600284045
FIELD MANUAL FOR PLUNGING WATER JET USE
IN OIL SPILL CLEANUP
James H. Nash
Mason and Hanger-Silas Mason Co., Inc.
Leonardo, NJ 07737
and
John S. Farlow
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Edison, NJ 08837
Contract No. 68-03-3056
Project Officer
John S. Farlow
Solid & Hazardous Waste Research Division
Oil & Hazardous Materials Spills Branch
Edison, New Jersey 08837
MUNICIPAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LABORATORY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
CINCINNATI, OHIO 45268
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DISCLAIMER
The information in this document has been funded wholly or in part by
the United States Environmental Protection Agency under contract number
68-03-3056 to Mason and Hanger-Silas Mason Co., Inc. It has been subject
to the Agency's peer and administrative review, and it has been approved
for publication as an EPA document. Mention of trade names or commercial
products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
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FORWARD
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was created because of
increasing public and government concern about the dangers of pollution to
the health and welfare of the American people. Noxious air, foul water,
and spoiled land are tragic testamonies to the deterioration of our natural
environment. The complexity of that environment and the interplay of its
components requires a concentrated and integrated attack on the problem.
Research and development is that necessary first step in problem
solution; it involves defining the problem, measuring its impact, and
searching for solutions. The Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory
develops new and improved technology and systems to prevent, treat, and
manage wastewater and solid and hazardous waste pollutant discharges from
municipal and community sources, to preserve and treat public drinking
water supplies, and to minimize the adverse economic, social, health, and
aesthetic effects of pollution. This publication is one of the products of
that research and provides a most vital communications link between the
researcher and the user community.
This report is a field manual intended for use by On-Scene Coordinators
(OSC's) and personnel responding to spills of oil and other floating
pollutants in currents too swift for conventional cleanup equipment. This
manual shows in detail how plunging water jets may be used to move the
floating pollutant laterally across the current into one of the naturally
occurring, low velocity areas (such as the inside of stream bends) where
conventional equipment can function effectively. Principles of operation
and instructions for rapid fabrication from locally available materials are
provided.
Francis T. Mayo, Director
Municipal Environmental Research
Laboratory
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ABSTRACT
The use of plunging water jets can often make possible the control
(and, as a consequence, the cleanup) of spilled oil and other floating
pollutants in currents too swift for conventional equipment. This short,
illustrated manual provides practical information for field and planning
personnel on the principles of plunging water jet operation, rapid fabri-
cation of the equipment (from readily available materials), and use in
the field.
The plunging water jet system is based on a concept first envisaged by
Mason and Hanger-Silas Mason Co., Inc.'s Michael Johnson (patent
pending) and developed under EPA sponsorship at the OHMSETT research
facility. Water jets aimed vertically downwards from above the water
surface carry entrained air into the water column. The expansion of this
air returning to the surface generates a horizontal surface current which
carries the floating pollutant laterally relative to the direction of
stream flow. This lateral motion can be used in a diversionary manner to
carry the floating pollutant into naturally occurring regions of the low flow,
where conventional equipment works efficiently. This system is relatively
'*»- unaffected by waves and works well in currents up to at least 6 knots.
This report was submitted in fulfillment of contract number 68-03-3056
by Mason and Hanger-Silas Mason Co., Inc. under the sponsorship of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. This report covers a period from
September through December 1982 under Job Order 108, and work was completed
as of July 1983.
IV
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CONTENTS
Forward i i 1
Abstract iv
Figures vi
Introduction 1
The Plunging Water Jet 1
The Cl eared Area 2
Fabrication 2
PIacement 3
Bibliography 5
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FIGURES
Number Page
la 3/4 view of a plunging water jet moving through still water 6
Ib Top view of plunging water jet moving through still water showing
both the crater area (center) and the "boil" (right) 6
2 Effective use of a plunging water jet in a curved stream depends
on observing the location of the fastest current region 7
3a Horizontal underwater view showing a stationary plunging water
jet just after it has been turned on 8
3b Horizontal underwater view showing the same stationary plunging
water jet several seconds later, when the surface current is
better devel oped 8
4 The horizontal surface current generated by a stationary plunging
water jet will clear a circular area of floating oil 9
5 The horizontal surface current generated by an advancing plunging
water jet will clear a parabolic area of floating pollutant,
as illustrated here by the air bubbles 9
6 Multiple, advancing plunging water jets can move moderate
amounts of floating oil horizontally almost any useful
di stance 10
7 Plunging water jets can be used to divert floating oil to a
low-current area on the inside of a stream bend 11
8 The components of a plunging water jet system are readily
obtainable 12
9 An outboard vessel 4 m long can be used as a mobile support for
a plunging water jet system 13
10 A high line suspension system can support a plunging water jet... 14
11 A tripod on the stream bottom can support a plunging water jet... 15
12 This vertical cross section of a plunging water jet shows the
factors affecting the radius of influence 16
vi
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FIGURES (continued)
Number Page
13 Radius of influence versus nozzle pressure 17
14 Radius of influence versus stream speed for increasing nozzle
pressures 17
15 An effective field method to locate the next plunging water jet
downstream and some important general features in the jet's
regi on of i nf 1 uence 18
vn
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INTRODUCTION
This manual is intended for the use of both managers and field
personnel concerned with the cleanup of spilled pollutants floating on fast
moving streams and estuaries. It will provide them with the detailed,
practical knowledge they need to use plunging water jets so that floating
pollutants can be moved from faster currents into slower areas in which
conventional spill cleanup equipment works effectively.
The concept on which this manual is based was first envisaged by
Michael G. Johnson in 1978 ("Plunging Water Jets for Oil Spill Containment
and Recovery", patent pending) and developed primarily with EPA sponsorship
in contracts with Mason and Hanger-Silas Mason Co., Inc., the OHMSETT
research facility operating contractor.
THE PLUNGING WATER JET
A plunging water jet is a stream of water (and entrained air) from a
simple, straight, 18-mm-diameter (3/4 in.) nozzle aimed vertically downwards
near the edge of a floating pollutant from a height of about 3/4 of a meter
(30 in.) (see Figures la & Ib).
The purpose of a plunging water jet is to generate a horizontal,
surface water current that will carry floating pollutants (such as oil)
laterally across fast-moving or still water to locations more desirable for
cleanup activities (Figure 2).
The entrained air in the plunging water jet's relatively small vertical
flow of water acts as a fluid amplifier, causing a large horizontal flow of
water across the polluted surface.
The relatively narrow, coherent, vertical flow of water propelled
downward through the nozzle under pressure strikes the natural water surface
and sets up a rimmed crater with a bow-wave effect (Figure 1). This bow
wave helps keep any natural current from carrying floating pollutant into
the jet impact area and, thus, reduces entrainment by the jet.
The water stream from the jet directed downward at the surface of the
polluted water body carries air with it down below the surface. After the
downward motion slows and stops, these air bubbles float back up in a
"cylinder" centered on the downward-flowing jet, expand, and induce an
upward flow of water 10 to 20 times greater than the downward flow through
the jet nozzle (Figures 3a & 3b). This upward, induced water flow appears
at the surface first as a "boil" and then as an outward-flowing (from the
boil) horizontal surface current. The smaller air bubbles, rising more
slowly than the larger ones, continue coming up over the next 15 or so
seconds and maintain the outward horizontal surface flow.
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THE CLEARED AREA
Where there is no natural surface current, the surface horizontal
currents resulting from the plunging water jet radiate out from it equally
in every direction. If the water surface is initially covered with a
floating pollutant, starting up the jet clears a circular area centered at
the point where the jet strikes the water surface (Figure 4). The diameter
of the cleared area depends on the amount of air entrained by the water jet;
the bigger the nozzle diameter and the greater the water pressure in the
nozzle, the stronger the induced horizontal surface currents and the larger
the cleared area.
Where there is a natural surface current initially carrying a floating
pollutant downstream, a plunging water jet clears a surface area shaped like
a parabola (Figure 5). The boil is near the head (focal point) at the up-
stream end of the parabola, and the major axis extends downstream parallel
to the direction of the current.
Water jets can serve as diversionary booms; tests have shown them to
be effective in nonbreaking waves and in streams flowing at speeds up to
6 knots. Moderate amounts of floating oil can be moved almost any useful
distance by a succession of offset water jet "parabolas" arranged en
echelon (Figure 6).
Water jets can be particularly useful in current conditions too fast
for conventional equipment. For example, floating pollutants in a fast
stream can be guided into naturally occurring portions of the stream (such
as the inside of bends) where the current is slow eonough for conventional
cleanup equipment to be used successfully (Figures 2 & 7). Another example
would be the use of water jets to divert a floating pollutant past threat-
ened water intakes or to keep it from drifting under docks.
Water jets can also be used in low current conditions to maintain a
clear area through which divers or equipment can enter and leave polluted
waters.
For both cases, vessel traffic and large debris can pass through the area
easily.
FABRICATION
a) One straight 0.2-m (7-in.) length of 36-mm (1.5 in) inside diameter
threaded pipe; a threaded, right angle elbow (same diameter); a
threaded reducer to go from 36 mm to 18 mm (3/4 in.) inside diameter;
and a straight 0.4-m (15 in.) length of 18-mm inside diameter pipe,
threaded on one end (Figure 8). Provision may be made on the 36-mm
pipe section for a pressure gage, if desired.
b) A (centrifugal) pump capable of at least 18.1 m^/h (80 gallons per
minute) at 138 kPa (20 Ib/sq. in.) and a suitable power source. Fire
pumps are particularly useful when a single pump is required to supply
more than one nozzle.
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c) The necessary hose and connectors to carry water from the source
(through a suitable strainer) to the pump, and from the pump to the
nozzle. The latter hose system should be at least 36 mm (1.5 in.)
in diameter.
d) A water supply for the pump (usually the same body of water the
pollutant is floating on).
e) A suitable support for each system, e.g., a boat or float of some sort
supporting the entire system (Figure 9); or the pump on a river bank
with the jet nozzle suspended on lines above the stream (Figure 10),
or supported by a boat or float in the stream, or fastened to a tripod
(Figure 11) or a piling on or in the stream bottom.
PLACEMENT
Water jets are primarily useful in moving a floating pollutant at right
angles to (across) existing stream currents (and NOT in opposing them
directly). Tests have shown that the average speed of the water leaving
the boil during its first second of escape is 0.75 m/s (150 ft/min). This
momentum is very short lived. Three to four seconds from the boil, the
average speed is down to 0.06 m/s (12 ft/min), and by 10 seconds, the speed
is practically zero. Therefore, even moderate stream currents will over-
whelm the effect of a water jet trying to oppose them directly. Water jets
are excellent for diverting and herding, but they should not be used to
contain a floating pollutant in the presence of a current.
The radius of influence R is the maximum distance, in meters, a water
jet can push a floating pollutant laterally. Its magnitude can be predicted
from the knowledge of four quantities, i.e., relative stream speed (U) and
the nozzle pressure (P), diameter (d), and height (h) of the nozzle from the
surface (Figure 12). Tests at EPA's OHMSETT research facility suggest that
a practical value for nozzle height h (above the still water surface) is
about 0.75 m (30 in.) and, for the inside nozzle diameter d, about 18 mm
(3/4 in.). The two remaining variables have been graphed in Figures 13 and
14 to summarize their effect on the radius of influence R. These two
variables are the nozzle pressure P and the horizontal speed U of the jet's
nozzle (boil) relative to the water body.
Where the horizontal distance the pollutant must be moved is so great
that more than one jet will be required, the following procedure may be
used to estimate the number needed.
1. Determine the total horizontal distance the pollutant is to be
moved by the jets, D.
2. Measure the average stream velocity U (e.g., by timing a floating
stick over a distance measured off on the stream bank).
3. From Figure 14, find the radius of influence R for the appropriate
stream velocity U and the available nozzle pressure P.
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4. Divide the distance the pollutant must be moved horizontally D by
the effective radius of influence in this situation R to obtain
the number of jets needed N (round up to the nearest whole number)
P = (number of water jets required)
R
5. To obtain the recommended spacing of the jets (Figure 15) in the
downstream direction, multiply U in meters (feet) per second by
12 seconds to get the separation in meters (feet).
U x 12 = separation
For clarity in presenting the concept, the stream flow is shown as
being straight in Figure 15. For a curved inland stream, however, the
distance separating successive jets must be measured along a curved path
(Figure 2). Note that the horizontal (bank to bank) variation in current
speed and the stream curvature also affect the radius of influence R.
The foam line at the edge of the parabola of jet influence must be
carefully observed, when actually installing water jets in the field. By
studying the foam line, placement of the next jet will be obvious (see
Figure 7, 15 and, especially, 2). In the fastest current, jets will be
spaced farther apart in the downstream direction (but the lateral offset
will be less). As slower regions are entered, however, the jets will be
closer together in the downstream direction (but the lateral offset will
be greater).
The field situation can be used to advantage. For example, a fallen
tree may deflect the flow from the bank toward the middle; the tree acts as
a water jet impacting the stream near the bank (Figure 7). Using the tree-
deflected water flow may make possible the use of one less water jet.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Breslin, Michael K., & M.G. Johnson (1980) OHMSETT Evaluation Tests:
Three Oil Skimmers and a Water Jet Herder. Cincinnati, OH, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Report #EPA-600/7-80-020.
2. Hires, Richard I., D.T. Valentine, & J.P. Breslin (June 1979)
Literature Search on Plunging Water Jets for Oil Spill Containment.
Internal Consulting Report prepared for Mason & Hanger-Silas Mason
Co., Inc. (under the Tatter's contract 68-03-2642 with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency).
3. Valentine, Daniel T., & Richard I. Hires (July 1979) Theoretical
Analysis to Predict the Performance of a Penetrating Water Jet in
Control 1 ing Oi1 Spi11s. Internal Consulting Report prepared for
Mason & Hanger-Silas Mason Co., Inc. (under the Tatter's contract
68-03-2642 with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).
4. Nash, James H., & Michael G. Johnson (1981) "Coherent, Plunging Water
Jets for Oil Spill Control." In Proceedings of the 1981 Oil Spill
Conference, American Petroleum Institute, Washington, D.C.
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Figure la. 3/4 view of a plunging water jet moving through still water.
Figure Ib. Top view of plunging water jet moving through still water
showing both the crater area (center) and the "boil" (right)
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8
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Figure 4. The horizontal surface current generated by a stationary
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Figure 5. The horizontal surface current generated by an advancing
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Floating oil
(horizontal stream
current shear and
curvature)
Detail A
Nozzle
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Figure 12. This vertical cross section of a plunging water jet
shows the factors affecting the radius of influence.
16
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TECHNICAL f<£CORT DATA
(I'lt'usf I- '"I InWiH'tH'is <>'i !'n' romr bcfiirf conifilcting)
HI I'ORT NO.
4 T"FIEALND MANUAL FOR PLUNGING WATER JET USE
IN OIL SPILL CLEANUP
; AuinORtSI
James H. Mash
9 PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS
Mason & Hanger - Silas Mason Co., Inc.
P.O. Box 220
Leonardo, NJ 07737
JLRESS
ONSQRING AGENCY.NAME AND ~uu."<;.>.> ... * /MI
Municipal Environmental Research LaboratoryCm., OH
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Cincinnati, OH 45268
3. RECIPIENT'S ACCESSION-NO.
5. REPORT DATE
6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE
8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NO.
1O. PROGRAM ELEMENT NO.
CBRD1A
It. CONTRACT/GRANT NO.
68-03-3056
13. T
ERIOO COVERED
14. SPONSORING AGENCY CODE
EPA/600/14
15. SUPPLEMENTARY
Project'bWceV: John S. Farlow (201) 321-6631
16. ABSTRACT . . . . , , , .
The use of plunging water jets can often make possible the control (and, as a
consequence, the cleanup) of spilled oil and other floating pollutants in currents too
swift for conventional equipment. This short, illustrated manual provides practical
information for field and planning personnel on the principles of plunging water jet
operation, rapid fabrication of the equipment (from readily available materials), and
use in the field.
The plunging water jet system is based on a concept first envisaged by Mason and
Hanger-Silas Mason Co., Inc.'s Michael Johnson (patent pending) and developed under EPA
sponsorship at the OHMSETT research facility. Water jets aimed vertically downwards
from above the water surface carry entrained air into the water column. The expansion
of this air returning to the surface generates a horizontal surface current which
carries the floating pollutant laterally relative to the direction of stream flow.
This lateral motion can he used in a diversionary manner to carry the floating pollu-
tant into naturally occurring regions of the low flow, where conventional equipment
works efficiently. This system is relatively unaffected by waves and works well in
currents up to at least 6 knots.
KE V WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
DESCRIPTORS
1° OlSIHIHUriONSTAMMINT
RELEASE TO PURLIC
I' IDENTIFIERS/OPEN ENDED TERMS C. COSATI I'ield/Group
i" -u cum I Y (i AT.S (Thi< Keixirtl
UNCLASSIFIED
II '.I CUHITY Cl AS!. / I'hil ftuif I
iJNCLASSIFIF.3
FT.", FC..,, J2ZO 1 (9 /K
21 NO OF PAGES
77 'TflCE
I
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