Free Plume Research Articles

Feasibility study of underground CO2 storage through Water Alternative Gas (WAG) operation: A case study in Southwestern Ontario

Geological CO2 storage (GCS) offers a promising, low-risk, long-term solution for carbon sequestration. This study assesses the feasibility of GCS water-alternating-gas (WAG) operations in a brine formation targeted for the Western Ontario GCS plan. The Cambrian strata shows potential for CO2 storage but faces challenges like limited lateral extension and geopolitical issues from plume migration. To mitigate these risks, a deep evaluation of CO2 trapping mechanisms is crucial. CO2 dissolution into brine provides secure storage by reducing the free plume. The proposed WAG operation promotes dissolution, using a vertical equilibrium model coupled with a black oil model to estimate CO2 trapping proportions during and post-injection. The Taguchi design of experiments investigates various WAG scenarios with minimal simulations, reducing numerical costs. Sensitivity analysis/optimization of WAG parameters, including water extraction rate (WER), water injection rate (WIT), and CO2 injection time (CIT), ranked their effectiveness in CO2 dissolution. Optimal WAG operations can reduce the free plume by 49 % and increase the dissolution ratio from 0.26 to 0.52. CIT and WIT were found to be the most influential factors, contributing 42 % and 31 % to CO2 dissolution, and 43 % and 34 % to overall CO2 trapping, respectively, while WER exhibited a lower impact of 8–9%.

Experimental study on the temperature distribution of impingement flow in a double slope roof generated by jet fire

The double slope roof is a commonly used building structure due to its adequate drainage and stable structural features. The thermal impinging on the double slope roof generated by the jet fire caused many casualties and property damage, whose thermal hazard has not been quantified in literatures. The temperature distribution at different source-ridge heights (H), heat release rates (HRR), and roof angle (θ) was measured in the experiment, with a total of 125 sets of experimental conditions. Results show that the ceiling maximum temperature rise increases with the roof angle decreases. A maximum temperature rise prediction model was established based on the analysis of the free plume length beneath the roof, which considering the effect of θ. Moreover, the model's accuracy was validated by comparing previous experimental data. The mean deviation between the proposed model and the experimental results is less than 5.7 %. The rate of temperature decay beneath the ridge decreased as the θ decreased. When the H is smaller, and the HRR is larger, the influence of the θ on the temperature decay profile is more significant. A new correlation has been proposed to correlate the temperature decay profile of a double slope roof with different θ by introducing flame extension length to modify the characteristic radius b. The model prediction agreed well with the experimental data, with a maximum error of around 20 %. New findings are helpful in guiding the building fire prevention and detection design.

Gravity-driven flow in a cross-bedded porous rock

Many geological layers include cross bedding, which leads to different values for permeability along and across the bedding planes. We explore how such cross bedding impacts buoyancy-driven flow through an inclined aquifer. For each bedding angle and ratio of the permeability along and across the bedding, a free buoyancy-driven plume rises at a particular angle to the horizontal. If the angle of inclination of the aquifer to the horizontal is smaller than this angle, then the plume rises along the upper boundary, otherwise, somewhat surprisingly, the buoyant plume rises along the lower boundary of the aquifer. We present new laboratory experiments to support these predictions. We also test a model for the effective permeabilities which control the speed and the rate of spread of the plume along one or other boundary of the aquifer. We consider the impact of our results for modelling geological storage of ${\rm CO}_2$ or aquifer thermal energy storage.

Intranasal delivery of a synthetic Entamoeba histolytica vaccine containing adjuvant (LecA + GLA-3 M−052 liposomes): In vitro characterization

Amebiasis, a disease caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica, is estimated to cause millions of infections and at least 55,000 deaths globally each year. With no vaccine currently available, there is an urgent need for an accessible means of stimulating protective mucosal immunity. The objective of this study was to characterize the nasal spray of a novel amebiasis vaccine candidate from a syringe-based liquid atomization device, the Teleflex MAD Nasal™, in both adult and infant nasal airways.Human ergonomic testing was completed to determine realistic actuation parameters. Spray pattern, plume geometry, and droplet size distribution were measured to evaluate reproducibility of free plume characteristics. The Alberta Idealized Nasal Inlet (AINI) and three realistic infant nasal airways were used to determine the in vitro deposition profile in adult and infant airways, respectively.Collectively, in vitro results demonstrated the feasibility of delivering the vaccine candidate to target sites within the nasal airways. Penetration through the nasal airways that could lead to deposition in the lungs was below the limit of quantification for both adult and infant geometries, indicating a low likelihood of adverse events due to lung exposure. These results support continued investigation of intranasal delivery of the synthetic Entamoeba histolytica vaccine.

Exploring the elevated water vapor signal associated with the free tropospheric biomass burning plume over the southeast Atlantic Ocean

Abstract. In southern Africa, widespread agricultural fires produce substantial biomass burning (BB) emissions over the region. The seasonal smoke plumes associated with these emissions are then advected westward over the persistent stratocumulus cloud deck in the southeast Atlantic (SEA) Ocean, resulting in aerosol effects which vary with time and location. Much work has focused on the effects of these aerosol plumes, but previous studies have also described an elevated free tropospheric water vapor signal over the SEA. Water vapor influences climate in its own right, and it is especially important to consider atmospheric water vapor when quantifying aerosol–cloud interactions and aerosol radiative effects. Here we present airborne observations made during the NASA ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) campaign over the SEA Ocean. In observations collected from multiple independent instruments on the NASA P-3 aircraft (from near-surface to 6–7 km), we observe a strongly linear correlation between pollution indicators (carbon monoxide (CO) and aerosol loading) and atmospheric water vapor content, seen at all altitudes above the boundary layer. The focus of the current study is on the especially strong correlation observed during the ORACLES-2016 deployment (out of Walvis Bay, Namibia), but a similar relationship is also observed in the August 2017 and October 2018 ORACLES deployments. Using reanalyses from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2), and specialized WRF-Chem simulations, we trace the plume–vapor relationship to an initial humid, smoky continental source region, where it mixes with clean, dry upper tropospheric air and then is subjected to conditions of strong westward advection, namely the southern African easterly jet (AEJ-S). Our analysis indicates that air masses likely left the continent with the same relationship between water vapor and carbon monoxide as was observed by aircraft. This linear relationship developed over the continent due to daytime convection within a deep continental boundary layer (up to ∼5–6 km) and mixing with higher-altitude air, which resulted in fairly consistent vertical gradients in CO and water vapor, decreasing with altitude and varying in time, but this water vapor does not originate as a product of the BB combustion itself. Due to a combination of conditions and mixing between the smoky, moist continental boundary layer and the dry and fairly clean upper-troposphere air above (∼6 km), the smoky, humid air is transported by strong zonal winds and then advected over the SEA (to the ORACLES flight region) following largely isentropic trajectories. Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model (HYSPLIT) back trajectories support this interpretation. This work thus gives insights into the conditions and processes which cause water vapor to covary with plume strength. Better understanding of this relationship, including how it varies spatially and temporally, is important to accurately quantify direct, semi-direct, and indirect aerosol effects over this region.

Western Australia basalt-CO2-brine wettability at geo-storage conditions

HypothesisCO2 geo-storage is a technique, where millions of tonnes of CO2 are stored in underground formations every year for permanent immobilization to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Among promising geo-storage formations, basalt is attracting keen interest from researchers and industry. However, the literature severely lacks information on the wetting behaviour of basaltic rocks at geo-storage conditions. ExperimentsTo enable a more general statement of basalt-scCO2-brine contact angles, the wettability of a basalt from Western Australia was compared with a similar rock type from Iceland. This study reports the advancing and receding contact angles for a basalt-scCO2-brine system at pressures ranging from 0.1 to 20 MPa and temperatures of 298 and 323 K, respectively. Based on the experimental data, the amount of CO2, expressed by the column height, which could be safely trapped beneath the basalt was then calculated. FindingsThe basalt was initially water-wet but with increasing pressure, it was converted sequentially from a water-wet to an intermediate-wet and then finally into a completely CO2-wet template at pressures exceeding 15 MPa and 323 K. Under those experimental conditions, found in the field at depths below 1500 m, injected supercritical CO2 into a porous basalt reservoir is assumed to flow freely in lateral and vertical directions and is less impeded by capillary/residual trapping, potentially leading to CO2 leakage. It is suggested that the injection depth should not be chosen too deep to avoid increased free CO2 plume mobility. It is found from CO2 column height calculations that at 800 m depth (a minimum requirement to keep CO2 supercritical), the height of the CO2 column that can be safely trapped below the cap rock, was still 100 m but shrank to nil at ≥1500 m.

Evolution of a wall-attached buoyant plume in confined boxes: Direct numerical simulations, entrainment coefficient and an integral model

The evolution of a wall-attached plume in a confined box is studied here with the aid of three dimensional direct numerical simulations (DNS). The plume originates from a local line heat source of length, L, placed at the bottom left corner of the box. The Reynolds number of the wall plume, based on box height and buoyant velocity scale, is ReH=14530 and boxes of two different aspect ratios (ratio of box width to height) for a particular value of L are simulated. We observe that the plume develops along the vertical sidewall while remaining attached to it before spreading across the top wall to form a buoyant fluid layer and eventually moving downwards and filling the whole box. The original filling box model of Baines and Turner (1969) is modified to incorporate the wall shear stress, and the results from the DNS are compared against the new model. In modelling plumes, we find that the entrainment coefficient (α) for wall-attached plumes is reduced to approximately half of that in the free plume, and the main reason is a diminished contribution of turbulence production to α resulting from a restricted ability of the large-scale eddies to transport momentum. Also, unlike the free plume where away from the source inertial forces balances buoyancy forces, here in our simulations of wall-attached plumes this balance is marginally off, likely due to wall friction. A reasonable agreement is observed between our model and DNS data for the volume and momentum fluxes in the quiescent uniform environment and also for the time-dependent buoyancy profile calculated far away from the plume.

Vertically distributed wall sources of buoyancy. Part 1. Unconfined

Abstract

A comparison of entrainment in turbulent line plumes adjacent to and distant from a vertical wall

We present simultaneous two-dimensional measurements of the velocity and buoyancy fields on a central vertical plane in two-dimensional line plumes: a free plume distant from vertical boundaries and a wall plume, adjacent to a vertical wall. Data are presented in both an Eulerian and a plume coordinate system that follow the instantaneous turbulent/non-turbulent interface (TNTI) of the plume. We present measurements in both coordinate systems and compare the entrainment in the two flows. We find that the value of the entrainment coefficient in the wall plume is greater than half that of the free plume. The reduction in entrainment is investigated by considering a decomposition of the entrainment coefficient based on the mean kinetic energy where the relative contributions of turbulent production, buoyancy and viscous terms are calculated. The reduced entrainment is also investigated by considering the statistics of the TNTI and the conditional vertical transport of the ambient and engulfed fluid. We show that the wall shear stress is non-negligible and that the free plume exhibits significant meandering. The effect of the meandering on the entrainment process is quantified in terms of the stretching of the TNTI where it is shown that the length of the TNTI is greater in the free plume and, further, the relative vertical transport of the engulfed ambient fluid is observed to be 15 % greater in the free plume. Finally, the turbulent velocity and buoyancy fluctuations, Reynolds stresses and the turbulent buoyancy fluxes are presented in both coordinate systems.

Computation and physical explanation of the thermo-fluid-dynamics of natural convection around heated inclined plates with inclination varying from horizontal to vertical

The paper invokes the power of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for accurate determination of the detailed thermo-fluid-dynamics of natural convective flow around heated inclined plates, with an extensive experimental validation of the computed heat transfer results. The study provides fundamental physical insight through a comprehensive understanding of the behaviour of the contours of velocity, temperature and pressure as a function of inclination angle over the entire range from the vertical (γ=90°) to the horizontal (γ=0°). In particular, the present study documents, for the first time, qualitative and quantitative behaviour of the lift-off point at which the natural convective boundary layer converts into a free plume. Similarly, the details of the spatial evolution of the velocity profile and temperature profile in the plume as a function of the inclination angle of the plate are determined for the first time. It is shown how the relative importance of indirect pressure difference and direct buoyancy, as mechanisms of natural convection, changes as the inclination angle is gradually altered from the horizontal to the vertical. Through accurate computation (and ingenious representation) of the velocity, temperature and pressure fields at small intervals of the inclination angle, the subtle and complex thermo-fluid-dynamics in near-horizontal configurations is revealed. It is shown that the non-dimensional lift-off distance changes from 0.5 (middle of the plate) to 0.9816 (nearly the trailing edge) as the angle of inclination is changed from 0° to 15°. It is established that as the inclination angle is increased gradually from the horizontal position, the value of average Nusselt number Nu‾ initially decreases slightly, passes through a minimum point and then onward increases continuously up to the vertical position of the plate.

20 Years of Monitoring CO2-injection at Sleipner

The Sleipner CO2 injection project was the world's first industrial offshore CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) project with more than 16 Mt CO2 injected since 1996. Key monitoring insights from Sleipner are the dual interpretation of seismic and gravimetric monitoring surveys to quantify the free CO2 mass changes and plume geometry development as a function of time. The learnings from Sleipner have contributed to making guidelines for monitoring future CCS injection projects, showing that selection of monitoring technology and the timing and extent of monitoring surveys should be case specific and risk based, while also taking into account the long term nature of CCS projects.

Maximum temperature of thermal plume beneath an unconfined ceiling with different inclination angles induced by rectangular fire sources

The maximum temperature of thermal plume beneath an unconfined ceiling with different inclination angles induced by rectangular fire sources were investigated experimentally and theoretically. The experimental results show that the maximum temperature rise at the ceiling level with different ceiling inclination angles is proportional to that of a free fire thermal plume; and the maximum temperature rise increases according to the ceiling inclination angle when other experiment conditions remain unchanged for a given fire source; A new global non-dimensional correlation combined the effects of source-ceiling height, heat release rate, source aspect ratio and especially the ceiling inclination angle are proposed to predict the maximum temperature rise. The new proposed correlation can predict the maximum temperature rise beneath the ceiling induced by axisymmetric, rectangular and line fire sources uniformly. This work provides supplementary results over previous knowledge of temperature distribution beneath the inclined ceilings. It can also provide guidance for thermal risk assessment and fire safety design of open-styled spaces.

Emptying filling boxes – free turbulent versus laminar porous media plumes

We examine the transient evolution of a negatively buoyant, laminar plume in an emptying filling box containing a uniform porous medium. In the long time limit, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}\rightarrow \infty$, the box is partitioned into two uniform layers of different densities. However, the approach towards steady state is characterized by a lower contaminated layer that is continuously stratified. The presence of this continuous stratification poses non-trivial analytical challenges; we nonetheless demonstrate that it is possible to derive meaningful bounds on the range of possible solutions, particularly in the limit of large $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$ represents the ratio of the draining to filling time scales. The validity of our approach is confirmed by drawing comparisons against the free turbulent plume case where, unlike with porous media plumes, an analytical solution that accounts for the time-variable continuous stratification of the lower layer is available (Baines & Turner, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 37, 1969, pp. 51–80; Germeles, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 71, 1975, pp. 601–623). A separate component of our study considers time-variable forcing where the laminar plume source strength changes abruptly with time. When the source is turned on and off with a half-period, $\unicode[STIX]{x0394}\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}$, the depth and reduced gravity of the contaminated layer oscillate between two extrema after the first few cycles. Different behaviour is seen when the source is merely turned up or down. For instance, a change of the source reduced gravity leads to a permanent change of interface depth, which is a qualitative point of difference from the free turbulent plume case.

Determinação do volume específico de Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids a partir de espessuras aparentes de fase livre em poços de monitoramento: análise de sensibilidade dos parâmetros envolvidos

RESUMO: No presente artigo apresenta- se e discute-se a implantação de um modelo (algoritmo) derivado de um modelo teórico que foi desenvolvido com o propósito de determinar o volume específico (isto é, o volume de produto presente em subsuperfície por unidade de área planimétrica do aquífero) de Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (LNAPL), a partir de medidas de espessura de fase livre registradas em poços de monitoramento. Utilizando esse modelo, contabilizou- se o volume específico de óleo para um caso real de pluma de fase livre em um posto de abastecimento de combustíveis, localizado no estado do Paraná, Brasil. Por fim, foi realizada uma análise de sensibilidade dos principais parâmetros envolvidos, tomando- se como referência esse caso real. A estimativa de volume de óleo no meio poroso mostrou-se mais sensível aos parâmetros relacionados à massa específica aparente seca do solo, à distribuição do tamanho dos grãos e à porosidade do solo, seguindo essa ordem de relevância. Os parâmetros relacionados ao contaminante (massa específica do óleo e fatores de escala) foram os que menos impactaram nos resultados de volume específico de LNAPL no meio poroso, para as faixas de variação consideradas nesse trabalho. Os resultados obtidos apontam para a necessidade da medição de alguns parâmetros que não são usualmente medidos durante a etapa de investigação ambiental. Sugere-se, portanto, a inclusão da medição desses parâmetros na etapa de investigação ambiental de um sítio contaminado por LNAPL.

Plume Dynamics of Laser-Produced Swine Muscle Tissue Plasma.

We report on the plume dynamics of the plasma induced by laser ablation of a swine skeletal muscle tissue sample in different vacuum conditions. Pulses from a transversely excited atmospheric CO2 laser were focused onto a target sample and the induced plasma was allowed to expand in different air pressures. The expansion features were studied using fast photography of the overall visible emission by using a gated intensified charged coupled device. Free expansion and plume splitting were observed at different pressure levels. The expansion of the plasma plume front was analyzed using various expansion models and the velocity of the plume front was estimated. The effect of the number of accumulated laser shots on the crater volume at different ambient air pressures and an elemental analysis of the sample were performed using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis. The surface morphology of the irradiated surface showed that increasing the pressure of the ambient gas decreased the ablated mass, or in other words it reduced significantly the laser-target coupling.

Numerical study of the structure of thermal plume in a vertical channel: Effect of the height of canal

In this paper we propose to study numerically, by means of a software Named Calculation FDS, a thermal plume evolve from a source at the entrance to of a vertical channel. In the literature, there are researchers who interested in the interaction of plume with his the confinement medium. These studies are based on the determination of the global structure of plume confined. They found that this plume consists of three distinct zones. A first zone near source (instability zone) followed by a second zone, such as the development of plume, and a third zone which is the zone of turbulence, Comparing the overall structure of the plume confined to that of the free plume, we can identify the presence of a third zone (zone of instability). The aim is firstly to determine the height of the instability zone located above of source, and secondly, to make a spectral study frequencies exhaust. Thus, effects of the geometrical parameters on frequencies of these escapements and the height an instability zone. The final aim is to establish correlations between the dimensionless numbers of Strouhal and Grashof.

Optimizing the synthesis of vanadium–oxygen nanostructures by plasma plume dynamics using optical imaging

The effect of an oxygen atmosphere on the expansion dynamics of a laser-produced vanadium-oxygen plasma has been investigated using a fast intensified charged-coupled device camera. We find regimes of the plasma plume expansion ranging from a free plume at vacuum and low oxygen pressures, through collisional and shock-wave-like hydrodynamic regimes at intermediate oxygen pressure, finally reaching a confined plume with subsequent thermalization of the plume particles at the highest pressure of the oxygen gas. Vanadium oxide nanostructures thin films were synthesized from this plasma and the resulting vanadium oxide phases studied as a function of the plume dynamics. We found monoclinic vanadium dioxide (VO2) (M1) and VO2 (B) nanoparticles in thin films deposited at 0.05 mbar. Pure phases of vanadium trioxide (V2O3) smooth and pentoxide (V2O5) nanorods thin films were detected at 0.01 and 0.1 to 0.2 mbar, respectively. Thin films containing VO2 (M1) were found to have a reversible metal-to-insulator transition at 61°C. This work paves the way to VO phase control by judicious choice of laser and plasma conditions.

Characterisation of a thermal plume evolving in a confined environment: application to fire in tunnel

This investigation analyses the behaviour of a turbulent thermal plume evolving in a horizontal tunnel. The thermal plume is created by a hot disk. First, we studied the evolution of the thermal plume without ventilation system. The study of the average and fluctuating thermal and dynamic fields shows three zones during the vertical evolution of the free plume. A first zone close to the source, serving to the plume supply in fresh air, is characterised by the apparition of three exhausts of the thermal plume. Followed by a second zone where the main escape undergoes a contraction. Finally, a third zone where the thermal plume accumulates and undergoes a flow upstream named backlayering and a flow downstream that borders the ceiling to leave by the free part of the tunnel. We then determined the effects of the source site and longitudinal ventilation on the plume structure.

Experimental investigation of the free convection velocity boundary layer and plume formation region for a heated horizontal cylinder

Particle image velocimetry measurements were obtained in the free convection water flow around a heated horizontal cylinder for a Rayleigh number of 1.33×106 and a Prandtl number of 5.98. Radial and circumferential velocity were investigated within and just outside the velocity boundary layer in a vertical plane perpendicular to the cylinder axis. Radial and axial velocity were observed in the early plume development just above the top of the cylinder in a vertical plane parallel to and passing through the cylinder axis. The submersion depth of the top of the cylinder below the free water surface normalized by cylinder diameter ranged from H/D=2 to 8, which includes depths for which the plume sways and meanders in periodic motion. The effects of plume swaying and meandering on the velocity boundary layer and plume formation were investigated. It was found that the approach flow outside the boundary layer was affected by penetrative convection caused by swaying and meandering of the plume even though there is no horizontal confinement. Measurements within the boundary layer as it nears the plume formation region and within the plume formation region itself reveal that penetrative convection in the approach flow altered the boundary layer and these effects propagated downstream into the plume formation region. The data therefore identified a feedback loop for which the plume fluid returns to the boundary layer sustaining the swaying motion. A direct cause of meandering was not determined.

High-resolution magnetic susceptibility measurements for investigating magnetic mineral formation during microbial mediated iron reduction

Disimilatory iron-reducing bacteria play an important role in the reduction of Fe(hydr)oxides and the production of secondary solid-iron mineral phases that can have magnetic properties. Magnetic susceptibility can therefore play an important role in identifying zones where microbial-mediated iron reduction is occurring. We investigated the magnetic susceptibility variations in a hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer where methanogenesis and iron reduction are the main biogeochemical processes. Our objectives are to (1) determine the variability of magnetic susceptibility, (2) determine the hydrobiogeochemical controls on the magnetic susceptibility variability, and (3) evaluate the use of magnetic susceptibility as a viable technique for identifying zones where the coupling of iron and organic carbon cycling is occurring. Magnetic susceptibility data were acquired down 11 boreholes within contaminated and uncontaminated locations. We show that magnetic susceptibility values for boreholes within the free phase plume are higher than values for boreholes within the dissolved phase plume and background. Magnetic susceptibility values are highest within the zone of water table fluctuation with peaks predominantly occurring at the highest water table marks and are also coincident with high concentrations of dissolved Fe(II) and organic carbon content, suggesting that the zone of water table fluctuation is most biologically active. High magnetic susceptibility values within the vadose zone above the free phase plume are coincident with a zone of methane depletion suggesting aerobic or anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to iron reduction. Our results suggest that magnetic susceptibility can be used as a viable tool in iron and carbon cycling studies.