Numerical Simulation and Analysis of Transport and Fate of Penglai 19-3 Oil Spill

Abstract:

The numerical model of oil spill transport and fate in the Bohai Sea is set up by coupling with the hydrodynamic model. The change processes of spilled oil included in the model are drift, dispersion, evaporation, emulsification and so on. The drift process is simulated by the Lagrange method, while the turbulent dispersion process is considered by using the ‘Monte Carlo method’, turbulent dispersion of spilled oil changes over time by using the timevarying turbulent dispersion coefficient. The reasonable ranges of wind drag coefficient and the dispersion correction parameter b for Penglai 193 oil spill model obtained by calibration are 1.4~2.3% and 0.38~0.42, respectively. Then, the Penglai 193 oil spill accident in the Bohai Sea is used to verify the oil spill model by comparing the time and location of spilled oil arrival at shore, and the simulation results are consistent with the actual situation. The numerical results show that the wind, because of its large velocity and small change in direction, plays a major role on the drift of spilled oil floating on the water surface, and the drift direction of spilled oil is roughly the same with the main direction of wind. The effect of the tidal current, which is dominated by reversing current and rotary current with a very weak residual current, to the drift of spilled oil in Bohai Sea is less than the effect of the wind. The evaporation rate of spilled oil is quite large in the initial stage after oil spill, but significantly reduced in the later stage as a result of the reduction of the volatile fraction and the increase of the water content caused by emulsification. The reduction of floating oil is mainly caused by evaporation and sticking that are also the main fates of spilled oil.