Numerical investigation of wave impact forces on coastal deck structures with girders along the West Coast of India in changing climate

ABSTRACT Coastal structural damage has been a serious issue in the past decades due to changes in various ocean environmental parameters and increased frequency of extreme events. The present study focuses on the estimation of wave impact forces on typical deck structures at Indian port locations in a changing climate scenario. The effect of climate change has been investigated by applying the future ocean climate characteristics, such as future wave height conditions and sea-level rise by the year 2100 using RCP 4.5 scenario obtained from the recent studies. The numerical investigations were carried out by generating solitary waves in a numerical wave tank modelled using an open-source CFD model REEF3D. Comparison of peak wave impact force and pressure distribution due to climate change on a model and prototype deck structure in the elevated condition is carried out to investigate the scale effects. Overall, the study concluded that there is a significant change in both vertical and horizontal forces on coastal deck structures due to climate change, where the percentage change varies with varying airgaps and geographical locations. Investigation on prototype scale deck shows that the model scale overestimates the positive horizontal impact force to a larger extent than the vertical impact force.