Impulse waves from laboratory scale to mega-tsunamis

Impulse waves are counted to the most dangerous natural hazards, because of the large masses of slide material involved, the huge waves triggered on large water bodies and their tremendous devastation potential. A spectacular and destructive impulse wave in relation to hydropower installations occurred on October 9, 1963 in North-eastern Italy. Since this incident, dam safety has become a global issue and all major dams have to be assessed against such phenomena.VAW has conducted a variety of experimental research relating to impulse waves, mainly to account for the large risk that is involved with these natural hazards in relation with reservoirs to produce hydropower in Alpine countries.Within the past six years, two PhD theses were completed of which the primary purpose was to investigate these devastating waves, thereby using modern instrumentation and advanced computer systems for data analysis and evaluation. The following is a summary of results that may be of interest to hydraulic engineers both working with scale models and with numerical methods.