Modeling gas separation from a bent deepwater oil and gas jet/plume

Socolofsky et al. [Socolofsky, S.A., Leos-Urbel, A. and Adams, E.E., 1999. Draft final report: exploratory experiments with droplet plumes in a cross-flow. In Final Report: Experimental Study of Multi-Phase Plumes with a Lication to Deep Ocean Oil Spills. U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Contract No. 1435-01-98-CT-30964.] and Hugi [Hugi, C., 1993. Modelluntersuchungen von Blasenstrahlen fur die Seebeluftung. PhD thesis, Inst. f Hydromechanik u. Wasserwirtschaft, ETH, Zurich.] observed that gas could separate from the main jet/plume of an oil and gas mix under certain ambient cross-flow conditions. There are locations in deepwater where cross currents are significant (e.g., Gulf of Mexico). Out of the few models available for oil and gas behavior simulation under deepwater conditions, Johansen's [Spill Sci. Technol. Bull. 6 (2000) 103] is the only one that can take into effect the separation of gases from the main jet/plume. A strong ambient current causes a jet/plume to bend. Because gas rises faster than oil, it can separate from the bent plume. This gas separation can lower the neutral buoyancy level (NBL) of plume. Consequently, the overall trajectory of the oil droplets underwater and slicks at the water surface may vary significantly because the location of transition of the jet/plume mixing to the far-field turbulent mixing has drastically changed. In this paper, the turbulent, multi-phase (oil and gas) jet/plume in a cross-flow is modeled by using the integral Lagrangian control volume (CV) method. A comparison of the model results with the experimental data shows good agreement. A scenario for a deepwater blowout simulation shows that taking gas separation into account is very important in a bent plume. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.