Advanced numerical modelling of tsunami wave propagation, transformation and run-up

This paper presents a series of numerical models tests performed to assess the ability of the OpenFOAM® modelling system to represent the physics that stands behind the propagation of tsunami waves in coastal regions and in particular their transformation (by means of shoaling, refraction, reflection) over uneven bathymetries and their interaction with the shoreline (run-up, run-down, breaking). A series of tests is selected from the literature to explore the accuracy, applicability and limitations of this particular computational fluid dynamics model solving the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations for incompressible multiphase fluids. The range of scenarios tested includes experimental work on wave propagation over shoals, solitary wave run-up and the Monai valley tsunami physical model test recreating the Hokkaido–Nansei–Oki 1993 tsunami that struck Okushiri Island, Japan. This allowed direct comparison with experimental data from physical model tests as well as with other established two-dimensional – that is, depth integrated – and three-dimensional numerical models.