Inline force on human body due to non-impulsive wave overtopping at a vertical seawall

Abstract Wave overtopping endangers pedestrians on a seawall’s crest area, but quantitative assessment of the risk is still challenge. In this study, circular cylinder taken as schematisation human body. Physical model tests and numerical simulations were conducted to investigate inline force due flow at vertical seawall. It found that well reproduced by model. When encounters cylinder, high pressure zone developed front surface local stagnation, while shallow wake occurs behind blockage effect. The asymmetric distribution produces cylinder. further moved inland, depth it faces smaller. However, does not decay accordingly, which variation velocity along crest. Finally, predictor for desktop computation maximum force. A prototype-scale case study carried out demonstrate capability predictor.