Transport Systems Engineering

- Fundamentals of Physical Oceanography Morphological, physical, and chemical characteristics of the oceans; general ocean circulation. - Fundamentals of Atmospheric Circulation General atmospheric circulation; geostrophic, gradient, and surface winds; cyclonic and anticyclonic areas; fronts; tropical and extratropical cyclones; hurricanes; thermal winds; trade winds, breezes, and monsoons. Available data sources: direct measurements, wind forecast data, historical wind datasets reconstructed through reanalysis by major meteorological centers (ECMWF and NOAA). Climate analysis and extreme event analysis. - Sea Level Variations Tide measurements (tidal stations). Astronomical tides: causes and astronomical periodicities, harmonic analysis of tides; characteristic tide levels; reference levels (chart datum) for elevations and depths; bathymetric surveys, nautical cartography. Meteorological tides: maximum and minimum levels due to ocean-atmosphere interactions; storm surge; tidal residual: numerical calculation and statistical analysis of extreme sea level values. Long-term sea level variations: eustasy and subsidence. Influence of climate change on sea level. - Real waves Oscillatory motion: main definitions and general characteristics of wind waves; wave measurement; analysis of a water level signal: main characteristics of wave data acquisition, zero-crossing analysis, statistics of wave height in a sea state; synthetic parameters of a sea state, spectral analysis, empirical correlations between wave heights and periods; available data sources: direct and indirect measurements and hindcast data. Forecast wave data, historical wave datasets reconstructed through reanalysis by major meteorological centers (ECMWF and NOAA). Main parametric wave spectra. Climate and statistical analysis of extreme events. - Principal wave theories Review of fundamental equations; complete development of linear wave theory (first-order Stokes theory); dispersion relation; Helmholtz equation; mild slope equation; interference of waves propagating in the same and opposite directions: group velocity, wave reflection, standing and partially standing waves; transients and steady conditions; energy balance equation; higher-order Stokes wave theories (theoretical framework and main results); basics of long wave theories: non-linear shallow water wave equations, Boussinesq equations, Korteweg–de Vries equation, cnoidal waves, solitary waves; non-linear interaction between spectral components: sub-harmonics and super-harmonics, bound long-waves and infragravity waves. - Wind-Generated Waves Mechanisms governing energy transfer from wind to waves; energy balance equation: first-generation models; higher-order spectral models. - Wave Propagation over Variable Seabeds and Interaction with Structures Refraction, shoaling, reflection, breaking, diffraction, transmission, and overtopping. Numerical modeling for engineering applications. - Elements of Coastal Hydrodynamics and Morphodynamics Cross-shore hydrodynamics: radiation stress, wave set-down and set-up; undertow; longshore hydrodynamics; three-dimensional hydrodynamics: rip currents; short- and long-term evolution of sandy coasts: winter and summer profiles; temporal scales and schematization of hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes. Sediment budget equation. Numerical models of hydrodynamics and sediment transport for engineering applications. - Tsunami Waves General characteristics and generation mechanisms; measurement techniques; real-time warning systems; statistical characteristics of tsunami waves generated by earthquakes in the Italian seas and the Mediterranean; numerical modeling for flood zone calculation. Hydraulic Physical Modeling Dimensions and units of measurement; non-dimensionalization of equations; dimensional analysis; key dimensionless numbers; similarity principles; small-scale free-surface physical models: Froude and Reynolds similitudes; scale effects; fixed-bed and mobile-bed models. Main purposes of reduced-scale physical models for the verification of maritime structures.

To properly understand the course content and achieve the intended learning outcomes, it is important that, at the beginning of the course, students possess: • a knowledge of the fundamental equations governing the motion of incompressible fluids; • basic understanding of physics, mathematical analysis, geometry, and statistics; • basic computer skills, including the ability to use application software for data processing and analysis; • preliminary knowledge of computer-aided technical drawing (CAD). Where necessary, the teacher will provide essential theoretical background from related disciplines to support the understanding of the topics covered in the course.

All course lectures and exercises are described through slides and materials specifically prepared by the professor, which will be provided to students during the course in digital format (ppt, pdf, xls, etc.).

Attendance to the course is strongly recommended. The professor is available during office hours to provide clarification and further explanations. Students are expected to attend office hours after having studied the material, and should aim to ask clear and specific questions. Appointments for office hours must be arranged by contacting the instructor via email.

The assessment of the student’s preparation is carried out through a final exam consisting of an oral test covering the entire course content. The written exam is replaced by a technical report prepared by the student based on the exercises developed during the course. During the oral exam, the student’s technical report is also evaluated. The report must be brought on the day of the exam. The student must be able to present the developed exercises and describe the results obtained. The final grade is determined based on the following criteria: 1. knowledge of the topics covered during the course; 2. basic foundational knowledge; 3. presentation skills, including command of technical terminology in Italian (only for Italian students) and in English; 4. Quality and understanding of the technical report describing the exercises carried out during the course. To pass the exam, the student must achieve a score of at least 18 out of 30. To obtain the minimum score, the student must demonstrate satisfactory performance in all the criteria listed above. The maximum score is 30 out of 30 with honors. To achieve this score, the student must demonstrate an excellent understanding of the course topics and be able to present them in a clear, logical, and coherent manner.

The reference text is: Hydrodinamics of coastal regions – IB A. SVENDSEN and IVAR G. Jonsson.

The course's teaching activities are organized according to a combination of two educational models: - lectures featuring the presentation of practical examples; - classroom exercises supporting hands-on learning. Lectures are mainly conducted using slides that cover the entire course. The classroom exercises are dedicated to deepening specific theoretical topics and follow the progressive development of a met-ocean study. The classroom exercises involve the use of personal computers and the learning of programming in the MATLAB environment. During the classroom exercises, students will be provided with the objectives, working methodology, and the data necessary to carry out the exercises. Students will begin processing the exercises during class and complete them independently at home. The results obtained and any difficulties encountered will then be discussed collectively in class. For the final exam, students will be required to submit a written report describing the design exercises developed during the course. The report must be prepared as a technical document and include: • the text of the exercise; • a description of the method used to approach the proposed problem; • the results obtained, presented both numerically and graphically; • a critical analysis of the results in relation to the design objectives.