This study presents the analyses of students’ preferences, satisfaction and perception of learning mathematical subjects at higher education maritime institutions in Croatia, Latvia, Estonia and Poland. All these institutions participate as project partners in the MareMathics project. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning mathematics, a preliminary student survey was conducted in all project partner institutions. Two indicators were analyzed: exam success rate and learning outcomes achieved. The developed online questionnaire contained a number of questions about the teaching methods and tools used by lecturers. Students assessed the impact of different teaching methods, expressed their satisfaction with learning materials, their impact on the results achieved by them, and the overall course. The analysis of the obtained data revealed that students faced difficulties in completing their tasks within subjects on mathematics and statistics. These research results lead to the conclusion that the used methods and tools of teaching mathematics and statistics, which are the essential influential factors on the overall satisfaction of students, are not effective and need to be modernized in the institutions under consideration. And this fact is crucial in the process of study and teaching of mathematical subjects as those subjects make up the base and necessary tools in learning other courses contained in the study program, especially in technical and engineering studies.

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The paper presents the results of simulation of marine diesel engine fuel injector malfunction and its effects on engine vibration. The work includes the analysis of the engine internal forces and their mathematical models. Simplifications are proposed to allow analyzing the system in one degree of freedom. The results of vibration simulations for the model with efficient fuel system and improperly adjusted injector are also presented. The comparison of simulation results with vibration measurements on the engine was also performed, the diagnostic model was identified and simulation errors were calculated. The complexity of other internal and external interactions is the subject of other studies by the authors. The paper analyzes only the effects of energy dissipation - vibration as a symptom of changes in the technical condition.

The paper presents the possibilities of using B-splines to determine a mathematical model in the form of linear differential equations describing the change of the motion parameters of floating objects depending on the values of the control signals. The elaborated identification system is a collection of algorithms including: approximation of input and output signals, optimal selection of differential equation coefficients and model verification. The basic spline functions were used to approximate the values of the input and output signals. The developed method was illustrated by an example of identification of underwater submarine motion equations describing the change in draft depth and trim angle depending on the difference between buoyancy force and ship’s weight.

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