Burning Oil at the North Pole

One of the clean-up methods used following an oil spill is to burn the fuel on the surface of the ocean. This generally works well, except in polar regions where the heat from the fire rapidly accelerates the melting of ice. Hamed Farahani at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is studying this phenomenon using laboratory experiments with the goal of improving the efficiency of combustion as a control for ocean pollution. Interview with University of Oxford Mathematician Dr Tom Crawford.

*Correction in titles: Worcester Polytechnic Institute

This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference.

Sponsored by FYFD, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and the UK Fluids Network. Produced by Tom Crawford and Nicole Sharp with assistance from A.J. Fillo.

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Featuring: H. Farahani et al. “Convection-driven melting in an n-octane pool fire bounded by an ice wall”

Burning of the liquid fuels adjacent to ice bodies creates a lateral cavity due to melting of the ice. The formation of lateral cavities are noticed recently and only a few experimental studies have addressed them. One study has shown lateral cavity formation with length of 12 cm for 5 minutes burning of oil. Based on the hypothesis that melting is facilitated by the convection in the liquid fuel, a series of PIV tests were conducted on burning of n-octane in a square glass tray with a 3 cm thick ice wall placed on one side of the tray. Marangoni generates a flow below the surface of the fuel and near the ice from hot to cold regions. The flow measurements by a 2D PIV system indicated the existence of different flow regimes. Before ignition, combined surface tension and buoyancy effects led to a one roll structure. After ignition the flow field began transitioning toward an unstable regime with an increase in velocity magnitude. Unfortunately, the PIV quality declined in the unstable regime, but indications of a multi-roll structure separating from a primary horizontal flow on the top driven by Marangoni convection were observed. The knowledge gained from these experiments will help determine the influential parameters in ice melting during burning of oil in ice-infested waters.

Publication: "Convection-driven cavity formation in ice adjacent to externally heated flammable and non-flammable liquids" H. Farahani et al.
Cold Regions Science and Technology Volume 154, October 2018, Pages 54-62 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2018.06.010

Special Thanks To:
Nicole Sharp
A. J. Fillo
Hamed Farahani
US Coast Guard

Видео Burning Oil at the North Pole канала Tom Rocks Maths