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 analysisAlgorithm 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 Professor, 2 Ass. Professors, 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, acquisition data center and specialized personnel (see www.noel.unirc.it ).