overcome a drawback of the Overset mesh implementation we modelled the solid boundaries, along which the landslide body moves, as a porous media with a very low permeability. The new approach has been preliminarily, and successfully, validated through the numerical reproduction of past experiments for landslide-generated tsunamis triggered by a solid and impermeable wedge at a sloping coast.

This paper presents new tests on a perforated vertical wall caisson. The tests aim at evaluating the reduction of the reflection coefficient caused by different perforations. The reflection coefficient is estimated using the novel nonlinear methods proposed by Lykke Andersen et al. (2017) and Eldrup and Lykke Andersen (2019). The structure under investigation is, at prototype scale, 21.50 m high, 35.55 m long and 13.90 m wide, divided into 3 rows of 8 cells. The caisson has a recurved ‘nose’ and air vents on the parapet wall. An identical plain wall caisson without absorbing chambers is also tested for comparison. Two-dimensional laboratory tests have been carried out at Department of Engineering of Roma Tre University with both irregular and regular waves, reproducing mild wave conditions and design wave conditions. Two water levels have been used, reproducing the mean water level and a set-up condition of +0.5 m. Four structural layouts are tested in order to study various perforation types. Furthermore, the effect of the wave obliquity and of the short crestedness on the reflection coefficient is discussed using some 3D laboratory data obtained back in the 1995 but not published before.

Tsunamigenic earthquakes trigger pressure waves in the ocean, given the weak compressibility of the sea water. For particular conditions, a resonant behavior of the water layer can occur, which influences the energy transfer from the sea-bed motion to the ocean. In this paper, the resonance conditions are explained and analyzed, focusing on the hydro-acoustic waves in the proximity of the earthquake area. A preliminary estimation of the generation parameters (sea-bed rising time, velocity) is given, by means of parametric numerical simulations for simplified conditions. The results confirm the importance of measuring, modeling, and interpreting such waves for tsunami early detection and warning.

This paper collects the results of several new 2D physical model tests on wave interaction with rubble mound breakwaters. The wave forces on the crown wall are analyzed in detail, showing their dependence on the tested geometric and hydraulic configurations. The database for this analysis is obtained from three models of different rubble mound breakwaters reproduced at the new smallmedium scale wave flume of the Department of Engineering of Roma Tre University, for a total of 184 random wave tests. The paper aims at improving the prediction of wave forces on the crown wall, proposing new empirical formulae and enhancing the model tests database of wave forces and overtopping discharges.

This paper presents a new methodology to reproduce the interaction between waves and floating objects over mildly variable bathymetry. The elliptic mild slope equation solves the fluid velocity potential over a domain, which does not include the near field around each object. The waves scattered by the floating bodies are considered by means of boundary conditions at the edges of the near field areas. The coefficients of these boundary conditions are obtained nesting the solution of a near field three dimensional solver with the elliptic model solution. Comparison with a 3D numerical model, which solves the potential flow field over the whole domain, is used to validate the proposed approach. An example of application to reproduce the wave field around an array of wave energy converters is presented.

In this paper, we test a method for forecasting in real-time the properties of offshore propagating tsunami waves generated by landslides, with the aim of supporting tsunami early warning systems. The method uses an inversion procedure, that takes input data measurements of water surface elevation at a point close to the tsunamigenic source. The measurements are used to correct the results of pre-computed numerical simulations, reproducing the wave field induced by different landslide scenarios. The accuracy of the method is evaluated using the results of laboratory experiments, aimed at studying tsunamis generated by landslides sliding along the flank of a circular shoreline island. The paper investigates what the optimal position is of where to measure the tsunamis, what the effects are, the accuracy of the results, and of uncertainties on the landslide scenarios. Finally, the method is successfully tested using partial input time series, simulating the behaviour of the system in real-time during the tsunami event when forecasts are updated, as the measurements become available.

A numerical model based on the mild slope equation, suitable to reproduce the propagation of small amplitude tsunamis in the far field, is extended to reproduce the generation and the propagation of waves generated by landslides. The wave generation is modeled through a forcing term included in the field equation, which reproduces the effects of the movement of a submerged landslide on the fluid. The measurements of three dimensional laboratory experiments, which simulate tsunamis generated by landslide sliding along the flank of a conical island, are compared with the theoretical calculation results. The present approach is also compared with the similar method of Tinti et al. (2006) used for the generation of these waves in depth integrated model, and the different behavior when using frequency-dispersive and non-dispersive equations is highlighted.