Numerical Modeling of Tsunami-Induced Scouring around a Square Column: Performance Assessment of FLOW-3D and Delft3D

April Le Quéré, P.; Nistor, I., and Mohammadian, A., 2020. Numerical modeling of tsunami-induced scouring around a square column: Performance assessment of FLOW-3D and Delft3D. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(6), 1278–1291. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.In recent years, tsunamis have caused considerable damage to coastal infrastructures and inflicted numerous casualties in coastal communities in the impacted regions. The information, which the design requirements for tsunami-resistant infrastructures is based on, is still in its preliminary stages. The focus of the study was to investigate, by means of a numerical model, the scouring occurring around a single, square column subjected to tsunami floods. A three-dimensional (3D) hydrostatic numerical model (Delft3D) and a 3D nonhydrostatic model (FLOW-3D) were used to replicate a series of physical tests conducted at the University of Ottawa, which consisted of a dam-break wave impacting onto a single square column installed over a movable sediment bed. These experimental tests were conducted in the Dambreak Flume at the University of Ottawa. Four different turbulence models and two different sediment-transport models were tested to find the most appropriate combination, which could model the complex flow characteristics associated with a dam-break–type bore. An extensive review of the hydrodynamic and scouring performance of various numerical models was also included in this study.