In Situ Burn Research

This project will focus on maturing the ignition system developed under OSRR #1092, and developing the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) launch module. This new work will advance the maturity of this ignition system to a TRL 7. The full-scale prototype of the technology will be tested and demonstrated with crude oil in the appropriate environment such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) for ignition capabilities in extreme conditions including waves, ice, wind, and current.

The long-term objective of this proof-of-concept study is to accelerate and cleanly burn crude oil through a novel heat-feedback system. The research will study the use of heat pipe technology to enhance in situ burns of crude oil by transferring heat from the flames back into the oil slick. In addition to heat pipes, air-flow guide vanes will be studied to induce flame swirl and surface catalyst coatings to crude oil breakdown and combustion will be studied. 
 
 

The Flame Refluxer is technology developed under BSEE OSRR Project #1068 that acts as a heat feedback system to enhance in situ burn operations. This new project will advance the technology readiness from a 6 to an 8 with the final integrated system tested in a real or relevant environment. Optimum materials and geometries will be studied for a bimetal heat collector intended for easy storage and deployment.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development (ORD) will peform real-time air emissions and residue testing on two BSEE-sponsored, outdoor in situ burn tests at the Army Corp of Engineer's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab (CRREL) in New Hampshire. ORD will assess emission and residue to characterize the combustion efficiency. ORD will also assess emissions on an additional BSEE OSRR project at CRREL and a crude oil combustion study at the Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Chesapeake Beach Detachment.

This is a continuation of design, fabrication, and testing of technology developed in E14PC00028. Field testing of Lamb-wave Detection Geo-Referencing Identification and Satellite (LDGRIDSAT) tag and Underwater Identification (UWID) tag will be tested off of Barrow, Alaska. ThIce Floe Tracking System (IFTS) will advance to a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 8 where the fully integrated system will be tested in a real environment. The technology will be ready for field use at the close of the project.

The overall objective of this study is to focus on understanding the parameters that govern fire whirls' behavior, including the flow structure, thermal composition, and emissions. Specifically, the structure and behavior of fire whirls over open water will be characterized, and experiments with varying parameters will be conducted to better understand the effects and advantages of fire whirls in in situ burning. Emissions at small- and large-scales, both with and without fire whirls, will be quantified.

The objective of this study is to conduct scale model laboratory experiments with three oil/water interface insulation systems to significantly reduce burn residue amounts and allow recovery of heavy burn residues. Specifically, three concepts will be tested: two passive oil/water interface insulation systems for in situ burning in fire booms and one passive system to induce th onset of a vigorous burn in a towed fire boom. The concept with the greatest promise will be further developed into a full-scale prototype for testing in relevant environments.

The objective of the project is to develop and test prototype technology and operational methods to significantly enhance in-situ burning and improve burner efficiencies.  The proof-of-concept will be demonstrated through lab-scale te4sting in waves with burning crude oil.  A protoype will be built by enhancing commercially available fire booms and a demonstration under realistic conditions.

The purpose of this ISB Ignition project is to improve ignition capabilities required for in situ burn operations. Conventional methods of ignition systems are all applied from above the spilled oil and have many limitations. This ignition device will ignite the oil from below the slick, require minimal human contact, and provide high heat flux over periods of time for use in the Arctic or for difficult-to-ignite oils (including emulsified oils).

The objective of this project is to conduct an oil spill response viability analysis for the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Gulf of Mexico (GOM).  This analysis will quantify the frequency and duration that a specific oil spill response strategy may not be feasible or ‘unduly’ impacted such that response effectiveness is judged to be degraded due to metocean conditions.  Conditions to be considered in the analysis include wind, sea state, salinity,  and visibility using available hindcast environmental data.