Modeling of the City Port of Split

Published on September 3, 2018
For further information please contact:

Marijan Babi , PhD, BSCE
Water Resources Engineering Department IGH
Email: darija.zivni@igh.hr

Since May 2007 the Civil Engineering Institute of Croatia (IGH) has been contracted by the City of Split to work on a project on the physical modeling of waves and circulation in the City Port of Split. Others working on this important and complex project are from the Civil Engineering Faculty of the University of Zagreb, the Civil Engineering and Architecture faculties of the University of Split, the Croatian Hydrographic Institute, the Institute of Oceanography and Fishing and the Shipping Institute.

The goals of the project are:

  • Collection and analysis of basic input parameters for planning the modifications in the City Port of Split (surveying, bathymetry, circulation, seawater quality parameters, wind and wave climate, soil mechanic etc.).
  • Analysis of planned modifications from the point of view of waves, circulation and seawater quality in the City Port aquatorium.
  • Support in the design of new coastal engineering structures (hydrodynamics, soil mechanics and navigation conditions).

The project consists of four components:

1 Exploratory Investigations

  • Surveying of the coastline (City of Split)
  • Bathymetric surveying (Croatian Hydrographic Institute)
  • Wind-wave climate (University of Zagreb)
  • Circulation measurements (Croatian Hydrographic Institute)
  • Seawater quality measurements (Institute of Oceanography and Fishing)

2 Mathematical Modeling of Waves, Circulation and Seawater Quality (University of Zagreb/University of Split)

  • Analyses of existing conditions
  • Analyses of the designs of proposed modifications and the integral effects onthe City Port as a whole

3 Physical Modeling of Waves (IGH/University of Zagreb)

  • Construction of 1:50 scale model
  • Investigations of existing conditions and proposed modifications
  • Modeling of details of coastal engineering structures

4 Collaboration with Designers, Planners and the Client

Planned Modifications in the City Port of Split

Planned modifications in the City Port which are being investigated by mathematical and physical modeling are divided into five zones

Potential adverse effects on navigation conditions in the port can be assessed by comparing results from the modelling of a proposed modification with those of the existing conditions in the port. This will allow for proposed solutions to be modified if required. Modeling investigations are a far more effective means of selection and optimization of engineering solutions than the method of trial and error.

Mathematical model of the City Port of Split

A mathematical model of the City Port of Split is being developed at Civil Engineering Faculty of University of Zagreb in collaboration with IGH and other project participants. The model is being developed in MIKE hydrodynamic modeling software and includes three components: wave modeling, circulation modeling and seawater quality modeling.

Physical modeling of the City Port of Split

The physical model of the City Port of Split is being developed at the Hydraulic Laboratory of IGH in collaboration with other participants in the project. The 1:50 scale model size is 29.2 m x 24.0 m (700 m2), which in the 1:50 scale means 1.46 km x 1.20 km (1.75 km2) in reality.

The model is equipped with two wave generators that can generate regular waves and wave spectra from two dominant wind/wave directions (South East and South West) as well as a modern measurement, data collection and data analysis system.

Photographs of the physical model of the City Port of Split under regular waves generated from the South East direction.