Increase in overtopping rate caused by local gust-winds during the passage of a typhoon

ABSTRACT A field survey of Fukuura Coast (in Tokyo Bay, Japan) revealed during the passage of Typhoon Faxai in 2019 waves with considerable momentum caused significant wave overtopping, resulting in structural damage to coastal defenses and localized flooding. The hindcasted wave height using a third-generation wave model was not high enough to explain the extent of the local damage at Fukuura Coast, likely due to such methods failing to take into account the strong gust-winds recorded during the passage of the typhoon. To solve such problems the authors developed a new numerical model that takes into account the dynamic interaction of air and water, based on the finite volume method (FVM) and the volume of fluid method (VOF). Although this model still slightly underestimates the measurements in the experiments previously conducted by different authors, it is better than existing methods when estimating the overtopping rates under strong winds. The model was then applied to a real-scale model of Fukuura Coast, where by taking into account strong gust-wind speed of 41 m/s the authors were able to explain the phenomena that took place.