Evolution of droplets in subsea oil and gas blowouts: development and validation of the numerical model VDROP-J

Lin Zhao; Michel C Boufadel; Scott A Socolofsky; Eric Adams; Thomas King; Kenneth Lee

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.04.020

Evolution of droplets in subsea oil and gas blowouts: development and validation of the numerical model VDROP-J

Mar Pollut Bull. 2014 Jun 15;83(1):58-69. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.04.020. Epub 2014 Apr 26.

Authors

Lin Zhao¹, Michel C Boufadel², Scott A Socolofsky³, Eric Adams⁴, Thomas King⁵, Kenneth Lee⁶

Affiliations

¹ Center for Natural Resources Development and Protection, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
² Center for Natural Resources Development and Protection, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
⁴ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
⁵ Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Dartmouth, Canada.
⁶ Flagship of Wealth from Oceans, Commonwealth Scientific and Industry Research Organization (CSIRO), Perth, Australia.

PMID: 24780529
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.04.020

Abstract

The droplet size distribution of dispersed phase (oil and/or gas) in submerged buoyant jets was addressed in this work using a numerical model, VDROP-J. A brief literature review on jets and plumes allows the development of average equations for the change of jet velocity, dilution, and mixing energy as function of distance from the orifice. The model VDROP-J was then calibrated to jets emanating from orifices ranging in diameter, D, from 0.5 mm to 0.12 m, and in cross-section average jet velocity at the orifice ranging from 1.5 m/s to 27 m/s. The d50/D obtained from the model (where d50 is the volume median diameter of droplets) correlated very well with data, with an R(2)=0.99. Finally, the VDROP-J model was used to predict the droplet size distribution from Deepwater Horizon blowouts. The droplet size distribution from the blowout is of great importance to the fate and transport of the spilled oil in marine environment.

Keywords: Dispersant; Droplet size distribution; Jets and plumes; Oil deep spill; Oil droplets; Oil fate and transport.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Validation Study

MeSH terms

Computer Simulation
Models, Theoretical*
Petroleum Pollution*