Abstract:
An experimental and analytical study of negatively buoyant jets
discharged vertically upward into a crossflow current was conducted
to obtain information on the fate of oil well produced water. This
information could be used to validate and calibrate the short and
intermediate term portions of a computer model used to predict the
disposal. The experimental results include the dilution arid plume
width, measured at selected incremental distances downstream of the
discharge. Independent parameters varied in this investigation were
the discharge densimetric Froude Number, and the ambient to discharge
velocity ratio. Results indicate that the Froude Number has the
greatest effect on dilution; decreasing the Froude Number increases
both dilution and plume width. Altering the velocity ratio has
little effect on dilution, but does affect plume width.
The analytical portion of this study includes a brief presentation of the background of plume modeling, the mathematical development
of the produced water computer model, and an outline of the procedure
for tuning the coefficents within the model using the experimental
results of this investigation.
It is expected that the results presented here are sufficient for
validating and calibrating the initial phases of the computer model.
Upon calibration and validation, the model can be used as a predictive
tool for determining the fate of negatively buoyant jets.
