Hurricane Storm Surge Modeling for the Florida Southeast Coastline: Fid-Bau Portal

Hurricane Storm Surge Modeling for the Florida Southeast Coastline

Gosselin, M. S. / Sheppard, D. M. / Glasser, T. L.

This study involved creation of nine two-dimensional, depth averaged computer models to simulate storm surge inundation along Florida's Southeast Coast. The work was supported by the District 4 office of the Florida Department of Transportation. District 4 covers five coastal counties in Southeast Florida. The design storm surge simulations provide, in addition to other information, the flow parameters required to estimate bridge sediment scour depths for those bridges contained within the model mesh. Spring tides as well as the 50-, 100-, and 500-year return period hurricane storm surge events were simulated. These simulations provided characterization of the flows through the bridges during design flow events. The characterization includes the flow rate through the cross sections, water surface elevation at the bridges, and the velocity magnitude and the flow skew angle to the bridge piers. With this information, District engineers may calculate contraction and local scour for existing or proposed bridges as well as calculate design deck elevations and vertical clearances. This work provided the groundwork from which to perform the FHWA-mandated Scour Evaluations of the bridges included in the models. The work will also provide a significant cost savings for performing preliminary design and evaluation (PD&E) studies and Bridge Hydraulics Reports (BHR) for new or replacement bridges within the models' domain. Additionally, the FDOT may employ these results in both the development of evacuation recommendations and in prioritizing bridge inspections during post-storm evaluations.