73365 - Coastal Engineering

Academic Year 2016/2017

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide tools and skills for the design and management of coastal structures, as well as the assessment of their impact. The course will introduce and describe the processes that characterize the coastal environment and the beach evolution processes, and will provide tools for the analysis and design of coastal defenses, onshore approach facilities and harbor (docks, breakwater etc). In particular the student will be able to analyze the sea conditions (waves, currents) and to design coastal structures. Particular attention will be dedicated to environmental impact assessment.

Course contents

The teachers will adopt an innovative approach to learning, which takes the technical application as the central thread of the lectures. An intensive interaction with the students will be established through web based discussions (see also http://distart119.ing.unibo.it/albertonew/?q=node/60).

The lectures include: (1) Introduction to coastal engineering; (2) The coastal environment; (3) sea level: astronomic and meteorological components; (4) Water quality in marinas; (5) Oil spill modeling and beaching; (6) Observation of the sea environment; (7) Coastal hydrodynamics and coastal morphodynamics; (8) Saltwater intrusion; (9) Coastal protection; (10) Beach nourishment; (11) Climate change impact and mitigation.

Computer based exercises will be developed which will focus on technical applications.

Readings/Bibliography

The teachers will prepare dynamic documents to support the learning process, which will be made available in the form of open web pages, which will be open to interactive contribution by students.

Teaching methods

Students should preliminarily possess knowledge of maritime hydraulics and (to be completed)

The course is taught through lectures. Part of them are dedicated to the solution of practical water resources management problems, that are developed at the computer.

Assessment methods

The preparation of the student will be assessed through an oral colloquium whose duration is about 30 minutes. The student may present at the exam a brief report of the exercises that were developed during the course. Students are asked to reply to 3-4 questions focusing on the topics that were treated during the lectures. Students may be asked to solve a short exercise. The exam is passed if the student proves to be prepared on the theoretical principles and analytical derivations that were taught during the lectures. The teacher will explicitly mention to students during the lectures what are the basic questions that one needs to rigorously address in order to pass the exam. The speaking capability will also be evaluated but it is not a cause of failure. The laude is reserved to students who are excellently prepared and prove to have integrated their preparation with personal in-depth analysis.

Teaching tools

The teachers will made available notes on the web. Scientific papers will be distributed during the lectures as well as summaries of recent research outcomes. Moreover, the teachers make available videos of the lectures at http://www.youtube.com/user/albertomontanari/videos?view=1.

Office hours

See the website of Alberto Montanari

See the website of Renata Archetti