In March 2022, TYPSA and the Agustin de Betancourt Foundation renewed their “Agreement to Promote Knowledge and Research in the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) School of Civil Engineering Harbour Research Laboratory facilities”. The agreement extends the fruitful partnership initiated in 2008 through the UIMT Chair (TYPSA – Engineer Pablo Bueno Maritime Engineering Research Unit) for a further four years.
The agreement has made possible a number of Harbour Laboratory facility improvements and updates such as repairs and essential material purchases for the operation and optimisation of the wave tank and 2D testing channel. Laboratory activity had been increasing gradually but reached a turning point in 2021 when TYPSA won the contract for the design and supervision of the Ondarroa breakwater reinforcement in the Basque Country. The contract requirement for a physical 3D test gave the UPM Laboratory the opportunity to resume optimisation tests for embankment breakwater design in extraordinarily complex areas of bathymetry.
In addition, a steady stream of outreach activities confirms the importance and purpose of this Agreement. These activities allow the school’s civil engineering students to enjoy regular visits to the facilities and include the well-attended face-to-face workshops and webinars organised with the support of the Technical Ports and Coasts Association and the Spanish Port Authority. All this contributes every year to maximum national and international outreach on different technical topics of current interest (such as operation and maintenance, breakwater repair and BIM).
The agreement provides an opportunity for TYPSA to strengthen its visibility in the sector and reaffirm its commitment to research and education, to School of Civil Engineering student training and to young University researchers.
