Inclined boom system with hydrofoil for waters with waves

Containment booms are used to contain the spread of oil after a spill or inadvertent discharge to reduce the possibility of polluting shorelines. A study was carried out to design and build an innovative oil boom capable of collecting oil in waters with waves. The hydrofoils were effective at high flow rates and waves. At low flow rates, the two boom units relied chiefly on the Styrofoam flotation devices for stability. For experiments without waves, the collection efficiency ranged from a low of 95.9% at the highest velocity to a high of 99.6% at a low velocity. With waves, at least three forward waves were created for the high and intermediate velocities. At the low velocity, at least five forward waves were created. The collection efficiency ranged from a low average of 51.7% at the highest velocity to a high average of 69.3% at the intermediate velocity. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 28th Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program Technical Seminar (Calgary, Alberta 6/7-9/2005).