Abstract
Observations of the burning of a slick of fresh crude oil on water, including photographstaken from underneath the slick, have shown that the combustion is very violent for much of the burning time, with burning drops of oil ejected from the flame. At the same time, the slick is violently disturbed and considerable flame radiation is transmitted through it. The violent combustion appears to be the result mainly of eruptive vaporization of the light fractions of the crude. A simple model of oil slick burning is presented. It is one-dimensional and quasi-steady,and does not include liquid-phase processes. It does incorporate heat loss to the water substrate, initial absorption of radiation, decreasing as the slick burns, and the effect of wind on flame tilt and radiant heat feedback to the slick. The model predicts the minimum thickness for ignition, the unburned residue, the burning time, and the effect of wind on all three quantities.
Published Version
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