Three-dimensional visualization of multi-phase (oil/gas/hydrate) plumes

Abstract Visualization of multi-phase jets and plumes is a relatively new subject. Discussions on how to visualize them have not been seen elsewhere. Multi-phase jets and plumes (e.g. a plume from a deep water blowout that consist of a mixture of oil, gas, and gas hydrates) undergo phase changes during the transport of fluids up the water column. Effectively visualizing all the pertinent jet or plume information in such a case is a challenge. This paper presents new and innovative ways of visualizing the fate of a multi-phase plume including how the phase changes occur. A comprehensive deep water blowout model is used to provide the input to the visualization program. The model is briefly described in the appendix and the model details are available in other published papers. The visualizations make it easier for the engineers as well as emergency response and other non-technical personnel to understand what happens to oil and gas when released from deep water. The paper also provides essential pseudo code for key algorithms