These are laboratory studies of the break up of oil, gas, and gas/oil mixtures discharging into a pressurized water environment. The interaction between gas bubbles and oil droplets under dynamic conditions simulating buoyant rise of this mixture were calculated. These experiments will be conducted in a high pressure test vessel located at the University of Hawaii. The experimental design simulated the release of hydrocarbon gases and fluids from a well blowout or pipeline rupture in deep water. The atmospheric pressure experiments were performed at MIT. The experimental results were incorporated into a deep water blowout numerical model being developed through a separate research project.
The final report was submitted April 19,2002. Initially, the report and research results were kept proprietary by the funding partners participating in the Project 'Deep Spill' Joint Industry Project (see Project 377 description). It has since been decided to release the research results and make the report publicly available.