Experimental investigation of oil leakage from damaged ships due to collision and grounding

The objective of the present paper is to study the oil flows from damaged ships with different tank designs during collision and grounding incidents. For this purpose, analytic models of instantaneous oil spills are proposed, and CFD simulations with FLUENT software were carried out. Experimental tests were also designed and performed. These experimental tests are intended to verify the performance of the proposed model and CFD simulations and to investigate the fluid dynamics of accidental oil spills caused by grounding and collision. The results from the tests provide some quantitative information on the behavior of oil spills from damaged tanks with different tank designs that are either below or above the waterline. The model tests also show how the space between the inner and outer hull will capture the oil that is spilled from the main cargo tank. The effectiveness of these spaces in terms of retaining the oil is influenced by the tank designs and opening conditions. In general, the double-hull design has the best performance, while the double-side and the double-bottom design help to reduce the oil spill and increase the oil spill time.