Aplicación de la celulosa bacteriana a la restauración del patrimonio bibliográfico y documental en papel

La preservación del patrimonio bibliográfico y documental en papel es uno de los mayores retos a los que se enfrentan bibliotecas y archivos de todo el mundo. La búsqueda de soluciones al problema del papel degradado ha sido abordada históricamente desde dos líneas de trabajo predominantes: la conservación de estos documentos mediante la neutralización de los ácidos presentes en ellos con agentes alcalinos, y su restauración mediante el método de laminación fundamentalmente con papel de origen vegetal. Sin embargo, no se ha explorado con éxito la posibilidad de reforzar la celulosa dañada, y el problema sigue sin encontrar una solución satisfactoria. Hasta el día de hoy, el desarrollo de tratamientos basados en biotecnología en la conservación del patrimonio documental ha sido muy escaso, aunque la capacidad de ciertas bacterias de producir celulosa lleva a plantear su uso en el campo de la conservación y restauración del papel. La celulosa bacteriana (CB) es químicamente idéntica a la celulosa vegetal, pero su organización macroscópica es diferente. Sus propiedades únicas (alto grado de cristalinidad, durabilidad, resistencia y biocompatibilidad) han hecho de este material un excelente recurso en diferentes campos. En el desarrollo de esta tesis se ha estudiado el uso de la celulosa bacteriana, de alta calidad, generada por Gluconacetobacter sucrofermentans CECT 7291, para restaurar documentos deteriorados y consolidar los que puedan estar en peligro de degradación, evitando así su destrucción y proporcionando al papel que se restaura unas buenas propiedades mecánicas, ópticas y estructurales. Se desarrollan asimismo protocolos de trabajo que permitan la aplicación de dicha celulosa. En primer lugar se seleccionó el medio de cultivo que proporcionó una celulosa adecuada para su uso en restauración. Para ello se evaluó el efecto que tienen sobre la celulosa generada las fuentes de carbono y nitrógeno del medio de cultivo, manteniendo como parámetros fijos la temperatura y el pH inicial del medio, y efectuando los ensayos en condiciones estáticas. Se evaluó, también, el efecto que tiene en la CB la adición de un 1% de etanol al medio de cultivo. Las capas de celulosa se recolectaron a cuatro tiempos distintos, caracterizando en cada uno de ellos el medio de cultivo (pH y consumo de fuente de carbono), y las capas de CB (pH, peso seco y propiedades ópticas y mecánicas). La mejor combinación de fuentes de carbono y nitrógeno resultó ser fructosa más extracto de levadura y extracto de maíz, con o sin etanol, que proporcionaban una buena relación entre la producción de celulosa y el consumo de fuente de carbono, y que generaban una capa de celulosa resistente y homogénea. La adición de etanol al medio de cultivo, si bien aumentaba la productividad, causaba un descenso apreciable de pH. Las capas de CB obtenidas con los medios de cultivo optimizados se caracterizaron en términos de sus índices de desgarro y estallido, propiedades ópticas, microscopía electrónica de barrido (SEM), difracción de rayos-X, espectroscopía infrarroja con transformada de Fourier (FTIR), grado de polimerización, ángulos de contacto estáticos y dinámicos, y porosimetría de intrusión de mercurio. Por otro lado hay que tener en cuenta que el material restaurado debe ser estable con el tiempo. Por ello esta misma caracterización se efectuó tras someter a las capas de CB a un proceso de envejecimiento acelerado. Los resultados mostraron que la CB resultante tiene un elevado índice de cristalinidad, baja porosidad interna, buenas propiedades mecánicas, y alta estabilidad en el tiempo. Para desarrollar los protocolos de trabajo que permitan la restauración con esta celulosa optimizada, se comienzó con un proceso de selección de los papeles que van a ser restaurados. Se eligieron tres tipos de papeles modelo, hechos con pasta mecánica, química y filtro (antes y después de ser sometidos a un proceso de envejecimiento acelerado), y tres libros viejos adquiridos en el mercado de segunda mano. Estos ejemplares a restaurar se caracterizaron también en términos de sus propiedades mecánicas y fisicoquímicas. El primer protocolo de restauración con CB que se evaluó fue el denominado laminación. Consiste en aplicar un material de refuerzo al documento mediante el uso de un adhesivo. Se seleccionó para ello la CB producida en el medio de cultivo optimizado con un 1% de etanol. Se aplicó un método de purificación alcalino (1 hora a 90 °C en NaOH al 1%) y como adhesivo se seleccionó almidón de trigo. El proceso de laminación se efectuó también con papel japonés (PJ), un material habitualmente utilizado en conservación, para comparar ambos materiales. Se concluyó que no hay diferencias significativas en las características estudiadas entre los dos tipos de materiales de refuerzo. Se caracterizó el material reforzado y, también, después de sufrir un proceso de envejecimiento acelerado. Los papeles laminados con CB mostraban diferencias más marcadas en las propiedades ópticas que los restaurados con PJ, con respecto a los originales. Sin embargo, el texto era más legible cuando el material de restauración era la CB. La mojabilidad disminuía con ambos tipos de refuerzo, aunque en los papeles laminados con CB de manera más marcada e independiente del material a restaurar. Esto se debe a la estructura cerrada de la CB, que también conduce a una disminución en la permeabilidad al aire. Este estudio sugiere que la CB mejora la calidad del papel deteriorado, sin alterar la información que contiene, y que esta mejora se mantiene a lo largo del tiempo. Por tanto, la CB puede ser utilizada como material de refuerzo para laminar, pudiendo ser más adecuada que el PJ para ciertos tipos de papeles. El otro método de restauración que se estudió fue la generación in situ de la CB sobre el papel a restaurar. Para ello se seleccionó el medio de cultivo sin etanol, ya que el descenso de pH que causaba su presencia podría dañar el documento a restaurar. El método de purificación elegido fue un tratamiento térmico (24 horas a 65 °C), menos agresivo para el material a restaurar que el tratamiento alcalino. Se seleccionó la aplicación del medio de cultivo con la bacteria mediante pincel sobre el material a restaurar. Una vez caracterizado el material restaurado, y éste mismo tras sufrir un proceso de envejecimiento acelerado, se concluyó que no hay modificación apreciable en ninguna característica, salvo en la permeabilidad al aire, que disminuye de manera muy evidente con la generación de CB, dando lugar a un material prácticamente impermeable al aire. En general se puede concluir que ha quedado demostrada la capacidad que tiene la celulosa generada por la bacteria Gluconacetobacter sucrofermentans CECT 7291 para ser utilizada como material de refuerzo en la restauración del patrimonio documental en papel. Asimismo se han desarrollado dos métodos de aplicación, uno ex situ y otro in situ, para efectuar esta tarea de restauración. ABSTRACT The preservation of bibliographic and documentary heritage is one of the biggest challenges that libraries and archives around the world have to face. The search for solutions to the problem of degraded paper has historically been focused from two predominants lines of work: the conservation of these documents by the neutralization of acids in them with alkaline agents, and their restoration by lining them with, basically, cellulose from vegetal sources. However, the possibility of strengthening the damaged cellulose has not been successfully explored, and the problem still persists. Until today, the development of biotechnology-based treatments in documentary heritage conservation has been scarce, although the ability of certain bacteria to produce cellulose takes to propose its use in the field of conservation and restoration of paper. The bacterial cellulose (BC) is chemically identical to the plant cellulose, but its macroscopic organization is different. Its unique properties (high degree of crystallinity, durability, strength and biocompatibility), makes it an excellent resource in different fields. The use of high-quality BC generated by Gluconacetobacter sucrofermentans CECT 7291 to restore damaged documents and to consolidate those that may be at risk of degradation, has been studied in this thesis, trying to prevent the document destruction, and to get reinforced papers with good mechanical, optical and structural properties. Protocols that allow the implementation of the BC as a reinforcing material were also developed. First of all, in order to select the culture medium that provides a cellulose suitable for its use in restoration, it has been evaluated the effect that the carbon and nitrogen sources from the culture medium have on the generated BC, keeping the temperature and the initial pH of the medium as fixed parameters, and performing the culture without shaking. The effect of the addition of 1% ethanol to the culture medium on BC properties was also evaluated. The cellulose layers were collected at four different times, characterizing in all of them the culture medium (pH and carbon source consumption), and the BC sheets (pH, dry weight and optical and mechanical properties). The best combination of carbon and nitrogen sources proved to be fructose plus yeast extract and corn steep liquor, with or without ethanol, which provided a good balance between the cellulose production and the consumption of carbon source, and generating BC sheets homogeneous and resistant. The addition of ethanol to the culture medium increased productivity but caused a noticeable decrement in pH. The BC layers generated with these optimized culture media, have been characterized in terms of tear and burst index, optical properties, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction, infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR), polymerization degree, static and dynamic contact angles, and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Moreover it must be kept in mind that the restored materials should be stable over time. Therefore, the same characterization was performed after subjecting the layers of BC to an accelerated aging process. The results showed that the BC sheets obtained have a high crystallinity index, low internal porosity, good mechanical properties, and high stability over time. To develop working protocols to use this optimized BC in paper restoration, the first step was to select the samples to restore. Three types of model papers, made from mechanical pulp, chemical pulp and filter paper (before and after an accelerated aging process), and three old books purchased in the second hand market, were chosen. These specimens to be restored were also characterized in terms of its mechanical and physicochemical properties. The first protocol of restoration with BC to be evaluated is called linning. It consists on applying a reinforcing material to the document using an adhesive. The BC produced in the optimized culture medium with 1% ethanol was selected. An alkali purification method (1 hour at 90 °C in 1% NaOH) was applied, and wheat starch was selected as adhesive. The linning process was also carried out with Japanese paper (JP), a material commonly used in conservation, in order to compare both materials. It was concluded that there are no significant differences in the characteristics studied of the two types of reinforcing materials. The reinforced materials were characterized before and after undergoing to an accelerated aging. Papers lined with BC showed more marked differences in the optical properties that papers restored with JP. However, the text was more readable when BC was the reinforcing material. Wettability decreased with both types of reinforcement, although in the papers linned with BC it happened more marked and independently of the sample to restore. This is due to the closed structure of BC, which also leads to a decrement in air permeance. This study suggests that BC improves the deteriorated paper quality, without altering the information on it, and that this improvement is maintained over time. Therefore, the BC may be used as reinforcing material for linning, being more suitable than the JP to restore certain types of papers. The other restoration method to be evaluated was the in situ generation of BC over the paper to restore. For this purpose the culture medium without ethanol was selected, as the pH decrement caused by his presence would damage the document to restore. As purification method a heat treatment (24 hours at 65 °C) was chosen, less aggressive to the material to restore than the alkaline treatment. It was decided to apply the culture medium with the bacteria onto the material to restore with a brush. The reinforced material was characterized before and after an accelerated aging process. It was concluded that there was no substantial change in any characteristic, except for air permeance, which decreases very sharply after the generation of BC, getting a substantially air impermeable material. In general, it can be concluded that the ability of BC produced by Gluconacetobacter sucrofermentans CECT 7291 for its use as a reinforcing material in the restoration of paper documentary heritage, has been demonstrated. Also, two restoration methods, one ex situ and another in situ have been developed.

Towards hand biometrics in mobile devices

The increasing demand of security oriented to mobile applications has raised the attention to biometrics, as a proper and suitable solution for providing secure environment to mobile devices. With this aim, this document presents a biometric system based on hand geometry oriented to mobile devices, involving a high degree of freedom in terms of illumination, hand rotation and distance to camera. The user takes a picture of their own hand in the free space, without requiring any flat surface to locate the hand, and without removals of rings, bracelets or watches. The proposed biometric system relies on an accurate segmentation procedure, able to isolate hands from any background; a feature extraction, invariant to orientation, illumination, distance to camera and background; and a user classification, based on k-Nearest Neighbor approach, able to provide an accurate results on individual identification. The proposed method has been evaluated with two own databases collected with a HTC mobile. First database contains 120 individuals, with 20 acquisitions of both hands. Second database is a synthetic database, containing 408000 images of hand samples in different backgrounds: tiles, grass, water, sand, soil and the like. The system is able to identify individuals properly with False Reject Rate of 5.78% and False Acceptance Rate of 0.089%, using 60 features (15 features per finger)

A comparative study on unconstrained hand biometrics

Biometrics applied to mobile devices are of great interest for security applications. Daily scenarios can benefit of a combination of both the most secure systems and most simple and extended devices. This document presents a hand biometric system oriented to mobile devices, proposing a non-intrusive, contact-less acquisition process where final users should take a picture of their hand in free-space with a mobile device without removals of rings, bracelets or watches. The main contribution of this paper is threefold: firstly, a feature extraction method is proposed, providing invariant hand measurements to previous changes; second contribution consists of providing a template creation based on hand geometric distances, requiring information from only one individual, without considering data from the rest of individuals within the database; finally, a proposal for template matching is proposed, minimizing the intra-class similarity and maximizing the inter-class likeliness. The proposed method is evaluated using three publicly available contact-less, platform-free databases. In addition, the results obtained with these databases will be compared to the results provided by two competitive pattern recognition techniques, namely Support Vector Machines (SVM) and k-Nearest Neighbour, often employed within the literature. Therefore, this approach provides an appropriate solution to adapt hand biometrics to mobile devices, with an accurate results and a non-intrusive acquisition procedure which increases the overall acceptance from the final user.

Influence of the Second Flexural Mode on the Response of High-Speed Bridges

This paper deals with the assessment of the contribution of the second flexural mode to the dynamic behaviour of simply supported railway bridges. Alluding to the works of other authors, it is suggested in some references that the dynamic behaviour of simply supported bridges could be adequately represented taking into account only the contribution of the fundamental flexural mode. On the other hand, the European Rail Research Institute (ERRI) proposes that the second mode should also be included whenever the associated natural frequency is lower than 30 Hz]. This investigation endeavours to clarify the question as much as possible by establishing whether the maximum response of the bridge, in terms of displacements, accelerations and bending moments, can be computed accurately not taking account of the contribution of the second mode. To this end, a dimensionless formulation of the equations of motion of a simply supported beam traversed by a series of equally spaced moving loads is presented. This formulation brings to light the fundamental parameters governing the behaviour of the beam: damping ratio, dimensionless speed $ \alpha$=VT/L, and L/d ratio (L stands for the span of the beam, V for the speed of the train, T represents the fundamental period of the bridge and d symbolises the distance between consecutive loads). Assuming a damping ratio equal to 1%, which is a usual value for prestressed high-speed bridges, a parametric analysis is conducted over realistic ranges of values of $ \alpha$ and L/d. The results can be extended to any simply supported bridge subjected to a train of equally spaced loads in virtue of the so-called Similarity Formulae. The validity of these formulae can be derived from the dimensionless formulation mentioned above. In the parametric analysis the maximum response of the bridge is obtained for one thousand values of speed that cover the range from the fourth resonance of the first mode to the first resonance of the second mode. The response at twenty-one different locations along the span of the beam is compared in order to decide if the maximum can be accurately computed with the sole contribution of the fundamental mode.

Design of a training tool for improving the use of hand-held detectors in humanitarian demining

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the design of a training tool intended to improve deminers' technique during close-in detection tasks. Design/methodology/approach – Following an introduction that highlights the impact of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and the importance of training for enhancing the safety and the efficiency of the deminers, this paper considers the utilization of a sensory tracking system to study the skill of the hand-held detector expert operators. With the compiled information, some critical performance variables can be extracted, assessed, and quantified, so that they can be used afterwards as reference values for the training task. In a second stage, the sensory tracking system is used for analysing the trainee skills. The experimentation phase aims to test the effectiveness of the elements that compose the sensory system to track the hand-held detector during the training sessions. Findings – The proposed training tool will be able to evaluate the deminers' efficiency during the scanning tasks and will provide important information for improving their competences. Originality/value – This paper highlights the need of introducing emerging technologies for enhancing the current training techniques for deminers and proposes a sensory tracking system that can be successfully utilised for evaluating trainees' performance with hand-held detectors.

Selected topics in the Hydrodynamics of floating offshore wind turbines: heave damping and second order surge motions

La Energía eléctrica producida mediante tecnología eólica flotante es uno de los recursos más prometedores para reducir la dependencia de energía proveniente de combustibles fósiles. Esta tecnología es de especial interés en países como España, donde la plataforma continental es estrecha y existen pocas áreas para el desarrollo de estructuras fijas. Entre los diferentes conceptos flotantes, esta tesis se ha ocupado de la tipología semisumergible. Estas plataformas pueden experimentar movimientos resonantes en largada y arfada. En largada, dado que el periodo de resonancia es largo estos puede ser inducidos por efectos de segundo orden de deriva lenta que pueden tener una influencia muy significativa en las cargas en los fondeos. En arfada las fuerzas de primer orden pueden inducir grandes movimientos y por tanto la correcta determinación del amortiguamiento es esencial para la analizar la operatividad de la plataforma. Esta tesis ha investigado estos dos efectos, para ello se ha usado como caso base el diseño de una plataforma desarrollada en el proyecto Europeo Hiprwind. La plataforma se compone de 3 columnas cilíndricas unidas mediante montantes estructurales horizontales y diagonales, Los cilindros proporcionan flotabilidad y momentos adrizante. A la base de cada columna se le ha añadido un gran “Heave Plate” o placa de cierre. El diseño es similar a otros diseños previos (Windfloat). Se ha fabricado un modelo a escala de una de las columnas para el estudio detallado del amortiguamiento mediante oscilaciones forzadas. Las dimensiones del modelo (1m diámetro en la placa de cierre) lo hacen, de los conocidos por el candidato, el mayor para el que se han publicado datos. El diseño del cilindro se ha realizado de tal manera que permite la fijación de placas de cierre planas o con refuerzo, ambos modelos se han fabricado y analizado. El modelo con refuerzos es una reproducción exacta del diseño a escala real incluyendo detalles distintivos del mismo, siendo el más importante la placa vertical perimetral. Los ensayos de oscilaciones forzadas se han realizado para un rango de frecuencias, tanto para el disco plano como el reforzado. Se han medido las fuerzas durante los ensayos y se han calculado los coeficientes de amortiguamiento y de masa añadida. Estos coeficientes son necesarios para el cálculo del fondeo mediante simulaciones en el dominio del tiempo. Los coeficientes calculados se han comparado con la literatura existente, con cálculos potenciales y por ultimo con cálculos CFD. Para disponer de información relevante para el diseño estructural de la plataforma se han medido y analizado experimentalmente las presiones en la parte superior e inferior de cada placa de cierre. Para la correcta estimación numérica de las fuerzas de deriva lenta en la plataforma se ha realizado una campaña experimental que incluye ensayos con modelo cautivo de la plataforma completa en olas bicromaticas. Pese a que estos experimentos no reproducen un escenario de oleaje realista, los mismos permiten una verificación del modelo numérico mediante la comparación de fuerzas medidas en el modelo físico y el numérico. Como resultados de esta tesis podemos enumerar las siguientes conclusiones. 1. El amortiguamiento y la masa añadida muestran una pequeña dependencia con la frecuencia pero una gran dependencia con la amplitud del movimiento. siendo coherente con investigaciones existentes. 2. Las medidas con la placa de cierre reforzada con cierre vertical en el borde, muestra un amortiguamiento significativamente menor comparada con la placa plana. Esto implica que para ensayos de canal es necesario incluir estos detalles en el modelo. 3. La masa añadida no muestra grandes variaciones comparando placa plana y placa con refuerzos. 4. Un coeficiente de amortiguamiento del 6% del crítico se puede considerar conservador para el cálculo en el dominio de la frecuencia. Este amortiguamiento es equivalente a un coeficiente de “drag” de 4 en elementos de Morison cuadráticos en las placas de cierre usadas en simulaciones en el dominio del tiempo. 5. Se han encontrado discrepancias en algunos valores de masa añadida y amortiguamiento de la placa plana al comparar con datos publicados. Se han propuesto algunas explicaciones basadas en las diferencias en la relación de espesores, en la distancia a la superficie libre y también relacionadas con efectos de escala. 6. La presión en la placa con refuerzos son similares a las de la placa plana, excepto en la zona del borde donde la placa con refuerzo vertical induce una gran diferencias de presiones entre la cara superior e inferior. 7. La máxima diferencia de presión escala coherentemente con la fuerza equivalente a la aceleración de la masa añadida distribuida sobre la placa. 8. Las masas añadidas calculadas con el código potencial (WADAM) no son suficientemente precisas, Este software no contempla el modelado de placas de pequeño espesor con dipolos, la poca precisión de los resultados aumenta la importancia de este tipo de elementos al realizar simulaciones con códigos potenciales para este tipo de plataformas que incluyen elementos de poco espesor. 9. Respecto al código CFD (Ansys CFX) la precisión de los cálculos es razonable para la placa plana, esta precisión disminuye para la placa con refuerzo vertical en el borde, como era de esperar dado la mayor complejidad del flujo. 10. Respecto al segundo orden, los resultados, en general, muestran que, aunque la tendencia en las fuerzas de segundo orden se captura bien con los códigos numéricos, se observan algunas reducciones en comparación con los datos experimentales. Las diferencias entre simulaciones y datos experimentales son mayores al usar la aproximación de Newman, que usa únicamente resultados de primer orden para el cálculo de las fuerzas de deriva media. 11. Es importante remarcar que las tendencias observadas en los resultados con modelo fijo cambiarn cuando el modelo este libre, el impacto que los errores en las estimaciones de fuerzas segundo orden tienen en el sistema de fondeo dependen de las condiciones ambientales que imponen las cargas ultimas en dichas líneas. En cualquier caso los resultados que se han obtenido en esta investigación confirman que es necesaria y deseable una detallada investigación de los métodos usados en la estimación de las fuerzas no lineales en las turbinas flotantes para que pueda servir de guía en futuros diseños de estos sistemas. Finalmente, el candidato espera que esta investigación pueda beneficiar a la industria eólica offshore en mejorar el diseño hidrodinámico del concepto semisumergible. ABSTRACT Electrical power obtained from floating offshore wind turbines is one of the promising resources which can reduce the fossil fuel energy consumption and cover worldwide energy demands. The concept is the most competitive in countries, such as Spain, where the continental shelf is narrow and does not provide space for fixed structures. Among the different floating structures concepts, this thesis has dealt with the semisubmersible one. Platforms of this kind may experience resonant motions both in surge and heave directions. In surge, since the platform natural period is long, such resonance can be excited with second order slow drift forces and may have substantial influence on mooring loads. In heave, first order forces can induce significant motion, whose damping is a crucial factor for the platform downtime. These two topics have been investigated in this thesis. To this aim, a design developed during HiPRWind EU project, has been selected as reference case study. The platform is composed of three cylindrical legs, linked together by a set of structural braces. The cylinders provide buoyancy and restoring forces and moments. Large circular heave plates have been attached to their bases. The design is similar to other documented in literature (e.g. Windfloat), which implies outcomes could have a general value. A large scale model of one of the legs has been built in order to study heave damping through forced oscillations. The final dimensions of the specimen (one meter diameter discs) make it, to the candidate’s knowledge, the largest for which data has been published. The model design allows for the fitting of either a plain solid heave plate or a flapped reinforced one; both have been built. The latter is a model scale reproduction of the prototype heave plate and includes some distinctive features, the most important being the inclusion of a vertical flap on its perimeter. The forced oscillation tests have been conducted for a range of frequencies and amplitudes, with both the solid plain model and the vertical flap one. Forces have been measured, from which added mass and damping coefficients have been obtained. These are necessary to accurately compute time-domain simulations of mooring design. The coefficients have been compared with literature, and potential flow and CFD predictions. In order to provide information for the structural design of the platform, pressure measurements on the top and bottom side of the heave discs have been recorded and pressure differences analyzed. In addition, in order to conduct a detailed investigation on the numerical estimations of the slow-drift forces of the HiPRWind platform, an experimental campaign involving captive (fixed) model tests of a model of the whole platform in bichromatic waves has been carried out. Although not reproducing the more realistic scenario, these tests allowed a preliminary verification of the numerical model based directly on the forces measured on the structure. The following outcomes can be enumerated: 1. Damping and added mass coefficients show, on one hand, a small dependence with frequency and, on the other hand, a large dependence with the motion amplitude, which is coherent with previously published research. 2. Measurements with the prototype plate, equipped with the vertical flap, show that damping drops significantly when comparing this to the plain one. This implies that, for tank tests of the whole floater and turbine, the prototype plate, equipped with the flap, should be incorporated to the model. 3. Added mass values do not suffer large alterations when comparing the plain plate and the one equipped with a vertical flap. 4. A conservative damping coefficient equal to 6% of the critical damping can be considered adequate for the prototype heave plate for frequency domain analysis. A corresponding drag coefficient equal to 4.0 can be used in time domain simulations to define Morison elements. 5. When comparing to published data, some discrepancies in added mass and damping coefficients for the solid plain plate have been found. Explanations have been suggested, focusing mainly on differences in thickness ratio and distance to the free surface, and eventual scale effects. 6. Pressures on the plate equipped with the vertical flap are similar in magnitude to those of the plain plate, even though substantial differences are present close to the edge, where the flap induces a larger pressure difference in the reinforced case. 7. The maximum pressure difference scales coherently with the force equivalent to the acceleration of the added mass, distributed over the disc surface. 8. Added mass coefficient values predicted with the potential solver (WADAM) are not accurate enough. The used solver does not contemplate modeling thin plates with doublets. The relatively low accuracy of the results highlights the importance of these elements when performing potential flow simulations of offshore platforms which include thin plates. 9. For the full CFD solver (Ansys CFX), the accuracy of the computations is found reasonable for the plain plate. Such accuracy diminishes for the disc equipped with a vertical flap, an expected result considering the greater complexity of the flow. 10. In regards to second order effects, in general, the results showed that, although the main trend in the behavior of the second-order forces is well captured by the numerical predictions, some under prediction of the experimental values is visible. The gap between experimental and numerical results is more pronounced when Newman’s approximation is considered, making use exclusively of the mean drift forces calculated in the first-order solution. 11. It should be observed that the trends observed in the fixed model test may change when the body is free to float, and the impact that eventual errors in the estimation of the second-order forces may have on the mooring system depends on the characteristics of the sea conditions that will ultimately impose the maximum loads on the mooring lines. Nevertheless, the preliminary results obtained in this research do confirm that a more detailed investigation of the methods adopted for the estimation of the nonlinear wave forces on the FOWT would be welcome and may provide some further guidance for the design of such systems. As a final remark, the candidate hopes this research can benefit the offshore wind industry in improving the hydrodynamic design of the semi-submersible concept.