Integral models for bubble, droplet, and multiphase plume dynamics in stratification and crossflow

We present the development and validation of a numerical modeling suite for bubble and droplet dynamics of multiphase plumes in the environment. This modeling suite includes real-fluid equations of state, Lagrangian particle tracking, and two different integral plume models: an Eulerian model for a double-plume integral model in quiescent stratification and a Lagrangian integral model for multiphase plumes in stratified crossflows. Here, we report a particle tracking algorithm for dispersed-phase particles within the Lagrangian integral plume model and a comprehensive validation of the Lagrangian plume model for single- and multiphase buoyant jets. The model utilizes literature values for all entrainment and spreading coefficients and has one remaining calibration parameter κ , which reduces the buoyant force of dispersed phase particles as they approach the edge of a Lagrangian plume element, eventually separating from the plume as it bends over in a crossflow. We report the calibrated form κ = [ ( b - r ) / b ] 4 , where b is the plume half-width, and r is the distance of a particle from the plume centerline. We apply the validated modeling suite to simulate two test cases of a subsea oil well blowout in a stratification-dominated crossflow. These tests confirm that errors from overlapping plume elements in the Lagrangian integral model during intrusion formation for a weak crossflow are negligible for predicting intrusion depth and the fate of oil droplets in the plume. The Lagrangian integral model has the added advantages of being able to account for entrainment from an arbitrary crossflow, predict the intrusion of small gas bubbles and oil droplets when appropriate, and track the pathways of individual bubbles and droplets after they separate from the main plume or intrusion layer.