Structural Analysis of Oil-Spill Boom Grounding at Low Tide

Oil-spill booms in shallow waters and high tidal amplitudes could ground on the seabed and retain high amounts of seawater. The object of this study is to estimate the mooring force at both boom section ends and the occurrence of submarining observed along the crest line. We use a Lagrangian linear elastic membrane theory incorporating the non-linear Green strain tensor and a non-updated hydrostatic or hydrodynamic load. We describe a numerical method using geometrically non-linear finite elements and 2D vertical hydrostatic pressure estimation. The calculated results indicate the role of hydrostatic pressure caused by the water height difference—several centimeters at the mid-section—and the influence of the elasticity module. We consolidate the mooring force results by supposing 2D horizontal hydrodynamic pressure. We associate the current velocity that produces the same mooring force with that generated by the hydrostatic load. The associated Froude number is close to 0.8.