The research program deals with the development of offshore islands (as fixed or floating structures) for ocean space utilization, in which wave (marine) energy is exploited for energy supplying and to reduce CO2 emissions. The research activities will be developed by considering:- analysis and development of innovative models, analytical and/or numerical, of marine structures (i.E. Fixed breakwater, offshore floating structures), with OWC devices;- study of the hydrodynamics problems for the modelling of large floating structures, including structures in which OWC devices are embodied;- risk analysis of marine structures in severe meteocean conditions, by taking into account extreme waves during sea storms; this analysis will include the study of the action of extreme waves (freak waves) on the OWC wave energy converters;- data processing from experimental activities with physical modeling of Oscillating Water Column systems, on fixed and floating structures. These data are available at NOEL laboratory.Both Monte Carlo approaches and experimental data will be used for the analysis of the dynamic response.The hydrodynamic analysis will be conducted in the context of the potential theory for an irrotational flow with a free surface (to determine excitation forces, added mass and radiated damping).

Fluid mechanicsWave mechanicsRandom process theoryDynamics of structuresNumerical analysisPhysical modellingAlgorithm coding (Fortran, Matlab, Python, etc.)

The research team operates at the NOEL (Natural Ocean Engineering Laboratory): a laboratory established within UNIRC. It is composed by a highly specialized team working in the field of ocean engineering and marine energy. Actually, the team involves 1 Full Professor, 2 Associated Professor, 3 Researchers, 2 Post-docs and 2 PhD Students. The team has a 30-year experience in conducting field experiments on small-scale models of marine structures and of wave energy harvesters at the NOEL natural basin. This laboratory is a unique environment where experimentalists can pursue tests with the support of sensors, acquisition data center and specialized personnel established permanently in the laboratory infrastructure facing the basin (for details see www.Noel.Unirc.It ).The mission of this group is to utilize the knowledge acquired in the field of marine and civil engineering to develop novel methodologies in the analysis of the wave phenomena and of the wave climate, for wave structure interaction (floating or fixed structures). The group is also involved in the analysis of coastal structures for protection purposes (for instance caisson breakwaters), in the development of novel coastal structures hosting devices for wave energy harvesting, in the development of experimental activities for testing floating offshore wind turbine models, and in the testing of the prototype of an offshore multipurpose platform for fish farming and exploitation of wind and wave energy (Horizon 2020 project The Blue Growth Farm 774426).