Status: AWARD END DATE: 11/30/2021

Background:

The dynamic effects of free‐bubble gas formation within deepwater marine drilling risers are a major issue for the offshore industry and recently emphasized in the CSB Macondo report.

In 2017, SSI received funding from National Academies of Science to study the dynamic effects of free‐bubble gas formation within deepwater marine drilling risers – a major issue for the offshore industry and emphasized in the CSB Macondo report. Over the past four years, researchers have:

• Elucidated the reason for the destructive potential and seemingly sudden nature of gas kick events
• Developed a new fast and sensitive detection method
• Carried out experimental demonstration
• Developed guidelines for implementation

The work produced several papers and in 2021 was highlighted at SPE, NAS and OTC. Please contact SSI if you’d like more information about this work.

• Zhou, G. and Prosperetti, A. Dripping instability of a two-dimensional liquid film under an inclined plane, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2022
• Zhou, G., Leach, L., Denduri, V.S., Wong, G.K., Krishnamoorti, R. and Prosperetti, A., Pressure difference method for gas kick detection in risers, Journal of Petroleum Engineering, 2021
• Zhou, G. and Prosperetti, A. Faster Taylor bubbles, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2021
• Leach, C., Zhou, G., Denduluri, V., Wong, G., Krishnamoorti, R, Prosperetti, A. A new fundamental understanding of gas in the drilling riser, Offshore Technology Conference, 2021, https://doi.org/10.4043/31248-MS
• Zhou, G. and Prosperetti, A. Capillary waves on falling films, Physical Review Fluids, volme 5, art. number 114005, 2020, doi 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.5.114005
• Zhou, G. and Prosperetti, A. A numerical study of mass transfer from laminar liquid films, Journal of Fluid Mechanics volume 902, art number A10, 2020
• Zhou, G. and Prosperetti, A. Violent expansion of a rising Taylor bubble, Physical Review Fluids, 2019