Author(s): Nie Zaichao; Wu Wenfeng; Qin Wanru; Wang Penghao
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Ice-infested waters; Air curtain barrier; Structural parameter optimization; Effective containment distance
Abstract: Aiming at the problems of poor adaptability and low efficiency of traditional oil spill containment equipment in the Arctic ice environment, the physical experiment of structural parameter optimization of air curtain oil boom in ice area environment was carried out. Based on the circulating water tank, an air curtain oil encirclement simulation system under the coupling condition of broken ice and transverse flow is constructed. The polypropylene model ice is used to simulate the 60 % broken ice coverage condition, and the low viscosity simulated oil is used to characterize the leakage oil. Taking the effective encirclement distance as the evaluation index, the influence of key structural parameters such as ventilation volume, jet hole diameter and hole spacing on the performance of air curtain oil encirclement is systematically studied. The results show that there are two typical failure modes : over-top failure and entrainment failure. Ventilation is the main controlling factor affecting the effect of oil containment. When the ventilation is less than 60 L / min, it is difficult for the air curtain to form a stable and effective oil containment barrier. Under the condition of the same ventilation rate, reducing the diameter of the jet hole can significantly improve the uniformity and compactness of the bubble plume and enhance the stability of the air curtain. Among them, the oil encirclement effect is the best under the condition of 1 mm aperture. The effect of hole spacing on the performance of encircled oil has obvious ventilation dependence. Under the condition of low to medium ventilation, smaller hole spacing is more conducive to the formation of continuous air curtain, while under the condition of high ventilation, moderate hole spacing shows better encircled oil effect. The research results reveal the main failure mechanism and the action law of structural parameters of air curtain surrounding oil in the complex environment of ice area, which can provide experimental basis for the optimal design and engineering application of oil spill emergency equipment in polar and ice waters.
Year: 2026