Abstract:

Theoretical formulations and programming routines required to solve real maritime engineering problems are commonly excessively complex to be addressed by undergraduate students. Classical approaches, such as the resolution of numerical exercises, are not enough to provide a complete understanding of the problem to the students. To avoid such obstacle, our goal was to develop user-friendly applications that allow students to fully deal with actual engineering problems and to solve, without any simplification, the numerical methods typically applied to design maritime works.

To this end, within the scope of the subjects ‘Design and construction of maritime works’ and ‘Integrated management of ports and coasts’, we implemented two graphical user interfaces in Matlab and Python. The first one analyses and simulates a wave climate series in deep water through a wave input file provided by the students, whereas the second propagates the waves from deep-water towards the location of the maritime work by means of wave, tide and bathymetric data. Thus, undergraduate students have tools to complement and apply their theoretical background, and to solve real practical problems in the field of expertise of maritime engineering.

The results of this teaching methodology are being highly satisfactory. Students are strongly motivated to solve practical engineering problems and this higher motivation results in an improvement of their background, skills and marks. The implemented user-friendly applications will also be provided to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness in the framework of the project “Integrated verification of the hydrodynamic and structural behaviour of a breakwater and its implications on the investment project (VIVALDI)”.

Keywords:

Civil engineering, workshop, software, maritime works.