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Project Number 102
Date of Summary July 26, 2005
Subject Analysis of Oil-Slick Combustion
Performing Activity National Institute of Standards and Technology, Large Fire Research Group
Principal Investigator Dr. Doug Walton, Dr. Nelson Bryner
Contracting Agency Minerals Management Service
Estimated Completion Completed
Description Research by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) focuses on the burning characteristics of crude oil fires on water; the composition of combustion products; and the dispersion and settling of particulate material in the smoke plume. Information from laboratory and mesoscale crude oil burns contributes to understanding the impacts of in-situ burning on the environment. Research underway will investigate the ignition and flame spread of difficult to ignite and burn high density oils and emulsions, complete the ALOFT smoke plume trajectory models; conduct heat and smoke measurements during field verification burns and develop a oil spill resource CD.

The ALOFT--FT (A Large Outdoor Fire plume Trajectory model), for flat terrain was completed. The model computes and displays the time-averaged, downwind concentration of particulate matter (soot) from in situ burn operations. The model can be used to estimate the safe distances from burn operations under a variety of meteorological conditions. The model works on a personal computer and is available for free via the Internet at: http://fire.nist.gov/aloft/. The ALOFT-CT model for complex terrain is complete and undergoing final beta testing. The ALOFT-CT model will work on a personal computer (more computational time is required), and when released will be available for free via the Internet.
Progress This project is now complete.

Reports
AN  PDF file (154 pages) Evans, D., Mulholland, G., Gross, D., Baum, H., Saito, K., Environmental Effects of Oil Spill Combustion, NBSIR 88-3822, National Bureau of Standards, Center for Fire Research, Gaithersburg, Maryland, September 1987.
DH PDF file (115 pages) Walton, William D. and Nora H. Jason, editors, In Situ Burning of Oil Spills, Workshop Proceedings, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 2-4, 1998.
DJ  PDF file (39 pages) Kulkarni, Anil K., Combustion of Oil and Water-in-Oil Emulsion Layers Supported on Water, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsuylvania State University, August 2000.

 

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