Estimating the Oil Droplet Size Distributions in Deepwater Oil Spills
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 133, Issue 2
Abstract
Oil released in a deepwater blowout breaks up into droplets. Hence, the time it takes for oil to reach the water surface, its location, and the size of the surface slick at a given time, are all affected by oil droplet sizes. Information on oil surfacing time, its location, and slick size are essential for emergency spill response as well as contingency planning. Despite the importance of the oil droplet size on oil fate in many oil spill problems, our ability to estimate oil droplet sizes has been poor. In this paper, methods are developed for a deepwater oil spill model to estimate the oil droplet size distribution generated due to an accidental release. Models for estimating oil droplet size distribution generated by a deepwater release are developed based on the maximum entropy formalism. The quality of results depends on the constraint equations used. The paper shows results using only the mass balance and specific surface area as constraint equations. The latter case showed markedly improved results. Model results for droplet size distribution are compared with limited experimental data.
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Acknowledgments
This study was partially supported by the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET) at the University of New Hampshire under the Subaward No. UNSPECIFIED04-840, and part of the prime award by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration under the prime Award No. UNSPECIFIEDNA 17OZ2607. The paper represents the views of the wriers. The writers would like to extend a special appreciation to Dr. Oistein Johansen (SINTEF) for help with data related to Deepspill field experiments.
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Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 133 • Issue 2 • February 2007
Pages: 197 - 207
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: May 2, 2005
Accepted: Mar 26, 2006
Published online: Feb 1, 2007
Published in print: Feb 2007
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