TY - JOUR
T1 - Evolution of droplets in subsea oil and gas blowouts
T2 - Development and validation of the numerical model VDROP-J
AU - Zhao, Lin
AU - Boufadel, Michel C.
AU - Socolofsky, Scott A.
AU - Adams, Eric
AU - King, Thomas
AU - Lee, Kenneth
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was made possible by grants from the Department of Fisheries and Ocean Canada (DFO), Contract No. F5211-130060; the American Petroleum Institute, Oil Spill Response Joint Industry Task Force (JITF), D3 Subsea Dispersant Injection Modeling Team; and BP/The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, GISR. However, no endorsement of these sponsors is implied.
PY - 2014/6/15
Y1 - 2014/6/15
N2 - 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 0.5mm to 0.12m, and in cross-section average jet velocity at the orifice ranging from 1.5m/s to 27m/s. The d50/D obtained from the model (where d50 is the volume median diameter of droplets) correlated very well with data, with an R2=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.
AB - 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 0.5mm to 0.12m, and in cross-section average jet velocity at the orifice ranging from 1.5m/s to 27m/s. The d50/D obtained from the model (where d50 is the volume median diameter of droplets) correlated very well with data, with an R2=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.
KW - Dispersant
KW - Droplet size distribution
KW - Jets and plumes
KW - Oil deep spill
KW - Oil droplets
KW - Oil fate and transport
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84902116619&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84902116619&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.04.020
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.04.020
M3 - Article
C2 - 24780529
AN - SCOPUS:84902116619
SN - 0025-326X
VL - 83
SP - 58
EP - 69
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
IS - 1
ER -