Age regression from soft aligned face images using low computational resources

The initial step in most facial age estimation systems consists of accurately aligning a model to the output of a face detector (e.g. an Active Appearance Model). This fitting process is very expensive in terms of computational resources and prone to get stuck in local minima. This makes it impractical for analysing faces in resource limited computing devices. In this paper we build a face age regressor that is able to work directly on faces cropped using a state-of-the-art face detector. Our procedure uses K nearest neighbours (K-NN) regression with a metric based on a properly tuned Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) projection matrix. On FG-NET we achieve a state-of-the-art Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 5.72 years with manually aligned faces. Using face images cropped by a face detector we get a MAE of 6.87 years in the same database. Moreover, most of the algorithms presented in the literature have been evaluated on single database experiments and therefore, they report optimistically biased results. In our cross-database experiments we get a MAE of roughly 12 years, which would be the expected performance in a real world application.

Asymptotic and computational analysis of mistuning effects on the dynamics of bladed disks

Es bien conocido que las pequeñas imperfecciones existentes en los álabes de un rótor de turbomaquinaria (conocidas como “mistuning”) pueden causar un aumento considerable de la amplitud de vibración de la respuesta forzada y, por el contrario, tienen típicamente un efecto beneficioso en el flameo del rótor. Para entender estos efectos se pueden llevar a cabo estudios numéricos del problema aeroelástico completo. Sin embargo, el cálculo de “mistuning” usando modelos de alta resolución es una tarea difícil de realizar, ya que los modelos necesarios para describir de manera precisa el componente de turbomáquina (por ejemplo rotor) tienen, necesariamente, un número muy elevado de grados de libertad, y, además, es necesario hacer un estudio estadístico para poder explorar apropiadamente las distribuciones posibles de “mistuning”, que tienen una naturaleza aleatoria. Diferentes modelos de orden reducido han sido desarrollados en los últimos años para superar este inconveniente. Uno de estos modelos, llamado “Asymptotic Mistuning Model (AMM)”, se deriva de la formulación completa usando técnicas de perturbaciones que se basan en que el “mistuning” es pequeño. El AMM retiene sólo los modos relevantes para describir el efecto del mistuning, y permite identificar los mecanismos clave involucrados en la amplificación de la respuesta forzada y en la estabilización del flameo. En este trabajo, el AMM se usa para estudiar el efecto del “mistuning” de la estructura y de la amortiguación sobre la amplitud de la respuesta forzada. Los resultados obtenidos son validados usando modelos simplificados del rotor y también otros de alta definición. Además, en el marco del proyecto europeo FP7 "Flutter-Free Turbomachinery Blades (FUTURE)", el AMM se aplica para diseñar distribuciones de “mistuning” intencional: (i) una que anula y (ii) otra que reduce a la mitad la amplitud del flameo de un rotor inestable; y las distribuciones obtenidas se validan experimentalmente. Por último, la capacidad de AMM para predecir el comportamiento de flameo de rotores con “mistuning” se comprueba usando resultados de CFD detallados. Abstract It is well known that the small imperfections of the individual blades in a turbomachinery rotor (known as “mistuning”) can cause a substantial increase of the forced response vibration amplitude, and it also typically results in an improvement of the flutter vibration characteristics of the rotor. The understanding of these phenomena can be attempted just by performing numerical simulations of the complete aeroelastic problem. However, the computation of mistuning cases using high fidelity models is a formidable task, because a detailed model of the whole rotor has to be considered, and a statistical study has to be carried out in order to properly explore the effect of the random mistuning distributions. Many reduced order models have been developed in recent years to overcome this barrier. One of these models, called the Asymptotic Mistuning Model (AMM), is systematically derived from the complete bladed disk formulation using a consistent perturbative procedure that exploits the smallness of mistuning to simplify the problem. The AMM retains only the essential system modes that are involved in the mistuning effect, and it allows to identify the key mechanisms of the amplification of the forced response amplitude and the flutter stabilization. In this work, AMM methodolgy is used to study the effect of structural and damping mistuning on the forced response vibration amplitude. The obtained results are verified using a one degree of freedom model of a rotor, and also high fidelity models of the complete rotor. The AMM is also applied, in the frame of the European FP7 project “Flutter-Free Turbomachinery Blades (FUTURE)”, to design two intentional mistuning patterns: (i) one to complete stabilize an unstable rotor, and (ii) other to approximately reduce by half its flutter amplitude. The designed patterns are validated experimentally. Finally, the ability of AMM to predict the flutter behavior of mistuned rotors is checked against numerical, high fidelity CFD results.

Thinking way out of the box

l objeto de este trabajo es investigar sobre la arquitectura futurista mediante la figura de Jan Kaplický, el cual realizó planteamientos y arquitecturas que todavía hoy son realmente innovadoras e impactantes, centrando el tema en sus propuestas de vanguardia sobre lo doméstico. La obra elegida para este análisis es la House for a Helicopter Pilot (1979), una arquitectura nómada y cinética en que se habitaría una cápsula modular que puede elevar o bajar sus brazos hidráulicos y luego, una vez cansado el usuario del entorno, podría abandonarlo y encontrar otro lugar salvaje en que situarse. Al ser una obra no construida y utópica, sobre la que no hay apenas documentación, se propone como objetivo indagar sobre esta arquitectura alternativa que hoy en día sigue resultando innovadora, y realizar hipótesis explorando los detalles y objetos que aparecen en la escasa documentación existente, profundizando en las ideas utópicas de Jan Kaplicky

Arquitectura de supercomputación en la nube para la resolución de problemas de optimización combinatoria

La tesis está focalizada en la resolución de problemas de optimización combinatoria, haciendo uso de las opciones tecnológicas actuales que ofrecen las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones, y la investigación operativa. Los problemas de optimización combinatoria se resuelven en general mediante programación lineal y metaheurísticas. La aplicación de las técnicas de resolución de los problemas de optimización combinatoria requiere de una elevada carga computacional, y los algoritmos deben diseñarse, por un lado pensando en la efectividad para encontrar buenas soluciones del problema, y por otro lado, pensando en un uso adecuado de los recursos informáticos disponibles. La programación lineal y las metaheurísticas son técnicas de resolución genéricas, que se pueden aplicar a diferentes problemas, partiendo de una base común que se particulariza para cada problema concreto. En el campo del desarrollo de software, los frameworks cumplen esa función de comenzar un proyecto con el trabajo general ya disponible, con la opción de cambiar o extender ese comportamiento base o genérico, para construir el sistema concreto, lo que permite reducir el tiempo de desarrollo, y amplía las posibilidades de éxito del proyecto. En esta tesis se han desarrollado dos frameworks de desarrollo. El framework ILP permite modelar y resolver problemas de programación lineal, de forma independiente al software de resolución de programación lineal que se utilice. El framework LME permite resolver problemas de optimización combinatoria mediante metaheurísticas. Tradicionalmente, las aplicaciones de resolución de problemas de optimización combinatoria son aplicaciones de escritorio que permiten gestionar toda la información de entrada del problema y resuelven el problema en local, con los recursos hardware disponibles. Recientemente ha aparecido un nuevo paradigma de despliegue y uso de aplicaciones que permite compartir recursos informáticos especializados por Internet. Esta nueva forma de uso de recursos informáticos es la computación en la nube, que presenta el modelo de software como servicio (SaaS). En esta tesis se ha construido una plataforma SaaS, para la resolución de problemas de optimización combinatoria, que se despliega sobre arquitecturas compuestas por procesadores multi-núcleo y tarjetas gráficas, y dispone de algoritmos de resolución basados en frameworks de programación lineal y metaheurísticas. Toda la infraestructura es independiente del problema de optimización combinatoria a resolver, y se han desarrollado tres problemas que están totalmente integrados en la plataforma SaaS. Estos problemas se han seleccionado por su importancia práctica. Uno de los problemas tratados en la tesis, es el problema de rutas de vehículos (VRP), que consiste en calcular las rutas de menor coste de una flota de vehículos, que reparte mercancías a todos los clientes. Se ha partido de la versión más clásica del problema y se han hecho estudios en dos direcciones. Por un lado se ha cuantificado el aumento en la velocidad de ejecución de la resolución del problema en tarjetas gráficas. Por otro lado, se ha estudiado el impacto en la velocidad de ejecución y en la calidad de soluciones, en la resolución por la metaheurística de colonias de hormigas (ACO), cuando se introduce la programación lineal para optimizar las rutas individuales de cada vehículo. Este problema se ha desarrollado con los frameworks ILP y LME, y está disponible en la plataforma SaaS. Otro de los problemas tratados en la tesis, es el problema de asignación de flotas (FAP), que consiste en crear las rutas de menor coste para la flota de vehículos de una empresa de transporte de viajeros. Se ha definido un nuevo modelo de problema, que engloba características de problemas presentados en la literatura, y añade nuevas características, lo que permite modelar los requerimientos de las empresas de transporte de viajeros actuales. Este nuevo modelo resuelve de forma integrada el problema de definir los horarios de los trayectos, el problema de asignación del tipo de vehículo, y el problema de crear las rotaciones de los vehículos. Se ha creado un modelo de programación lineal para el problema, y se ha resuelto por programación lineal y por colonias de hormigas (ACO). Este problema se ha desarrollado con los frameworks ILP y LME, y está disponible en la plataforma SaaS. El último problema tratado en la tesis es el problema de planificación táctica de personal (TWFP), que consiste en definir la configuración de una plantilla de trabajadores de menor coste, para cubrir una demanda de carga de trabajo variable. Se ha definido un modelo de problema muy flexible en la definición de contratos, que permite el uso del modelo en diversos sectores productivos. Se ha definido un modelo matemático de programación lineal para representar el problema. Se han definido una serie de casos de uso, que muestran la versatilidad del modelo de problema, y permiten simular el proceso de toma de decisiones de la configuración de una plantilla de trabajadores, cuantificando económicamente cada decisión que se toma. Este problema se ha desarrollado con el framework ILP, y está disponible en la plataforma SaaS. ABSTRACT The thesis is focused on solving combinatorial optimization problems, using current technology options offered by information technology and communications, and operations research. Combinatorial optimization problems are solved in general by linear programming and metaheuristics. The application of these techniques for solving combinatorial optimization problems requires a high computational load, and algorithms are designed, on the one hand thinking to find good solutions to the problem, and on the other hand, thinking about proper use of the available computing resources. Linear programming and metaheuristic are generic resolution techniques, which can be applied to different problems, beginning with a common base that is particularized for each specific problem. In the field of software development, frameworks fulfill this function that allows you to start a project with the overall work already available, with the option to change or extend the behavior or generic basis, to build the concrete system, thus reducing the time development, and expanding the possibilities of success of the project. In this thesis, two development frameworks have been designed and developed. The ILP framework allows to modeling and solving linear programming problems, regardless of the linear programming solver used. The LME framework is designed for solving combinatorial optimization problems using metaheuristics. Traditionally, applications for solving combinatorial optimization problems are desktop applications that allow the user to manage all the information input of the problem and solve the problem locally, using the available hardware resources. Recently, a new deployment paradigm has appeared, that lets to share hardware and software resources by the Internet. This new use of computer resources is cloud computing, which presents the model of software as a service (SaaS). In this thesis, a SaaS platform has been built for solving combinatorial optimization problems, which is deployed on architectures, composed of multi-core processors and graphics cards, and has algorithms based on metaheuristics and linear programming frameworks. The SaaS infrastructure is independent of the combinatorial optimization problem to solve, and three problems are fully integrated into the SaaS platform. These problems have been selected for their practical importance. One of the problems discussed in the thesis, is the vehicle routing problem (VRP), which goal is to calculate the least cost of a fleet of vehicles, which distributes goods to all customers. The VRP has been studied in two directions. On one hand, it has been quantified the increase in execution speed when the problem is solved on graphics cards. On the other hand, it has been studied the impact on execution speed and quality of solutions, when the problem is solved by ant colony optimization (ACO) metaheuristic, and linear programming is introduced to optimize the individual routes of each vehicle. This problem has been developed with the ILP and LME frameworks, and is available in the SaaS platform. Another problem addressed in the thesis, is the fleet assignment problem (FAP), which goal is to create lower cost routes for a fleet of a passenger transport company. It has been defined a new model of problem, which includes features of problems presented in the literature, and adds new features, allowing modeling the business requirements of today's transport companies. This new integrated model solves the problem of defining the flights timetable, the problem of assigning the type of vehicle, and the problem of creating aircraft rotations. The problem has been solved by linear programming and ACO. This problem has been developed with the ILP and LME frameworks, and is available in the SaaS platform. The last problem discussed in the thesis is the tactical planning staff problem (TWFP), which is to define the staff of lower cost, to cover a given work load. It has been defined a very rich problem model in the definition of contracts, allowing the use of the model in various productive sectors. It has been defined a linear programming mathematical model to represent the problem. Some use cases has been defined, to show the versatility of the model problem, and to simulate the decision making process of setting up a staff, economically quantifying every decision that is made. This problem has been developed with the ILP framework, and is available in the SaaS platform.

Conservation of Computational Scientific Execution Environments for Workflow-based Experiments Using Ontologies

La reproducibilidad de estudios y resultados científicos es una meta a tener en cuenta por cualquier científico a la hora de publicar el producto de una investigación. El auge de la ciencia computacional, como una forma de llevar a cabo estudios empíricos haciendo uso de modelos matemáticos y simulaciones, ha derivado en una serie de nuevos retos con respecto a la reproducibilidad de dichos experimentos. La adopción de los flujos de trabajo como método para especificar el procedimiento científico de estos experimentos, así como las iniciativas orientadas a la conservación de los datos experimentales desarrolladas en las últimas décadas, han solucionado parcialmente este problema. Sin embargo, para afrontarlo de forma completa, la conservación y reproducibilidad del equipamiento computacional asociado a los flujos de trabajo científicos deben ser tenidas en cuenta. La amplia gama de recursos hardware y software necesarios para ejecutar un flujo de trabajo científico hace que sea necesario aportar una descripción completa detallando que recursos son necesarios y como estos deben de ser configurados. En esta tesis abordamos la reproducibilidad de los entornos de ejecución para flujos de trabajo científicos, mediante su documentación usando un modelo formal que puede ser usado para obtener un entorno equivalente. Para ello, se ha propuesto un conjunto de modelos para representar y relacionar los conceptos relevantes de dichos entornos, así como un conjunto de herramientas que hacen uso de dichos módulos para generar una descripción de la infraestructura, y un algoritmo capaz de generar una nueva especificación de entorno de ejecución a partir de dicha descripción, la cual puede ser usada para recrearlo usando técnicas de virtualización. Estas contribuciones han sido aplicadas a un conjunto representativo de experimentos científicos pertenecientes a diferentes dominios de la ciencia, exponiendo cada uno de ellos diferentes requisitos hardware y software. Los resultados obtenidos muestran la viabilidad de propuesta desarrollada, reproduciendo de forma satisfactoria los experimentos estudiados en diferentes entornos de virtualización. ABSTRACT Reproducibility of scientific studies and results is a goal that every scientist must pursuit when announcing research outcomes. The rise of computational science, as a way of conducting empirical studies by using mathematical models and simulations, have opened a new range of challenges in this context. The adoption of workflows as a way of detailing the scientific procedure of these experiments, along with the experimental data conservation initiatives that have been undertaken during last decades, have partially eased this problem. However, in order to fully address it, the conservation and reproducibility of the computational equipment related to them must be also considered. The wide range of software and hardware resources required to execute a scientific workflow implies that a comprehensive description detailing what those resources are and how they are arranged is necessary. In this thesis we address the issue of reproducibility of execution environments for scientific workflows, by documenting them in a formalized way, which can be later used to obtain and equivalent one. In order to do so, we propose a set of semantic models for representing and relating the relevant information of those environments, as well as a set of tools that uses these models for generating a description of the infrastructure, and an algorithmic process that consumes these descriptions for deriving a new execution environment specification, which can be enacted into a new equivalent one using virtualization solutions. We apply these three contributions to a set of representative scientific experiments, belonging to different scientific domains, and exposing different software and hardware requirements. The obtained results prove the feasibility of the proposed approach, by successfully reproducing the target experiments under different virtualization environments.

Analysing the complexity of the model-based decision making processes within the industrial management context

PURPOSE The decision-making process plays a key role in organizations. Every decision-making process produces a final choice that may or may not prompt action. Recurrently, decision makers find themselves in the dichotomous question of following a traditional sequence decision-making process where the output of a decision is used as the input of the next stage of the decision, or following a joint decision-making approach where several decisions are taken simultaneously. The implication of the decision-making process will impact different players of the organization. The choice of the decision- making approach becomes difficult to find, even with the current literature and practitioners’ knowledge. The pursuit of better ways for making decisions has been a common goal for academics and practitioners. Management scientists use different techniques and approaches to improve different types of decisions. The purpose of this decision is to use the available resources as well as possible (data and techniques) to achieve the objectives of the organization. The developing and applying of models and concepts may be helpful to solve managerial problems faced every day in different companies. As a result of this research different decision models are presented to contribute to the body of knowledge of management science. The first models are focused on the manufacturing industry and the second part of the models on the health care industry. Despite these models being case specific, they serve the purpose of exemplifying that different approaches to the problems and could provide interesting results. Unfortunately, there is no universal recipe that could be applied to all the problems. Furthermore, the same model could deliver good results with certain data and bad results for other data. A framework to analyse the data before selecting the model to be used is presented and tested in the models developed to exemplify the ideas. METHODOLOGY As the first step of the research a systematic literature review on the joint decision is presented, as are the different opinions and suggestions of different scholars. For the next stage of the thesis, the decision-making process of more than 50 companies was analysed in companies from different sectors in the production planning area at the Job Shop level. The data was obtained using surveys and face-to-face interviews. The following part of the research into the decision-making process was held in two application fields that are highly relevant for our society; manufacturing and health care. The first step was to study the interactions and develop a mathematical model for the replenishment of the car assembly where the problem of “Vehicle routing problem and Inventory” were combined. The next step was to add the scheduling or car production (car sequencing) decision and use some metaheuristics such as ant colony and genetic algorithms to measure if the behaviour is kept up with different case size problems. A similar approach is presented in a production of semiconductors and aviation parts, where a hoist has to change from one station to another to deal with the work, and a jobs schedule has to be done. However, for this problem simulation was used for experimentation. In parallel, the scheduling of operating rooms was studied. Surgeries were allocated to surgeons and the scheduling of operating rooms was analysed. The first part of the research was done in a Teaching hospital, and for the second part the interaction of uncertainty was added. Once the previous problem had been analysed a general framework to characterize the instance was built. In the final chapter a general conclusion is presented. FINDINGS AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The first part of the contributions is an update of the decision-making literature review. Also an analysis of the possible savings resulting from a change in the decision process is made. Then, the results of the survey, which present a lack of consistency between what the managers believe and the reality of the integration of their decisions. In the next stage of the thesis, a contribution to the body of knowledge of the operation research, with the joint solution of the replenishment, sequencing and inventory problem in the assembly line is made, together with a parallel work with the operating rooms scheduling where different solutions approaches are presented. In addition to the contribution of the solving methods, with the use of different techniques, the main contribution is the framework that is proposed to pre-evaluate the problem before thinking of the techniques to solve it. However, there is no straightforward answer as to whether it is better to have joint or sequential solutions. Following the proposed framework with the evaluation of factors such as the flexibility of the answer, the number of actors, and the tightness of the data, give us important hints as to the most suitable direction to take to tackle the problem. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS AND AVENUES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH In the first part of the work it was really complicated to calculate the possible savings of different projects, since in many papers these quantities are not reported or the impact is based on non-quantifiable benefits. The other issue is the confidentiality of many projects where the data cannot be presented. For the car assembly line problem more computational power would allow us to solve bigger instances. For the operation research problem there was a lack of historical data to perform a parallel analysis in the teaching hospital. In order to keep testing the decision framework it is necessary to keep applying more case studies in order to generalize the results and make them more evident and less ambiguous. The health care field offers great opportunities since despite the recent awareness of the need to improve the decision-making process there are many opportunities to improve. Another big difference with the automotive industry is that the last improvements are not spread among all the actors. Therefore, in the future this research will focus more on the collaboration between academia and the health care sector.

Computational and Experimental Modelling of Mooring Lines Dynamics for Offshore Floating Wind Turbines

El cálculo de cargas de aerogeneradores flotantes requiere herramientas de simulación en el dominio del tiempo que consideren todos los fenómenos que afectan al sistema, como la aerodinámica, la dinámica estructural, la hidrodinámica, las estrategias de control y la dinámica de las líneas de fondeo. Todos estos efectos están acoplados entre sí y se influyen mutuamente. Las herramientas integradas se utilizan para calcular las cargas extremas y de fatiga que son empleadas para dimensionar estructuralmente los diferentes componentes del aerogenerador. Por esta razón, un cálculo preciso de las cargas influye de manera importante en la optimización de los componentes y en el coste final del aerogenerador flotante. En particular, el sistema de fondeo tiene gran impacto en la dinámica global del sistema. Muchos códigos integrados para la simulación de aerogeneradores flotantes utilizan modelos simplificados que no consideran los efectos dinámicos de las líneas de fondeo. Una simulación precisa de las líneas de fondeo dentro de los modelos integrados puede resultar fundamental para obtener resultados fiables de la dinámica del sistema y de los niveles de cargas en los diferentes componentes. Sin embargo, el impacto que incluir la dinámica de los fondeos tiene en la simulación integrada y en las cargas todavía no ha sido cuantificada rigurosamente. El objetivo principal de esta investigación es el desarrollo de un modelo dinámico para la simulación de líneas de fondeo con precisión, validarlo con medidas en un tanque de ensayos e integrarlo en un código de simulación para aerogeneradores flotantes. Finalmente, esta herramienta, experimentalmente validada, es utilizada para cuantificar el impacto que un modelos dinámicos de líneas de fondeo tienen en la computación de las cargas de fatiga y extremas de aerogeneradores flotantes en comparación con un modelo cuasi-estático. Esta es una información muy útil para los futuros diseñadores a la hora de decidir qué modelo de líneas de fondeo es el adecuado, dependiendo del tipo de plataforma y de los resultados esperados. El código dinámico de líneas de fondeo desarrollado en esta investigación se basa en el método de los Elementos Finitos, utilizando en concreto un modelo ”Lumped Mass” para aumentar su eficiencia de computación. Los experimentos realizados para la validación del código se realizaron en el tanque del École Céntrale de Nantes (ECN), en Francia, y consistieron en sumergir una cadena con uno de sus extremos anclados en el fondo del tanque y excitar el extremo suspendido con movimientos armónicos de diferentes periodos. El código demostró su capacidad para predecir la tensión y los movimientos en diferentes posiciones a lo largo de la longitud de la línea con gran precisión. Los resultados indicaron la importancia de capturar la dinámica de las líneas de fondeo para la predicción de la tensión especialmente en movimientos de alta frecuencia. Finalmente, el código se utilizó en una exhaustiva evaluación del efecto que la dinámica de las líneas de fondeo tiene sobre las cargas extremas y de fatiga de diferentes conceptos de aerogeneradores flotantes. Las cargas se calcularon para tres tipologías de aerogenerador flotante (semisumergible, ”spar-buoy” y ”tension leg platform”) y se compararon con las cargas obtenidas utilizando un modelo cuasi-estático de líneas de fondeo. Se lanzaron y postprocesaron más de 20.000 casos de carga definidos por la norma IEC 61400-3 siguiendo todos los requerimientos que una entidad certificadora requeriría a un diseñador industrial de aerogeneradores flotantes. Los resultados mostraron que el impacto de la dinámica de las líneas de fondeo, tanto en las cargas de fatiga como en las extremas, se incrementa conforme se consideran elementos situados más cerca de la plataforma: las cargas en la pala y en el eje sólo son ligeramente modificadas por la dinámica de las líneas, las cargas en la base de la torre pueden cambiar significativamente dependiendo del tipo de plataforma y, finalmente, la tensión en las líneas de fondeo depende fuertemente de la dinámica de las líneas, tanto en fatiga como en extremas, en todos los conceptos de plataforma que se han evaluado. ABSTRACT The load calculation of floating offshore wind turbine requires time-domain simulation tools taking into account all the phenomena that affect the system such as aerodynamics, structural dynamics, hydrodynamics, control actions and the mooring lines dynamics. These effects present couplings and are mutually influenced. The results provided by integrated simulation tools are used to compute the fatigue and ultimate loads needed for the structural design of the different components of the wind turbine. For this reason, their accuracy has an important influence on the optimization of the components and the final cost of the floating wind turbine. In particular, the mooring system greatly affects the global dynamics of the floater. Many integrated codes for the simulation of floating wind turbines use simplified approaches that do not consider the mooring line dynamics. An accurate simulation of the mooring system within the integrated codes can be fundamental to obtain reliable results of the system dynamics and the loads. The impact of taking into account the mooring line dynamics in the integrated simulation still has not been thoroughly quantified. The main objective of this research consists on the development of an accurate dynamic model for the simulation of mooring lines, validate it against wave tank tests and then integrate it in a simulation code for floating wind turbines. This experimentally validated tool is finally used to quantify the impact that dynamic mooring models have on the computation of fatigue and ultimate loads of floating wind turbines in comparison with quasi-static tools. This information will be very useful for future designers to decide which mooring model is adequate depending on the platform type and the expected results. The dynamic mooring lines code developed in this research is based in the Finite Element Method and is oriented to the achievement of a computationally efficient code, selecting a Lumped Mass approach. The experimental tests performed for the validation of the code were carried out at the `Ecole Centrale de Nantes (ECN) wave tank in France, consisting of a chain submerged into a water basin, anchored at the bottom of the basin, where the suspension point of the chain was excited with harmonic motions of different periods. The code showed its ability to predict the tension and the motions at several positions along the length of the line with high accuracy. The results demonstrated the importance of capturing the evolution of the mooring dynamics for the prediction of the line tension, especially for the high frequency motions. Finally, the code was used for an extensive assessment of the effect of mooring dynamics on the computation of fatigue and ultimate loads for different floating wind turbines. The loads were computed for three platforms topologies (semisubmersible, spar-buoy and tension leg platform) and compared with the loads provided using a quasi-static mooring model. More than 20,000 load cases were launched and postprocessed following the IEC 61400-3 guideline and fulfilling the conditions that a certification entity would require to an offshore wind turbine designer. The results showed that the impact of mooring dynamics in both fatigue and ultimate loads increases as elements located closer to the platform are evaluated; the blade and the shaft loads are only slightly modified by the mooring dynamics in all the platform designs, the tower base loads can be significantly affected depending on the platform concept and the mooring lines tension strongly depends on the lines dynamics both in fatigue and extreme loads in all the platform concepts evaluated.