Author(s): Zhigang Li, Meirong Jiang, Jianxing Yu, Kongzhong Liu, Ying Jiang, Changtao Wang
Linked Author(s): Meirong Jiang
Keywords: Oil leakage, submarine pipeline, shallow water, hydrodynamic model, water depth
Abstract: Due to ship anchoring and operation, the oil leakage of the submarine pipeline has often occurred in the offshore. If the oil spill can be predicted, it will provide reference for the accident treatment and promote the quick resolution of the leakage. Based on the pressure drop and liquid holdup formula, the process calculation of the pipeline is carried out by the Three-Fluid model for an oilfield in shallow water. Different leakage apertures are considered to analyze the influence on the leakage velocity, amount and the inlet pressure. Then on account of the process result, a verified hydrodynamic model with the k-? turbulence equations is introduced to simulate a typical subsea pipeline leakage condition. Different water depths are considered to study the diffusing form and the arriving time to the surface. The lateral drifting distance and the diffusion range are also introduced to do the investigation quantitatively. The results show that, with the increase of the leakage aperture, the leakage amount increases obviously, but the decreasing amplitude of the leakage velocity and the inlet pressure are much smaller. The verified model can reflect the diffusion of the pipeline oil spill very well. With the increase of the water depth, the arriving time to the sea surface is increased significantly. But for the lateral drifting distance and the diffusion range, different trends with the depth are appeared at different time instants. The oil leakage model can do preliminary calculation and analysis for the spill trajectory and the diffusion range. It clearly shows the valuable ability to predict the submarine oil leakage in the shallow water area. This quantitative analysis could help in clean-up activities
Year: 2017