PROBABILISTIC DESIGN OF PORT INFRASTRUCTURES
One of the key aspects in the design, management and exploitation of port infrastructures is the knowledge of uncertainty. Although probabilist verification methods are applied for many years in the design of other singular infrastructures, such as nuclear power plants and energy production plants, it has been in the last decade when it has been incorporated in the design of port infrastructures.
One of the best examples is found in ROM 0.0 and 1.1, where uncertainty is incorporated not only into the design process and verification of project requirements, but also into the cost analysis necessary for the evaluation of the economic and financial profitability of the infrastructure. This type of analysis is already demanded by the Public Entity Ports of the State (EPPE) in the process of defining new port infrastructures, and also begins to be a common practice in the process of port infrastructure design at the international level.
At IHCantabria we have developed projects where it uses the latest probabilistic techniques to develop methods based on a process of optimization of the design and management of port infrastructures.
The knowledge of the uncertainty, in the technical-financial duality, opens the door to a new model of conceptualization and design, as well as one of port infrastructure management, where the final step is the evaluation of the risk level of said infrastructure.
Methodology
We integrate the knowledge of knowledge of the climatic conditions in the port environment with the behavior of the port infrastructure throughout its useful life so as to incorporate the uncertainty into the design process and verify the project requirements together with the cost analysis required to assess the financial profitability.
We apply probabilistic simulation techniques in order to adequately characterize the uncertainty associated with the design and operation of the port infrastructure, thus allowing the port manager to make decisions based on quantitative risk analysis.
We have a multidisciplinary team allows integrating different factors into the uncertainty determination for the design and operation of port infrastructures in order to characterize the risk level.
Areas of expertise
Verification of infrastructure design using probabilistic level-III methods
Optimization of port infrastructures using probabilistic methods
Development of tools that limit the uncertainty in the design process of port infrastructures and generate results that allow the manager to make decisions
Technology transfer through specialized courses on the use of probabilistic methods to verify the design of an infrastructure
Determination of the risk level of a port infrastructure based on technical and financial factors
SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS
SENER OPTIMIZATION
The goal of this study is to use probabilistic level-III techniques to verify the sections of the new Plata LNG terminal in Montevideo (Uruguay).
ROM-MEIPOR
The purpose of the study is the methodological application of the economic and financial profitability analysis for a port construction and investment project by means of the dual-use ROM-MEIPOR technique.
VASE
The goal of this project was to conduct a study to comprehensively analyze the new coastal protection elements planned for the Valleseco area of Tenerife (Canary Islands), which included an agitation analysis and the functional and structural design. Level-III protocols were used to do a structural and functional review of the planned structures.
PORT MODELING SYSTEM
Development of a tool that facilitates the conceptualization, creation, execution and technical assimilation of projects so that students, researchers, and project engineers will be able to compare and achieve the various quality criteria, technical recommendations and review protocols for any maritime engineering project.
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PARTNERSHIPS
IHCantabria has carried out projects as part of national and international competitive tenders, as well as transfer projects and specialized consulting for leading companies in the sector in an international port environment.
Nationally, IHCantabria collaborates actively with national entities, such as the State Public Ports Authority (EPPE), to manage port infrastructures, and directly with port authorities, for which it develops innovative projects such as SAMOA, for EPPE, and SAFEPORT, for the Bahia de Algeciras Port Authority. It also provides solutions for regional port management entities such as Puertos de Cantabria, Ports of the Generalitat, Ports of Illes Balears, Puertos Canarias, Portos de Galiza and others, either directly with them or through partnerships with companies.
Internationally, IHCantabria partners with national and international companies to assist in carrying out unique projects like those involved in the ports of Gijón and Punta Langosteira in Spain, San Antonio in Chile, Aberdeen in Scotland and Açu in Brazil, as well as in other national projects, such as the work carried out for the port authorities of Tenerife, Barcelona, Gijón, La Coruña, Cádiz, Málaga and Las Palmas, among others, and in other, more regional projects like in Laredo, Castro Urdiales, Comillas and San Vicente in Cantabria, Calafat in Catalonia and Agaete in Gran Canaria.
Finally, IHCantabria is actively involved in expert commissions such as the Recommendations for Maritime Projects (ROM), sponsored by the EPPE and which provides a practical guide for the design and management of infrastructures, as well as in different working groups associated with the International Association of Navigation (PIANC), which promote the sustainable design of ports.
SOFTWARE & TOOLS
IHDATA
IHData is the collective name for a database developed by the Environmental Hydraulics Institute of the Universidad de Cantabria. IHData is capable of providing accurate wind/wave/sea level climatological statistics for any European country and wave climate for any region worldwide. Learn More
Let’s talk
How can we help you?
Send me a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible
Let’s talk
How can we help you?
Send me a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible
Antonio Tomás Sampedro
Researcher || Expert in Port Design
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