Abstract:
The simplest way the magnitude of a tsunami can be expressed is based on its wave height or
depth of inundation at a given coastline. This can be used to derive the tsunami load on structure
at the same location. This paper aims to discuss such a simple, but realistic tsunami loading
scheme and a dynamic analysis method to evaluate a given structure using it. A case study of a
school building located in the South Eastern coast of Sri Lanka is used in this paper not only to
demonstrate how this can be done successfully but also to resolve several issues associated with
tsunami loading that exist among researchers today. The total tsunami load is expressed as a
combination of different components that have particular distributions with respect to time and
space. These are applied on a 2D R/C frame from the case study and both static and dynamic time
history analysis is performed to quantify tsunami damage in terms of hinge formation. Impact of
modeling input and assumptions on the dynamic analysis results is also discussed. This paper
shows how the impulse load is the decisive component of the tsunami load. The suggested total
