Two-dimensional particle-based simulation of tsunami-like wave run-up

When tsunami occurs and approaches land, wave heights in tens of meters can be generated and their destructive power could be enormous as shown in the 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, Japan. Most of the damages, such as inland flooding and destruction of structures, by tsunami are closely related to wave run-up near shoreline and its impact on the structures. However, it is not so easy to analyze and predict wave run-up, which is the maximum elevation of the wave above mean sea level, by experiment or commonly used grid-based simulation method due to complex and strong non-linear behavior of free-surface during the process of build-up, breakdown and overturning of the wave. In the present study, numerical studies on the propagation and run-up of solitary wave were carried out to investigate the characteristics of tsunami by using the PNU-MPS (Pusan-National-University-modified Moving Particle Simulation) method with applying the corrected gradient model and SPS (Sub-Particle Scale) turbulence model. The results by the present method were compared and showed good agreement with those by experiments and grid-based commercial software.