Ohmsett

This was a Joint Industry Project (JIP) with Environment Canada to evaluate and optimize the design of an innovative oil spill containment barrier. The barrier uses high pressure water and fine droplets above and parallel to the water surface resulting in a high velocity local wind. This wind drives the surface oil in front of it but the near surface water layer is not as affected as it would be with conventional mechanical containment booms. Phase I of the project focused on field testing of various nozzle configurations and jet velocities.

The objective was to develop and verify an innovative test procedure for measuring the performance of offshore oil spill response equipment at sea, in the presence of an intentional oil spill. This evaluation was designed to verify the accuracy and reliability of a new nonpolluting and cost effective test procedure developed by Mason and Hanger under funding of the Oil and Hazardous Materials Simulated Test Tank (OHMSETT), Interagency Technical Committee (OTIC).