Sediment transport processes under tsunami waves

The proposed project will develop a process-based, coupled hydrodynamic and morphological model to numerically simulate sediment erosion, transport, and deposit under tsunami waves from the tsunami generation region to inundated coastal areas.

To facilitate such a development, a set of laboratory experiments, using a proposed new wave generation system, on sediment transport driven by leading tsunami-like waves will be applied. New experimental data will be used to check the existing sediment transport formulas. Guided by the experimental observations, a new model using the multi-layers (bedload and suspended layers) concept will be constructed. The coupled hydrodynamic and morphological model will be applied to examine the sediment deposits in a coastal cave in Aceh.

A 3D model for sediment-laden turbulent flows in the cave will be introduced to interact with the tsunami and sediment processes outside the cave in the open coast. The relationships between deposit layer thickness and tsunami wave amplitude and wave period will be studied.