Leakage diffusion of underwater crude oil in wind fields

Leakage of underwater crude oil pipes causes severe pollution to soil and water, and results in great economic loss. To predict the diffusion area of spilled oil before it reaches the water’s surface and to reduce the time required for emergency response, numerical simulations were conducted on underwater spilled oil diffusion of bare crude oil pipes using FLUENT software. The influences of water-surface wind speed, leakage hole diameter, water velocity, and initial leakage velocity on oil diffusion were analyzed. The results revealed the following: (1) with wind blowing on the surface of the water, the vertical displacement of spilled oil jet-flow was affected by the combined action of water flow and wind, making it difficult for a high-speed jet-flow to form. A horizontal oil flow mostly moved in the direction of the bottom water, and frontier oil droplets dispersed quickly; (2) during the diffusion of spilled oil in water, the maximum horizontal displacement mostly increased linearly, while the maximum vertical displacement initially increased quickly and then slowed; (3) the greater the initial velocity and leakage hole diameter, the higher the oil jet-flow and the wider the diffusion area; the higher the water flow rate and water-surface wind speed, the smaller the vertical displacement of spilled oil. The existence of water-surface wind had no obvious influence on the horizontal displacement of underwater spilled oil.