The course is aimed at introducing the student to the hydrodynamics and morphodyanics of the coastal region
The course is aimed at making the student capable of formulating and solving the problems related to the propagation of sea waves from offshore to the shore considering the phenomena of refraction and diffraction and the interaction with the bottom (dissipative effects and sediment transport). Furthermore, the formation of the bottom forms and the morphology of the coast will be studied.
Frontal lectures
1: Stokes waves: Introduction - The evolution of a monochromatic wave: formulation of the problem - Small amplitude waves: the solution of the linear problem - Some characteristics of the small amplitude waves - Superposition of waves - Standing waves 2: Nonlinear effects: Introduction - Nonlinear effects on a progressive wave - Nonlinear effects on a standing wave - Saintflou diagram 3: Refraction phenomena - The energy of a propagating wave and the energy flux - Group velocity: a kinetic interpretation - The phenomenon of shoaling - The equation of wave action - Wave rays and Snell’s law.
4: Diffraction - Helmholtz equation - Cases of engineering interest.
5: Viscous effects: the bottom boundary layer - The flow field and the shear stress in the boundary layer: the linear approach - Nonlinear effects and the generation of a steady current 6 : Shallow water waves - Introduction and Boussinesq theory - The solitary wave - Cnoidal waves - Edge waves 7: Depth-averaged equations for steady currents
8: The depth and time averaged equations - Introduction - Continuity equation - Momentum equation - Some preliminary simplifications - The radiation stress tensor 9: The phenomenon of wave breaking - The set-down and set-up - The longshore current 10: The tides 11: The sediment transport 12: Coastal morphology
Course notes available on request (send a message to: paolo.blondeaux@unige.it)
Ricevimento: day and time to be agreed by sending an e-mail message to: paolo.blondeaux@unige.it
PAOLO BLONDEAUX (President)
FRANCESCO DE LEO
GIOVANNA VITTORI
GIOVANNI BESIO (President Substitute)
look at the website of the Polytechnic School
Oral exame
The oral exam is aimed at verifying i) the mastery of the subject in general, ii) the understanding of the concepts and the different models illustrated during the course, iii) the ability to correctly formulate a mathematical model of the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic phenomena present near the coast.
