a b s t r a c tThis research presents an estimation of wave energy potential in Sicily (Italy) carried out using both buoy wave measurements from Rete Ondametrica Nazionale (RON), the Italian Government wave buoy network, and wave parameter data by ERA-INTERIM, a recent meteorological reanalysis project of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Starting from these offshore data, we first identified the western part of Sicily as the area with a higher availability of offshore wave energy; subsequently, we selected a study area in the western part of the south coast and assessed the nearshore potential energy by performing propagation using a spectral model (SWAN). The nearshore analysis highlights the presence of a "hot spot" relatively close to the coast where energy concentration produces even higher energy availability than offshore. Based on this result, the site may be a possible location for a wave energy farm, provisional on a technicaleeconomic feasibility analysis.
Urban drainage networks are generally designed to operate in a free-surface flow condition. However, as a consequence of heavy rainfall events or network malfunctions, the filling of sewers (pressurisation) and network overflow may occur. Several modelling software products are commonly used to simulate floods in drainage networks, and their results are usually thought to be reliable and robust. However, no specific studies have been carried out on the behaviour of these modelling products during the pressurisation transition. Mathematical models often use the Preissmann slot concept to handle pressurisation. In this paper, on the basis of laboratory pipe tests, the reliability of such a scheme is studied by means of a popular and open-source software product: SWMM (Storm Water Management Model). Many numerical tests were carried out with SWMM, varying the spatial and time steps and the Preissmann slot width, in order to examine the performance of the modelling software over intervals of these parameters even wider than what is usual in practical applications. The comparison between simulated and experimental surges allows one to draw interesting conclusions regarding the effectiveness of software products analogous to SWMM in simulating pressurisation, as well as the choice of the parameters themselves.
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