Accession Number:

AD1105475

Title:

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Model for Predicting Wellhead Oil Burning Efficiency at Bench and Intermediate Scales: Interim Report

Descriptive Note:

Technical Report,01 Aug 2016,31 Jul 2019

Corporate Author:

NAVAL RESEARCH LAB WASHINGTON DC WASHINGTON United States

Personal Author(s):

• Tuttle,Steven G.
• Kessler,David A.
• Fisher,Brian T.
• Skiba,Aaron W.
• Jacob,Rohit J.
• Pfutzner,Christopher J.

Report Date:

2020-07-30

Pagination or Media Count:

127.0

Abstract:

While wellhead burning has been an oil field hazard for generations, the oil exploration community has begun to view it as a potential spill response tool. Presently, there are significant gaps in the validated science to reliably and accurately predict the burn efficiency of a wellhead. A coupled, multi-physics spray combustion model has been developed and validated with multi-scale experiments for wellhead burning. Spray measurement and sub-scale burn efficiency measurement methods have been developed and applied to determine the behaviors that drive low wellhead burn efficiency. Analysis of potential wellhead spray conditions revealed that the worst-case discharge scenario may not create the worst-case spill scenario because lower flow rates produce thicker wellbore films, which lead to lower burn efficiencies.

Descriptors:

• petroleum
• combustion
• capping
• oil spills
• computational fluid dynamics
• environment
• films
• thin films

Subject Categories:

• Water Pollution and Control

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE