Modeling gas dissolution in deepwater oil/gas spills

Gases in deepwater oil/gas spills can lose considerable amounts of the gas phase due to dissolution in water. Gas dissolution has a significant impact on the behavior of the oil/gas jet/plume because of its impact on the buoyancy. A method is presented in this paper for computing gas dissolution that covers a broad range of water depth, from shallow water where gases behave as ideal ones under low pressure to deepwater where gases behave as non-ideal ones under high pressures. The method presented also accounts for the spherical and non-spherical shapes of gas bubbles. The gas dissolution computations are validated by comparing the computed results with observed data from previously conducted laboratory experiments, The gas dissolution computation module is then integrated with a model for underwater oil/gas jets/plumes by Yapa and Zheng [J. Hydraul. Res. 35 (5) (1997) 673]. Scenario simulations are presented to show the impacts of gas dissolution on the behavior of jets/plumes. These scenarios show the impact of dissolution on the behavior of the jet/plume. The comparison of results using ideal gas conditions and non-ideal gas conditions is also shown. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.