EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL ANALYSES OF TSUNAMI JET FLOWS IN FRONT OF AN UPRIGHT BREAKWATER

The 2011 Great East Japan Tsunami demolished a number of breakwaters. This raised concerns amongst coastal engineers/practitioners regarding the threedimensionalcharacteristics of a tsunami flow over a breakwater. When a large tsunami strikes a caisson-type breakwater, the tip of the tsunami runs vertically up the front face of the structure. Herein, this phenomenon is called the tsunami jet flow. However, little understanding has been derived on such violent motion, either through experimental or numerical studies.