Development of a unified oil droplet size distribution model with application to surface breaking waves and subsea blowout releases considering dispersant effects |
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| Authors: | Zhengkai Li Malcolm Spaulding Deborah French McCay Deborah Crowley James R Payne |
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| Institution: | 1. RPS ASA, South Kingstown, RI 02879, USA;2. Department of Ocean Engineering, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA;3. Payne Environmental Consultants, Inc., 1651 Linda Sue Lane, Encinitas, CA 92024, USA |
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| Abstract: | An oil droplet size model was developed for a variety of turbulent conditions based on non-dimensional analysis of disruptive and restorative forces, which is applicable to oil droplet formation under both surface breaking-wave and subsurface-blowout conditions, with or without dispersant application. This new model was calibrated and successfully validated with droplet size data obtained from controlled laboratory studies of dispersant-treated and non-treated oil in subsea dispersant tank tests and field surveys, including the Deep Spill experimental release and the Deepwater Horizon blowout oil spill. This model is an advancement over prior models, as it explicitly addresses the effects of the dispersed phase viscosity, resulting from dispersant application and constrains the maximum stable droplet size based on Rayleigh-Taylor instability that is invoked for a release from a large aperture. |
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| Keywords: | Oil droplet size Subsurface blowout release Subsurface dispersant injection Volume median diameter Oil entrainment |
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