Modelling Surfactant-Fuel Thin Film Profile

Tankers carrying large amounts of explosive fuels are involved in transportation accidents; these incidents can cause catastrophic consequences. In the present, we specifically develop the governing equations to the mathematical model for the drainage of liquid in a thin film spread over a fuel spillage surface. Discretize the governing equations' numerical solution with the accompanying initial/boundary conditions on a staggered grid. We determine the rate of thinning and lifetime of films by tracking the velocity, drainage, and flux change of each connected region. In this research, the depletion of surfactant-fuel thin-film foam was attained by varying Reynolds number, Re to show that given different interface inertial forces to viscous forces, the surfactant-fuel thin-film foam shows different velocity, drainage, and flux profiles. The study simulation shows that for Re=0.01, 0.1, and 1 the velocity profile stabilizes after approximately 0.5m, and the flow continues. Surfactant-fuel thinfilm foam with Re=1 has the maximum and minimum velocities are less than that of Re=0.01 and Re=0.1. Re=10, the velocity profile stabilizes after approximately 0.8. Re greater than 1 shows the surfactant-fuel thin-film is depleted compared to when Re is less than 1. We conclude that to suppress the gas vapors and control the fire incidences, Re≠ ≫ 1. We recommended that there is a need to consider the effect of variation in temperature, velocity, besides Reynolds number, in determining the lifetime of a surfactant-fuel thin foam. There is a need to have an experimental analysis of the effect of varying other parameters such as the shear rate on the stability of the equilibrium interface or boundary between the fuel and soluble surfactant