title: Development of a unified oil droplet size distribution model with application to surface breaking waves and subsea blowout releases considering dispersant effects.
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.
authors.affiliation: RPS ASA, South Kingstown, RI 02879, USA. Electronic address: Zhengkai.Li@rpsgroup.com.
authors.forename: Zhengkai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Engineering, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA.
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spaulding
authors.affiliation: RPS ASA, South Kingstown, RI 02879, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: French McCay
authors.affiliation: RPS ASA, South Kingstown, RI 02879, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crowley
authors.affiliation: Payne Environmental Consultants, Inc., 1651 Linda Sue Lane, Encinitas, CA 92024, USA.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Payne
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D003198:Computer Simulation; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010316:Particle Size; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014783:Viscosity; D014872:Water Movements; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Oil droplet size; Oil entrainment; Subsurface blowout release; Subsurface dispersant injection; Volume median diameter