Numerical simulations on the oil plume evolutions and the two critical aspects of emergent oil containment for ship collision-incurred oil spills

Abstract

Oil spill pollution from ships has always being a highly noteworthy topic in the field of marine pollution. Although shipping technology has developed rapidly in recent years, oil spills from ships have occurred over time. Analyzing the oil plume morphological evolution of ship collision-incurred oil spills is crucial for effective oil spill containment to prevent further pollution. Existing studies have not yet comprehensively examined the critical characteristic parameters of emergent containment. In this study, a three-dimensional multiphase VOF model based on a well-validated solver was developed to investigate oil plume development with a focus on the two critical aspects of emergent oil containment-Ls and Ts. Good validation results were achieved by analyzing the oil plume morphological evolution of oil spills from a rectangular tank. The verified model was then employed to evaluate the effects of the following parameters on Ls and Ts with the consideration of the effects of the ship model: For oil spills above the water surface, the cross-wind speed predominantly influences Ts with minimal impacts on Ls; In the case of underwater spill, the comprehensive influences of the ship draught-dSp, leakage port size-do, ambient current velocity-Uwater, ship model-current angle-θ and oil density-ρo on the oil plume development and the subsequent emergent containment were studied in detail. These results offer crucial insights into shaping the response to emergent oil containment following ship collision-induced oil spills.