scholarly journals The DeepWater Horizon Oil Slick: Simulations of River Front Effects and Oil Droplet Size Distribution

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Robert Hole ◽  
Knut-Frode Dagestad ◽  
Johannes Röhrs ◽  
Cecilie Wettre ◽  
Vassiliki H. Kourafalou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Droplet Size ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Oil Droplet ◽  
River Input ◽  
Oil Slick ◽  
River Outflow ◽  
Oil Droplet Size

The effect of river fronts on oil slick transport has been shown using high resolution forcing models and a fully fledged oil drift model, OpenOil. The model was used to simulate two periods of the 2010 DeepWater Horizon oil spill. Metocean forcing data were taken from the data-assimilative GoM-HYCOM 1/50 ∘ ocean model with realistic daily river input and global forecast products of wind and wave parameters from ECMWF. The simulations were initialized from satellite observations of the surface oil patch. The effect of using a newly developed parameterization for oil droplet size distribution was studied and compared to a traditional algorithm. Although the algorithms provide different distributions for a single wave breaking event, it was found that the net difference after long simulations is negligible, indicating that the outcome is robust regarding the choice of parameterization. The effect of removing the river outflow was investigated to showcase effects of river induced fronts on oil spreading. A consistent effect on the amount and location of stranded oil and a considerable impact on the location of the surface oil patch were found. During a period with large river outflow (20–27 May 2010), the total amount of stranded oil is reduced by about 50% in the simulation with no river input. The results compare well with satellite observations of the surface oil patch after simulating the surface oil patch drift for 7–8 days.

scholarly journals The DeepWater Horizon Oil Slick: High Resolution Model Simulations of River Front Effects, Initialized and Verified by Satellite Observations

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Robert Hole ◽  
Knut-Frode Dagestad ◽  
Johannes Röhrs ◽  
Cecilie Wettre ◽  
Vassiliki H. Kourafalou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Droplet Size ◽  
Wave Breaking ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Single Wave ◽  
River Input ◽  
Oil Slick ◽  
River Outflow

The effect of river fronts on oil slick transport has been demonstrated using high resolution forcing models and a fully fledged oil drift model, OpenOil. The model system is used to simulate the 2010 DeepWater Horizon oil spill. Metocean forcing data are taken from the GoM-HYCOM 1/50° ocean model with realistic river input and ECMWF global forecast products of wind and wave parameters with 1/8° resolution. The simulations are initialized from satellite observations of the surface oil patch. OpenOil includes most of the relevant processes, such as emulsification, evaporation, wave entrainment, stranding and droplet formation. The model takes account of the actual oil type and properties, using the ADIOS oil weathering database of NOAA. The effect of using a newly developed parameterization for oil droplet size distribution is studied and compared to a traditional algorithm. Although the algorithms provide different distributions for a single wave breaking event, it is found that the net difference after long simulations is negligible, indicating that the outcome is robust regarding the choice of parameterization. That indicates that the wave entrainment, vertical mixing and re-surfacing mechanisms that are part of OpenOil are more important for determining the final droplet size spectrum than the spectrum prescribed for individual wave breaking events. In both cases, the size of the droplets controls how much oil is present at the surface and hence are subject to wind and Stokes drift. The effect of removing river outflow in the ocean model is investigated in order to showcase effects of river induced fronts on oil spreading. A consistent effect on the amount and location of stranded oil is found, and considerable impact of river induced fronts is seen on the location of the surface oil patch. During a case with large river outflow (May 20-27, 2010), the total amount of stranded oil is reduced by about 50% in the simulation with no river input. The results compares well with satellite observations of the surface oil patch.

scholarly journals Revisiting the DeepWater Horizon spill: High resolution model simulations of effects of oil droplet size distribution and river fronts

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars R. Hole ◽  
Knut-Frode Dagestad ◽  
Johannes Röhrs ◽  
Cecilie Wettre ◽  
Vassiliki H. Kourafalou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Droplet Size ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Stokes Drift ◽  
Single Wave ◽  
Oil Droplet ◽  
Resolution Model ◽  
Oil Droplet Size

Abstract. An open source ocean trajectory framework, OpenDrift, is used to simulate the 2010 DeepWater Horizon oil spill. Metocean forcing data are taken from the GoM-HYCOM 1/50° ocean model with realistic river input and ECMWF global forecasts of wind and wave parameters with 1/8° resolution. OpenDrift includes the integrated oil drift module OpenOil, which includes a number of relevant processes, such as emulsification, wave entrainment, and droplet formation. This takes account of the actual oil type/properties, using the ADIOS oil weathering database of NOAA. We investigate the effect of using a newly developed parameterization for oil droplet size distribution, compared to a traditional algorithm. Although the algorithms provide different distributions for a single wave breaking event, we find that the net difference after long time simulations is negligible, indicating that the outcome is robust regarding the choice of parameterization. In both cases, the size of the droplets controls how much oil is present at the surface and hence are subject to wind and Stokes drift. The oil droplet sizes are also relevant for the biological impact. Next, the effect of removing river outflow in the ocean model is investigated in order to showcase effects of river induced fronts on oil spreading. A consistent effect on the amount and location of stranded oil is found, and considerable impact is seen on the location of the surface oil patch.

An experimental study on oil droplet size distribution in subsurface oil releases

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 88-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianwei Li ◽  
Wei An ◽  
Huiwang Gao ◽  
Yupeng Zhao ◽  
Yonggen Sun
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Droplet Size ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Oil Droplet ◽  
Oil Droplet Size

scholarly journals Numerical Simulation of the Oil Droplet Size Distribution Considering Coalescence and Breakup in Aero-Engine Bearing Chamber

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (16) ◽  
pp. 5648
Author(s):  
Fei Wang ◽  
Lin Wang ◽  
Guoding Chen ◽  
Donglei Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Droplet Size ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Droplet Diameter ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Oil Droplets ◽  
Oil Droplet ◽  
Aero Engine ◽  
Oil Droplet Size ◽  
Engine Bearing

In order to improve the inadequacy of the current research on oil droplet size distribution in aero-engine bearing chamber, the influence of oil droplet size distribution with the oil droplets coalescence and breakup is analyzed by using the computational fluid dynamics-population balance model (CFD-PBM). The Euler–Euler equation and population balance equation are solved in Fluent software. The distribution of the gas phase velocity field and the volume fraction of different oil droplet diameter at different time are obtained in the bearing chamber. Then, the influence of different initial oil droplet diameter, air, and oil mass flow on oil droplet size distribution is discussed. The result of numerical analysis is compared with the experiment in the literature to verify the feasibility and validity. The main results provide the following conclusions. At the initial stage, the coalescence of oil droplets plays a dominant role. Then, the breakup of larger diameter oil droplet appears. Finally, the oil droplet size distribution tends to be stable. The coalescence and breakup of oil droplet increases with the initial diameter of oil droplet and the air mass flow increasing, and the oil droplet size distribution changes significantly. With the oil mass flow increasing, the coalescence and breakup of oil droplet has little change and the variation of oil droplet size distribution is not obvious.

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