Ocean engineering
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ocean engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the design, analysis and operation planning of systems that operate in an oceanic environment. Examples of systems range from oil platforms to submarines, from breakwaters to sailboats. Common to all are the conditions of the ocean including waves, seawater, and hydrostatic pressure.
Contents |
[edit] Work of ocean engineers
The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers describes the work of ocean engineers as follows:
- Ocean engineers study the ocean environment to determine its effects on ships and other marine vehicles and structures. Ocean engineers may design and operate stationary ocean platforms, or manned or remote-operated sub-surface vehicles used for deep sea exploration. [1]
There are six main areas of specialization in Ocean Engineering. Each has received substantial research support, and has faculty who are committed to doing research in these areas. Brief descriptions are given below.
Ocean instrumentation and seafloor mapping deals with the development and use of new and improved instruments for monitoring ocean processes, and the subsequent analysis of the data. Areas of current research interest include: design, development, and the operation of sensors, software, systems, and vehicles for underwater acoustic and optical measurements with associated navigation; development of advanced systems for mapping and visualizing the ocean floor; implementation of real-time, geographic information systems for survey data acquisition and processing, and the design, construction, and testing of a ship motion simulator for the testing of vessel attitude and motion sensors for correcting shipboard instruments.
Underwater acoustics and data analysis deals with the study of sound and vibration in the ocean and seabed, and the associated analysis of both deterministic and random data. Sequences of courses in both acoustics and data analysis are offered. Past research topics have included: the design and development of special purpose transducers and arrays, deep-water sediment surveying and seismic bottom penetration classification studies using advanced signal processing methods. Recent research has focused on: acoustic transient radiation and scattering from complex fluid loaded structures, shallow water sound propagation, wave propagation in structures, localized space/time wavefields, and active noise and vibration control. Adaptive wavelet and other advanced signal processing methods are being used to investigate a wide range of problems in structural acoustics and wave propagation in general.
Marine hydrodynamics and water-wave mechanics involves studies of ocean and nearshore environments and the interaction of bodies with these flow and wave fields. Problems of particular interest are nonlinear wave dynamics and forces on submerged and emergent breakwaters, wave shoaling and breaking on beaches, fluid-structure interaction, wave forces generated by forced body motion, and the drag of marine vehicles.
Coastal and nearshore modeling deals with the physical and numerical modeling of coastal and nearshore processes. Models are developed, applied, and verified with field and laboratory measurements. Wind-wave generation, wave refraction, diffraction, shoaling and breaking, surf-zone dynamics and littoral transport, pollutant and oil spill transport, harbor oscillations, tidal and wind- driven circulation in coastal and estuarine waters, and tidal inlet and barrier-island-related problems are studied. Finite difference, finite element, and boundary elements numerical methods are used.
Marine geomechanics is directed toward development of a broad background in the theory and practice of geotechnics in the ocean environment. The research includes experimental and modeling studies to understand and predict properties and behavior of the seabed. Recent sponsored research has included studies on: sediment stress-strain and strength properties; anchor systems; seabed disposal of dredge materials; cable and pipeline siting and burial; instrument development for sediment sampling and in-situ testing; seabed processes including sediment erosion, slope stability, creep deformations, and dynamic processes; foundations for offshore and coastal structures; ice-sediment interactions; dynamic soil properties; and microstructure of sediments. Current research projects, sponsored by four different agencies, focus on downslope processes of slope and rise sediments, coastal benthic boundary- layer processes and properties, ocean disposal of contaminated dredged materials, and geoacoustic properties of the seabed related to mine detection. Modern geotechnical laboratory facilities have up-to-date and specially designed equipment for research on marine sediments.
Coastal and offshore structures is the study of nearshore piers, breakwaters, groins, piles, and sewer outfalls as well as common offshore structures such as petroleum drilling and operating platforms. Breakwaters are important for beach and harbor protection against waves and storms and for their ability to minimize oscillation of moored vessels. Groins are used for limiting shoreline erosion, and jetties for the stabilization of inlets and estuary entrances. The offshore structures today are large, generally very complex, and extremely expensive, and most often involve safety considerations for a hundred or more humans. Present research focuses on modeling the response of offshore structures to wave loading and on representing the statistical properties of random wave fields more accurately.
Additional areas of study include: remote sensing and corrosion and composite materials. Corrosion and corrosion control are topics that permeate most of the research activities in the ocean engineering program. In addition, specific thesis topics on corrosion as an important chemical process in the marine environment are receiving increasing attention in the program. [2]
[edit] Renewable ocean energy
The ocean environment presents a vast quantity of renewable sources of energy in the form of winds, waves, tides, currents and the density and thermal gradients between ocean water layers.
[edit] Ocean engineering education
ABET established the following criteria for the curriculum of ocean engineering programs:
- The program must demonstrate that graduates have: knowledge and the skills to apply the principles of fluid and solid mechanics, dynamics, hydrostatics, probability and applied statistics, oceanography, water waves, and underwater acoustics to engineering problems; the ability to work in groups to perform engineering design at the system level, integrating multiple technical areas and addressing design optimization.[3]
ABET currently accredits ten ocean engineering programs in the United States:
- Florida Atlantic University
- Florida Institute of Technology
- University of Florida
- University of Hawaii at Manoa
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- University of Rhode Island
- Texas A&M University
- Texas A&M University at Galveston
- United States Naval Academy
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
