Numerical Simulation of Ship Oil Spill in Arctic Icy Waters

Featured Application The trajectory and geometry of oil film could be predicted at a certain future moment to provide an effective method for the emergency treatment of maritime oil spill. Abstract This paper presents a three-dimensional numerical simulation model of an oil spill for application in emergency treatment methods under icy water conditions. The combined effects of wind, wave, current and ice implemented in our model correspond to Arctic Ocean conditions. A discrete element method combined with an overset grid was adopted to track the trajectory movements of oil film with medium-density ice floes and simulate the flow field of moving ice of large displacement in six degrees of freedom (6DOF). The probability of oil spill area extensions were estimated by a response surface method (RSM). Results showed reduced risk of pollution in icy water conditions and greater drift action of oil film. Accordingly, the spraying location and quantity of oil-dispersant could be rapidly specified.