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Updated: Feb 17, 2026
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Microfluidic Devices for Characterizing Pore-scale Event Processes in Porous Media for Oil Recovery Applications
Published on: January 16, 2018
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Modeling characteristic size distribution parameters of oil droplets generated by breaking waves
Arsalan Mostaani1, Tor Nordam2, Emlyn J Davies3
1Department of Physics, NTNU, Høgskoleringen 5, Trondheim, 7034, Norway.
Marine Pollution Bulletin
|February 15, 2026
Summary
This study experimentally investigated natural oil dispersion in waves. Results show oil droplet size strongly depends on oil slick thickness, crucial for improving oil spill models.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Fluid Dynamics
- Oceanography
Background:
- Natural dispersion is a key process in oil spill fate.
- Understanding droplet size distribution is critical for accurate oil spill modeling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the natural dispersion of oil in a wave flume.
- To determine the relationship between oil slick thickness and droplet size distribution.
- To develop an improved model for early-stage droplet size distribution in oil spills.
Main Methods:
- Experiments were conducted in a wave flume with varying oil thicknesses and wave heights.
- Oil droplet size distributions were measured using the SilCam system.
- Measurements were taken at two locations for approximately 80 seconds post-wave breaking.
Main Results:
- The volume-based median droplet size (d50v) showed a clear dependence on the initial oil slick thickness.
- Droplet size distributions were recorded and analyzed over time following wave breaking.
Conclusions:
- Oil slick thickness is a significant factor influencing the size of dispersed oil droplets.
- The findings have implications for enhancing the accuracy of operational oil spill models.
- A new non-dimensional empirical function was developed for transient droplet size distribution modeling.
Keywords:
Breaking waveDroplet breakupDroplet size distributionEntrainmentOil slick thicknessOil spillMore Related Videos
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