Experimental Study on Dam-Break-Like Tsunami Surge Impacts on Small Balls Climbing on Different Slopes

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the tsunami surge impacts on small balls climbing on different slopes. Dam-break flows were generated in a flume to simulate tsunami surge. The water surface profiles at the sluice gate were observed, the tsunami inundation height and the surge velocity in the flume were measured, and the maximum climbing heights of small balls on different slopes were recorded. Results show that the dam-break speed and the tsunami surge strength increase with increasing reservoir water level. The increasing tsunami inundation height, the decreasing ball density, and the decreasing ball diameter have positive effects on the maximum ball climbing height. Based on the normalized experimental data, equations for estimating the maximum ball climbing heights on different slopes were proposed as functions of the inundation height, the ball diameter, and the ball density. The calculated values from the equation are generally within [Formula: see text]% of the measured values in the experimental ranges.