Two-Dimensional Computational and Physical Modeling of High-Speed Oil Spill Containment Booms

The main measure of response to aquatic oil spills is the mechanical containment and recovery from the water surface. The majority of containment booms are not effective when the relative current/tow speed exceeds approximately 1 knot. A research study was conducted to assess the performance of some existing booms and to propose improved and novel boom concepts for use in high-speed situations. Studied booms included conventional single-skirt and L-shaped booms, and boom systems involving screens and ramped skirts. The study included two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulations and physical modeling experiments. The computational modeling utilized the open-source OpenFOAM toolbox briefly validated prior to computational modeling of high-speed boom concepts. The physical modeling component was conducted in a 95-m-long and 2-m-wide wave-current flume. Despite some differences in the details of what was computationally and physically modeled, the boom performance and containment success were generally consistent. Among several studied boom concepts, ramped-boom and screen-boom systems were most promising for the containment of light and medium oils in relative speeds of 2-3 knots.