Harish Selvam

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Verified

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• Doctor of Engineering
• Scientific staff and Junior Coastal Engineering Group Lead at RWTH Aachen University

Destruction of the structures in coastal areas due to an extreme coastal event like a tsunami necessitates the deeper understanding of flow behaviour to improve the design guidelines. The characteristics of inland propagating tsunami surge or bore consist of an initial aerated surge or bore tip followed by the gradual increase in water depth (quasi...

The present study is motivated to experimentally evaluate the horizontal force and the overturning moment on the building with openings (porous buildings) in the form of windows and doors for both perpendicular and oblique tsunami bore attacks in the quasi-steady flow-choked regime. For perpendicular bore attacks, the horizontal force and the overt...

River protection structures, especially spur dikes, play a vital role in the hydrodynamic and morphological changes in a river system. Since the earliest days, numerous studies have been carried out to understand the flow characteristics around spur dikes by varying the spacing between them, the length, the shape, the permeability, and the submerge...

To understand tsunami flow interaction with the structure occupying a certain percentage of flow channel width in the field, several authors modelled experiments or numerical simulations with the single structure occupying the same obstruction ratio, denoted by b/W (b = single structure width; W = flow channel width, considered as flume width). Thi...

It is more common to introduce the parapet/recurve/wave return wall over the existing structure, such as a vertical seawall or composite structure, to reduce the overtopping efficiently. The advantage of a recurve wall on top of the sea wall has been studied in the past in regards to wave interaction and overtopping. However, their efficiency in pr...

Seawalls, designed to protect coastal areas from the impact of waves and storm surges, failed during past tsunami events due to immense force and energy. The impact of a tsunami on seawalls depends on various factors, including the shape of the seawall. Hence, the present study is motivated towards understanding the difference in the force characte...

This work examines the impact of coastal storms on a macrotidal beach at Normandy (France), the beach of Villers-sur-Mer, with the aim of assessing coastal flooding. Extreme wave heights and water levels of four typical storms are simulated using the non-hydrostatic model SWASH to estimate the wave run-up. The numerical simulations have been compar...

In a river and estuarine region dominated by strong tidal bores, spur dikes play a crucial role in influencing both hydrodynamics and morphodynamics. The present study experimentally quantifies the hydrodynamics around a solitary spur dike during tidal bore-like unsteady flow interaction by varying the flow Froude number (Fr) and relative dike heig...

The incoming tsunami surge or bore can induce devastating pressure on the inland structure. Previous studies observed that the structure initially experiences a short-duration impact pressure during the surge or bore tip interaction. On further interaction, the maximum impulsive force occurs, followed by the quasi-static force. Moreover, previous s...

During the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2011 Tōhoku Tsunami, traditional embankments were observed to offer insufficient damage protection for coastal settlements. In addition, the endangerment of coastal forests further necessitates the synergistic inclusion of coastal vegetation as a coastal flood mitigation measure. Therefore, in the presen...

German coastal areas are often protected from flood events by a primary sea dike line of more than 1,200 km. Many transition areas, such as the change of surface covering materials and other dike elements such as stairs, fences, or ramps at intermittent locations, characterize the stretch of this sea dike line. During storm surges and wave overtopp...

Spillways can present a way to control the overflowing of water during flood events and prevent damage from levee breaches. With increasing interest in nature-based solutions, the interaction between flow and vegetation parameters has to be understood. Aeration usually occurs during the overflow of sloped spillways, leading to the bulking of flow,...

Increasing population density in coastal regions raises the risk of catastrophic tsunami damage. Traditional protection measures like seawalls are effective but costly and may create a false sense of security. However, strategically placed buffer blocks along the coastlines can be a better alternative since such blocks reflect the incoming flow and...

The July 2021 flood heavily affected many inhabitants, buildings and critical infrastructure throughout Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Specifically, the Ahr Valley (Germany) showcased the destructive power associated with these extreme events. Hence, this region was the focus of a field survey, aiming at describing the flood‐induced damage t...

High-energy events such as tsunamis pose significant threats to coastal infrastructure and buildings, necessitating effective mitigation strategies to minimize damage. Compared to massive construction measures, buffer blocks are increasingly recognized as a potential solution for reducing the impact of such events. Understanding their effectiveness...

The past tsunami events, despite inducing extensive damage to the coastal community, cognized coastal vegetation as a buffer to the inundating tsunami. This, as well as the endangerment of coastal forest as ecosystems, necessitates a deeper understanding of coastal vegetation’s potential for tsunami damage mitigation. The literature highlighted the...

Heavy flash floods in Germany, which occurred in the aftermath of intense and long-lasting rainfalls (up to 150-200 l/m² within 48 h; CEDIM, 2021) in July 2021, led to serious damage to people, buildings and infrastructure. According to CEDIM (2021), the flash-flood caused at least 170 fatalities and 820 injuries. It is expected that it will take s...

During the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2011 Tōhoku Tsunami, traditional embankments were observed to offer insufficient damage protection for coastal settlements. In addition, the endangerment of coastal forests further necessitates the synergistic inclusion of coastal vegetation as a coastal flood mitigation measure. Therefore, in the presen...

Many structures along the shore have collapsed due to tsunami loads during previous tsunami disasters. In total, 400,000 buildings are estimated to have suffered from the 2011 Tōhoku Oki tsunami. These impacts emphasized an in-depth understanding of the tsunami interaction with structures. Subsequently, ample research has been conducted during the...

Failure of structures during extreme coastal flood events like a tsunami is common due to inadequate structural design, resulting in substantial material loss. Nevertheless, improvements in the design could reduce global structural failure. Although many studies developed force equations for non-overtopping structures, many critical and non-critica...

During the tsunami landfall, the structures near the coast perform like a wall of certain obstruction, b/W (b = structure width, W = available flow channel width) to the incoming flow due to abutting adjacent structures. In the previous paper (Harish et al., 2021), the generalized semi-analytical equation for the horizontal forces using the free fl...

Tsunami impact on infrastructure along the coast causes severe destruction, loss of human lives and negative influence on economy. When tsunami propagates towards the coastline, the flow often resembles a bore which propagates with a high velocity and takes everything on its way, including heavy objects. When reaching the structure, this water driv...

Debris generated during extreme events like the tsunami can impose substantial impact loading on structures closer in the coastal zone. Majority of design codes do not quantify the impact forces close to reality owing to uncertainties in defining the wave characteristics and a lack of knowledge in understanding the underlying physical processes. Th...