Numerical Simulation of Oil Slicks Trajectories: A Tool for Risk Assesment in Pipeline Breakdown

The aim of this paper is to present a mathematical model and its numerical treatment to forecast oil spills trajectories in the sea. The knowledge of the trajectory followed by an oil slick spilled on the sea is of fundamental importance in the estimation of potential risks for pipeline and tankers route selection, and in combating the pollution using floating barriers, detergents, etc. In order to estimate these slicks trajectories a new model, based on the mass and momentum conservation equations is presented. The model considers the spreading in the regimes when the inertial and viscous forces counterbalance gravity and takes into account the effects of winds and water currents. The mass loss caused by oil evaporation is also considered. The numerical model is developed in generalized coordinates, making the model easily applicable to complex coastal geographies.