Characterization and Modelling of Water Mixing Energies and Particle Behaviour during Wave Generation in CanmetENERGY-Devon Spill Test Tanks

The department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has constructed two oil spill test tanks at their CanmetENERGY-Devon (CED) facility, which are located in Alberta. These tanks have similar dimensions and design where both can control water temperature (1 to 30ºC) and one is located in an external building that allows air temperature to be –5 to 30 ºC. These tanks are open vessels which provide unique opportunities to study oil in water behavior under more realistic conditions than those that can be simulated in laboratory flasks due to size and experimental design. Compared to other spill test facilities available, these tanks are relatively small. However, their size and design are unique in that they allow for oil mass balance to be determined between evaporation, floatation on the water surface, and distribution between the water and sediment in the water column and bottom of the tank.

To maximize the impact of the research performed in these vessels, NRCan CED needs to characterize and benchmark the hydrodynamics of their two spill test tanks, which include their internal operations including mixing characteristics and energies need to be determined for depth of water used and frequency of waves generated.

In details, the objectives of this contract are to, at different water levels for both spill test tanks:

1. Characterize hydraulic at different water levels and frequencies of waves;

2. Estimate the mixing energy at various locations of the tank to quantify high-mixing and low- mixing zones;

3. Estimate the residence time of water in various compartments of the tank;

4. Simulate the hydrodynamics in the tank including the generation, propagation, and breaking of the waves;

5. Using the mathematical technique of particle tracking to estimate the movement of oil, sediment, and oil particle aggregates (OPA) to determine the residence time of each in each compartment of the tank;

6. Relate the functioning of the tank to larger wave tanks and to sea conditions.