Physical modelling of tsunami using a new pneumatic wave generator

The physical simulation of tsunami in the laboratory has taken a major leap forward with the construction and testing of a new wave generator, capable of recreating scaled tsunami waves. Numerical tools fail to reproduce tsunami nearshore and onshore processes well, and physical experiments in large scale hydraulic facilities worldwide have been limited to the generation of solitary waves as an (controversial) approximation for evolved forms of tsunami. The new concept in wave generation presented herein is born of collaboration between UCL's Earthquake and People Interaction Centre (EPICentre) and HR Wallingford. It allows for the first time the stable simulation of extremely long waves led either by a crest or a trough (depressed wave). This paper presents the working concepts behind the new wave generator and the first stages of testing for verifying its capacities and limitations. It is shown that the new wave generator can not only reproduce solitary waves and N-waves with large wavelengths, but also the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami as recorded off the coast of Thailand (“Mercator” trace).