Modeling Tsunami-Structure interaction and subsequent flooding to assess the safety of NPP and industrial structures

The 2011 events in Japan when the Fukushima Daiichi NPP suffered a major accident have focus the attention on the risks associated with major tsunamis. After recalling these events and the associated safety requirements, the paper outlines the underlying physics of the tsunami events and proposes an innovative modeling method to capture the phenomena and provide the means for a rational engineering of the NPP and industrial structures subject to tsunamis. Some validation cases, both quantitative and qualitative are presented to justify using such approach in documenting the safety of these installations.