FLUID-STRUCTURE INTERACTION ANALYSIS APPLIED TO OIL CONTAINMENT BOOMS

Abstract

ABSTRACT The most important aspect of the ongoing research project is to develop numerical coupled hydraulic-structural analysis models of oil containment booms. This should be later applicable for investigation of the efficiency limits of a new system of oil spill containment booms called Cavalli system. This system consists of surrounding the oil slick with a special boom and protecting it against waves and currents. It provides the possibility to divide the encircled area in several smaller circles and to increase the thickness of the oil slick inside. The whole system consists of a two-phase fluid (oil and water) and a boom that should be structurally stable for the pressure loads imposed by the fluids. It is finally important to evaluate the behaviour of the flexible skirt under different wave and current conditions, as almost all of existing research in the field have been undertaken for rigid barriers. To assess the behaviour of a flexible barrier fluid-structure interaction analysis is to be conducted. The problem is considered as a fluid-structure interaction problem as the boom usually undergoes large deformations and rotations, which modifies the flow characteristics during operation that is not the case for a rigid boom.