Oil Leak Simulation Project

Mathematics of Engineering

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March - June 2019

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Author: Steven Sun

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Advisor: Prof. Frédéric Gibou

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Project Overview:​

• Constructed oil leak simulation recreating 2015 Refugio oil spill in Santa Barbara County, California

• Implemented numerical approximation methods (i.e. finite differences) in MATLAB based on fluid dynamics and ordinary differential equations to calculate oil advection and diffusion

• Created contour plot animation of real-time oil leak area for contamination identification near the three breaches

• Evaluated how high-viscosity fluid behaves in the ocean and calculated best reaction time

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Oil Leak Simulation in MATLAB (4x Speed):