Management of hydraulic and maritime infrastructures

Knowledge and Understanding

Upon completion of the course, students will have acquired advanced knowledge of the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes relevant to the analysis and management of hydraulic risk in riverine, urban and coastal areas, as well as to the design and management of major hydraulic and maritime infrastructures, also considering the effects of climate change and land-use changes.

In particular, students will acquire knowledge of:

• concepts and methods for hydraulic risk assessment, with reference to hazard, exposure and vulnerability in riverine, urban and coastal areas, taking into account the effects of climate change and land-use changes;
• fluvial hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes that may threaten the safety of settlements and infrastructure;
• design principles for both traditional and nature-based solutions aimed at reducing flood and riverbank erosion risks and supporting climate change adaptation;
• principles of hydraulic functioning and design of major water supply, irrigation, urban drainage and hydropower infrastructures;
• principles of wave mechanics and coastal hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes affecting the design, construction and management of ports, navigation channels and other coastal infrastructure;
• design principles of major traditional coastal and port protection solutions in the context of climate change impacts.

Applying Knowledge and Understanding

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

• apply hydraulic risk assessment methodologies in riverine, urban and coastal areas;
• apply engineering methods and models to the design and management of hydraulic and maritime infrastructure, taking into account the characteristics of fluvial, marine and coastal processes;
• apply wave analysis, sediment transport and coastal process methodologies to assess the functionality and safety of coastal protection structures, ports and other maritime infrastructure;
• analyze real-world case studies and identify appropriate design solutions to complex problems involving hydraulic risk management, erosion, and offshore and coastal processes.

Through practical exercises and case-study analysis, students will develop the ability to integrate engineering knowledge, methods and tools to address complex problems and support decision-making processes related to the design, management and adaptation of hydraulic and maritime infrastructure.

Making Judgements

Students will be able to critically interpret data and results arising from the analysis of hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes and from hydraulic risk assessment, identifying the main technical, environmental, climatic and economic factors influencing the design and management choices for hydraulic and maritime infrastructure.

Students will also be able to compare different design alternatives and risk mitigation and adaptation strategies, including traditional and nature-based solutions, assessing their advantages, limitations, applicability conditions and implications in terms of safety, risk and sustainability.

Students’ ability to make independent judgements will be developed through the discussion of practical case studies and the completion of practical exercises.

Communication Skills

Students will be able to correctly use the technical and scientific terminology of hydraulic engineering and clearly describe:

• the main concepts and methods for hydraulic risk assessment in riverine, urban and coastal areas;
• the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes characterizing fluvial and coastal systems;
• the operating principles and design criteria of major hydraulic and maritime structures and infrastructure.

Communication skills will be developed through the discussion of practical exercises during the course and will be assessed during the oral examination.

Learning Skills

Students will acquire the methodological tools required for the sustainable and equitable management of projects related to water resources, disaster risk reduction and port infrastructure.

Students will be able to consult specialist textbooks, scientific and technical literature, and technical documentation on innovative systems and technologies, developing the ability to independently update their knowledge in a field characterized by rapid technological development.

The knowledge acquired will be applicable to the design and management of materials and systems aimed at improving quality of life, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda:

• Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being;
• Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation;
• Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy;
• Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth;
• Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure;
• Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities;
• Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production;
• Goal 13: Climate Action;
• Goal 14: Life Below Water;
• Goal 15: Life on Land.

The course is organised as follows:

• traditional lectures, carried out using a participative approach to obtain the maximum involvement of the students;
• practical exercises, carried out in informatics classrooms. Such exercises are supervised to be sure that all the students will learn during the class time how to apply the most essential concepts and methods to be used in the field of maritime hydraulics, coastal and port engineering;
• guided tours of the laboratory of hydraulics of DICAR, to teach students about the experimental methods used for the physical modelling of coastal problems;
• field visits at building sites of maritime and coastal works and/or at the premises of public or private bodies involved in the coastal management (Port Authorities, Technical Offices, PEs, etc.).

Students who, following the presentation of the appropriate documentation (D.R. n. 1598 of 2/5/2018), have obtained recognition of the status of student worker, student athlete, student in difficulty and student with disabilities, will be able to follow a personalised learning path whose methods will be agreed with the teacher.

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

HYDRAULIC RISK IN RIVERINE, URBAN AND COASTAL AREAS – Definition of risk – Hazard, exposure, and vulnerability in riverine areas – Hazard, exposure, and vulnerability in urban areas – Hazard, exposure, and vulnerability in coastal areas – Effects of climate change and land use changes on hydraulic risk

HYDRODYNAMIC PROCESSES IN RIVERINE AND URBAN ENVIRONMENTS – Basic concepts of hydrology – Characterization of riverine systems – Basic concepts of river hydrodynamics and morphodynamics – Basic concepts of urban drainage systems – Urban flooding

HYDRAULIC WORKS – Reservoir for water supply, hydroelectric energy generation, and flood mitigation – Estuarine interventions – Water supply, irrigation, and sewage systems – Traditional and nature-based solutions for flood risk reduction – Analysis of real case studies

MARINE AND COASTAL HYDRODYNAMIC PROCESSES – Basic concepts of water wave mechanics – Basic concepts of wave climate and wave hindcasting – Coastal sediment transport and erosion – Coastal flooding

MARITIME WORKS – Coastal defense structures – Harbors and their infrastructure – Upgrading existing structures – Maritime NBS structures for risk reduction

DESIGN APPROACHES – Overview of national and international design guidelines and regulations – Traditional design approaches – Probabilistic design approaches – Analysis of real case studies

1. R. Dean, R. Darlrymple, Water wave mechanics for engineers and scientists, World Scientific, 1991
2. R. Dean, R. Darlrymple, Coastal Processes with Engineering Applications, Cambridge University Press, 2002
3. U.S. Army, Coastal Engineering Research Center, Coastal Engineering Manual, 2006.
4. Thoresen, C.A. (2014). Port Designer’s Handbook: reccomandation and guidelines. ICE Publishing.
5. Tsinker, G.P. (2004). Port engineering: planning, construction, maintenance, and security. John Wiley and Sons, inc.
6. CIRIA, CUR, CETMEF  (2007). The Rock Manual. The use of rock in hydraulic engineering (2nd edition). C683, CIRIA, London.
7. A. Armanini, "Principles of River Hydraulics", Springer, 2018

At least 10 days before the date of the final exam, the student must send a draft of the report about the practical excercise on the class topics, printed or via mail. Once revised, the student should bring a copy of the final version of such a report the day appointed for the finals.

During the finals,the student should answer, generally, three oral questions about the topic of the class (refer to the Most frequent questions below).

The evaluation will be based on the:

• quality of the report on practical applications (50%);
• completeness and clarity of the answers to the oral questions (50%).

Active participation to class work will be also accounted for.

Definition of Hazard, Exposure, Vulnerability, and Risk

Criteria for assessing flood risk in urban, regional, and coastal areas

Effects of climate change on flood risk

Definition of the return period

Pluviometric probability curve

Unsteady flow in open-surface currents

River morphodynamics

Urban drainage systems

Characteristics of reservoirs for water supply, hydroelectric generation, and flood mitigation

Characteristics of water supply, irrigation, and sewerage systems

Flood risk reduction interventions based on Natural Based Solutions

Linear wave theory

Dispertion relationship

Wave propagation (shoaling, refraction, breaking, reflection, diffraction)

Coastal protection works

Wave hidcasting

Statistical analysis of extreme events 

Harbour structures

Hydraulic and stability design of a rubble mound breakwater