EXTINGUISHING GAS AND OIL WELL FIRES

BY MEANS OF VORTEX RINGS

D. G. Akhmetov, Bo A . Lugovtsov,
and V. F. Tarasov

1. In connection with the d e v e l o p m e n t of the oil and gas deposits of W e s t e r n Siberia, p a r t i c u l a r i m -

portance is attached to the question of protecting the drilling and e x t r a c t i n g o p e r a t i o n s against f i r e h a z a r d s
and to the question of rapidly extinguishing f i r e s involving runaway wells.
At the p r e s e n t t h e r e a r e two p r i n c i p a l ways of extinguishing well fires: by m e a n s of powerful w a t e r jets
d i r e c t e d at the b a s e of the f l a m e o r by m e a n s of a g a s - w a t e r jet c r e a t e d by an a i r c r a f t t u r b o j e t engine [1].
The use of t h e s e methods r e q u i r e s a g r e a t deal of m a n p o w e r and s p e c i a l technology, l a r g e stocks of w a t e r and
m u c h p r e p a r a t i o n . Bringing the firefighting c r e w s and t h e i r equipment to the scene of the f i r e under the con-
ditions p r e v a i l i n g in W e s t e r n Siberia, w h e r e a i r c r a f t a r e the principal m e a n s of t r a n s p o r t , is an expensive
proposition. M o r e o v e r , m u c h t i m e is lost in setting up the equipment. In s o m e c a s e s the w e a t h e r conditions
m a y impede the use of the existing m e t h o d s of fighting well f i r e s .
The chief advantage of r e c e n t l y developed efficient methods of fighting well f i r e s is t h e i r simplicity,
speed and economy. T h e s e methods r e l y on the use of an explosive c h a r g e to c r e a t e a v o r t e x ring that acts on
the f l a m e as it t r a v e l s along the axis of the gusher.
The d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e s e techniques is the p r a c t i c a l outcome of e x p e r i m e n t a l and t h e o r e t i c a l r e s e a r c h
into turbulent v o r t e x r i n g s c a r r i e d out in recent y e a r s at the Institute of H y d r o d y n a m i c s , S i b e r i a n B r a n c h of
the A c a d e m y of Sciences of the USSR, at the initiative of L a v r e n t ' e v [2]. This a r t i c l e o f f e r s a qualitative
explanation of the v o r t e x - r i n g f l a m e quenching m e c h a n i s m and p r e s e n t s the r e s u l t s of l a b o r a t o r y , proving
ground and field t e s t s of the new method.
2. When the jet of gas e s c a p i n g f r o m the mouth of a d a m a g e d well ignites, it b u r n s in the diffusion r e g i m e .
In the f i r s t a p p r o x i m a t i o n , the s t r u c t u r e of the f l a m e t a k e s the f o r m shown in Fig. 1. The c h e m i c a l r e a c t i o n
t a k e s place in a thin l a y e r , which m a y be r e g a r d e d as the s u r f a c e where the fuel and o x i d i z e r c o n c e n t r a t i o n s
vanish, the diffusion flows to the s u r f a c e being in s t o i c h i o m e t r i c p r o p o r t i o n [3]. This s u r f a c e is called the
f l a m e front. The front begins at a c e r t a i n distance f r o m the well mouth and is stabilized along a c u r v e , the
position of which is d e t e r m i n e d by the c o m p o s i t i o n of the a i r - f u e l m i x t u r e at the edge of the jet and by the
condition of equality of the turbulent burning r a t e and the jet velocity. In the c a s e of a turbulent flow, which
obtains under actual field conditions, the above picture applies to the a v e r a g e flow and the a v e r a g e position of
the front. In well f i r e s the height of the f l a m e m a y r e a c h 80-100 m and the m a x i m u m f l a m e d i a m e t e r 10-15 m.

Fig. 1. F l a m e s t r u c t u r e . 1) F l a m e front;
2) beginning of front; 3) fuel jet.

N o v o s i b i r s k . T r a n s l a t e d f r o m F i z i k a G o r e n i y a i Vzryva, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp. 8-14, S e p t e m b e r - O c t o b e r ,

1980. Original a r t i c l e submitted A p r i l 8, 1980.

490 0010-5082/80/1605- 0490 $07.50 9 1981 Plenum Publishing C o r p o r a t i o n

 Fig. 2. S t r u c t u r e of the vortex ring.

3. The p o s s i b i l i t y of extinguishing a f l a m e by m e a n s of a v o r t e x ring follows f r o m the s t r u c t u r e of the

flow a s s o c i a t e d with its motion. The p r o p e r t i e s and motion of vorte~ r i n g s have now b e e n thoroughly studied
[2, 4-8]. In an a i r m e d i u m the f o r m a t i o n of a v o r t e x r i n g is a s s o c i a t e d with the i m p u l s i v e motion of a finite
volume of a i r o r g~as. The v o r t e x ring f o r m e d p r o g r e s s e s , t r a v e l i n g a c o n s i d e r a b l e distance as c o m p a r e d to
its own s i z e . In its motion the v o r t e x ring is a c c o m p a n i e d by a c e r t a i n volume of gas, the " a t m o s p h e r e " of the
ring, whose shape is c o m p a r a b l e to that of an ellipsoid of revolution flattened in the d i r e c t i o n of motion. In
the coordinate s y s t e m tied to the vortex, the motion of the s u r r o u n d i n g m e d i u m coincides with the p a t t e r n of
n o n s e p a r a t e d flow around the c o r r e s p o n d i n g solid.
The e x p e r i m e n t a l investigation of the velocity field by m e a n s of a h o t - w i r e a n e m o m e t e r showed [6] that
the v o r t i c i t y is m a i n l y c o n c e n t r a t e d in a t o r o i d a l c o r e whose t r a n s v e r s e d i m e n s i o n is s m a l l a s c o m p a r e d with
the d i m e n s i o n s of the " a t m o s p h e r e " of the vortex ring. It was e s t a b l i s h e d that the m a x i m u m velocity is
r e a c h e d at the edge of the c o r e and is s e v e r a l t i m e s g r e a t e r than the f o r w a r d velocity of the ring.
Depending on the method of f o r m a t i o n , vortex rings can be divided into two types: i m p u l s i v e rings a r e
f o r m e d by expelling a quantity of gas (air) f r o m a tube or c i r c u l a r o r i f i c e , while floating rings a r e f o r m e d in
connection with the ascent of a c o m p a c t cloud of light gas in the a t m o s p h e r e . The b e s t known e x a m p l e s of
such rings a r e the s m o k e r i n g s blown by s m o k e r s and the m u s h r o o m cloud r e s u l t i n g f r o m an a t o m i c explosion.
In p r a c t i c e , i m p u l s i v e v o r t e x r i n g s can be obtained, e.g.-, by detonating a s m a l l c h a r g e of explosive at the bot-
t o m of a c y l i n d r i c a l tube. In t h i s c a s e the initial velocity of the v o r t e x ring m a y r e a c h 100 m / s e c , and the
initial radius of the ring R is equal to 1-1.5 tube radii. The t o t a l path t r a v e l l e d by a ring with R =1 m m a y be
hundreds of m e t e r s . Floating rings a r e obtained b y rapidly burning fuel o r exploding open c h a r g e s of explosive.
The n e c e s s a r y conditions for obtaining a vortex ring with specified initial d i m e n s i o n s and velocity can be
d e t e r m i n e d f r o m the e x p e r i m e n t a l data [7].
F r o m e x p e r i m e n t a l o b s e r v a t i o n s it follows that depending on the value of the Reynolds n u m b e r Re,
d e t e r m i n e d f r o m the initial values of the radius and f o r w a r d velocity of the v o r t e x ring, t h e r e a r e two t y p e s of
m o t i o m l a m i n a r and t u r b u l e n t . A l a m i n a r v o r t e x ring, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a smooth s p i r a l s t r u c t u r e (Fig. 2a),
is f o r m e d at Re <103. At g r e a t e r values of Re the v o r t e x ring b e c o m e s turbulent (Fig. 2b).
Most p r o m i s i n g f r o m the standpoint of extinguishing well f i r e s a r e l a r g e v o r t e x rings with a high initial
velocity, i.e., turbulent r i n g s . The p a r a m e t e r s of the turbulent v o r t e x ring and its law of motion can be d e t e r -
mined f r o m the t h e o r e t i c a l model p r o p o s e d in [4, 5], which is in f a i r l y good a g r e e m e n t with e x p e r i m e n t .
4. A b u r n i n g c o m p a c t g u s h e r can be extinguished as a r e s u l t of the motion of a vortex r i n g along its
axis, f r o m the b a s e of the f l a m e t o w a r d s its tip. The flame extinction m e c h a n i s m can be explained qualitatively
as follows.
As the v o r t e x ring m o v e s along the flame, at a speed much g r e a t e r t h a n the velocity of the jet, the f l a m e
front, t o g e t h e r with a c e r t a i n l a y e r of fuel, flows around the " a t m o s p h e r e " of the ring, and, given a suitable
r a t i o of f l a m e d i a m e t e r to ring d i a m e t e r , this l a y e r is d e f o r m e d into a thin annular sheet (Fig. 3), in which the
fuel is c o m p l e t e l y consumed owing to the i n c r e a s e in c o n c e n t r a t i o n g r a d i e n t s , without r e a c h i n g the region
beyond the vortex, i.e., the s o u r c e of f r e s h fuel. Thus, in this c a s e the v o r t e x ring actually s e p a r a t e s the
f l a m e burning above it f r o m the fuel s o u r c e . Once initiated, the quenching p r o c e s s will not c e a s e even if the
v o r t e x r i n g is d e s t r o y e d , since the inert f u e l - f r e e gap between the f l a m e and the jet cannot be substantially
reduced during the finite i n t e r v a l of t i m e that the isolated f l a m e needs to b u r n out.
It should be noted that this m e c h a n i s m holds good for both gas and liquid, e.g., oil, jets. In the l a t t e r
c a s e the v o r t e x " t r a n s m i t s " the liquid fuel p a r t i c l e s , but " f o r c e s " the gaseous ones, p r e c i s e l y the ones that

491
 i
Fig. 3. D i a g r a m showing the i n t e r a c t i o n of
the v o r t e x ring and the flame. 1) F l a m e
front; 2) v o r t e x ring; 3) gaseous combustion
products; 4) fuel jet.

burn, to flow around it. The v o r t e x ring can isolate the f l a m e only in that region w h e r e all the fuel goes o v e r
into the g a s e o u s state. Under actual conditions, the situation d e s c r i b e d above is r e a l i z e d only at a c e r t a i n d i s -
t a n c e f r o m the mouth of the well, and on the initial ir~erval the jet velocity m a y r e a c h 300-450 m / s e e , which is
c o n s i d e r a b l y g r e a t e r than the speed of the v o r t e x (50-100 m / s e e ) .
In this c a s e the " a t m o s p h e r e " of the v o r t e x ring, the volume of fluid moving t o g e t h e r with the vortex, is
t o r o i d a l in shape. In F i g . 4 the s t r e a m l i n e s a r e shown in the coordinate s y s t e m tied to the vortex. Here the
fuel jet p a s s e s t h r o u g h the v o r t e x ring, and in the s t a t i o n a r y coordinate s y s t e m the jet velocity on the line OA
e x c e e d s the jet velocity in the s a m e s e c t i o n i n t h e a b s e n c e of a v o r t e x . The size of the " a t m o s p h e r e " (shaded
a r e a in Fig. 4) is d e t e r m i n e d b y the radius of the v o r t e x ring and its intensity (circulation).
In t h i s c a s e the m e c h a n i s m of f l a m e extinction r e m a i n s as b e f o r e , provided that the p a r a m e t e r s of the
v o r t e x r i n g a r e such that the f l a m e front lies in the region to the right of the line BC and the d i m e n s i o n s of the
" a t m o s p h e r e " a r e sufficient to e n s u r e that the m i x t u r e b u r n s up c o m p l e t e l y in flowing o v e r it. If the f l a m e
front lies to the left of the line BC, then the outcome of the quenching p r o c e s s will be uncertain. H e r e it is
n e c e s s a r y to b e a r in mind the following c i r c u m s t a n c e . As the v o r t e x ring m o v e s upward along the f l a m e axis,
the jet velocity falls, w h e r e a s the speed of the v o r t e x ring d e c r e a s e s only slightly. Consequently, the
" a t m o s p h e r e " of the r i n g expands in the d i r e c t i o n of the jet a x i s . And if the r e s u l t a n t velocity of the flow
c r e a t e d by the v o r t e x r i n g and the jet e x c e e d s , along the line AO, the turbulent burning r a t e , t h e n the beginning
of the f l a m e front will d r i f t upwards until the " a t m o s p h e r e " expands to such a d e g r e e that the f l a m e front is to
the right of the line BC, a f t e r which the quenching m e c h a n i s m d e s c r i b e d above will e n t e r into action. How-
e v e r , if the intensity of the v o r t e x ring, and hence its velocity, is insufficient, and the v o r t e x d i m e n s i o n s a r e
such that, as b e f o r e , the f l a m e front lies to the left of the line BC, then as the v o r t e x r i s e s and the velocity in
the jet falls a m o m e n t m a y a r r i v e when the turbulent burning r a t e exceeds the velocity of the jet plus the addi-
t i o n a l velocity of the v o r t e x and f l a s h b a c k o c c u r s .

F i g . 4. S t r e a m l i n e pattern. 1) F l a m e
front; 2) v o r t e x ring; 3) fuel jet; BC) line
of change of d i r e o t i o n of flow.

492
 Fig. 5. Stages in the extinction of a propane flame.

Thus, to extinguish the flame it is n e c e s s a r y that the velocity of the vortex ring be of the o r d e r of the
turbulent burning rate and its d i a m e t e r of the o r d e r of the m a x i m u m flame d i a m e t e r .

At present it is not possible to calculate exactly the turbulent burning rate wt. However, rough estimates
show that the value of wt is of the o r d e r of the fluctuation velocities of the jet [3], which are proportional to the
axial velocity urn. F r o m the e x p e r i m e n t a l data of [9] it follows that the m a x i m u m value of the r m s fluctuations
of the longitudinal velocity component is 0.2urn. If, in the first approximation, we take this as the value of the
turbulent burning rate, we m a y a s s u m e that the m a x i m u m flame propagation velocity relative to a gas jet
gushing at 300-450 m / s e e will be of the o r d e r of 50 m / s e e .

Impulsive vortex r i n g s with an initial velocity of 50-100 m / s e e can be effectively used to extinguish such
high-speed gas jets. F r o m the p r a c t i c a l standpoint, r e l a t i v e l y low-velocity floating vortex rings a r e m o r e
a t t r a c t i v e for the purpose of extinguishing well fires, since they can be obtained m o r e easily, without the use
of special devices. However, in this case it is n e c e s s a r y to preclude flashback a c r o s s the vortex ring. To
solve this problem it has been proposed that use be made of the ability of the vortex ring to t r a n s p o r t particu-
lates, e.g., a f i r e - e x t i n g u i s h i n g powder. Introducing such powder into the flame, even in s m a l l quantities, can
substantially reduce the rate of the combustion reactions and the flame propagation velocity [10]. The powder-
laden wake of the vortex ring envelops the flame f r o m the sides and prevents reignitiono This combined action
on the flame c o n s i d e r a b l y enhances the efficiency of the extinction p r o c e s s .
5. We now propose to present the r e s u l t s of c e r t a i n experiments on the quenching of flames by vortex
rings.

Many of these t e s t s involved f l a m e s obtained by r e l e a s i n g jets of propane f r o m v e r t i c a l tubes used to

simulate the well. The propane was expelled f r o m the tank by its own vapor p r e s s u r e , which under the experi-
mental conditions was equal to 0~ MPa. The flow rate of the jet was determined by m e a s u r i n g the level
of the condensate in the tank by means of a capacitive probe. The fuel flow was varied on the interval 0.013-
5.2 kg/sec. The flame with a flow rate of 0.013 kg/sec (height of flame Hf=2 m, m a x i m u m d i a m e t e r Dr= 0.3 m)
was extinguished by means of a vortex ring obtained by expelling a quantity of air f r o m a v e s s e l with a 0.1-m
orifice. The initial velocity and d i a m e t e r of the vortex ring were 6 m / s e e and 0.14 m, r e s p e c t i v e l y . A b u r n -
ing jet flowing at 0.065 kg/sec (Hf =6 m, D f = l m) was extinguished with a vortex ring having an initial velocity
of 60 m / s e c and a d i a m e t e r of 0.3 m.

Dv,m!
i~ ~ i

2 i

]•
3 Df, rn
Fig: 6. D v as a function of Df.
1) F l a m e quenched; 2) flame
burns.

493
 Fig. 7. Extinction of an oil flame.

The extinguishing of l a r g e r flames for the purpose of establishing modeling principles allowing for
changes of scale was carried out at a specially equipped proving ground. A flame with Hf=27 m and D f = 3 . 4 m
was also obtained by igniting a propane jet, with a flow rate of 5,2 kg/sec. Thus, with respect to flow rate, the
scale of the jet, as compared with the laboratory jets, was increased by a factor of 80. The flame was quenched
with a vortex ring obtained by exploding a charge at the bottom of a length of pipe installed coaxially with the
jet. F o r a 0o3-kg charge, the initial velocity of the vortex ring that quenched the flame wa~ 30 m/see and its
diameter about 3 m~
The successive stages in the quenching of this flame as the vortex ring ascended the jet axis are illu-
strated in Fig~ 5~ The film sequences show that on reaching approximately one third the height of the flame the
vortex was destroyed; however, at this point the upper burning part of the jet had already separated from the
source and subsequently burned out without reignition. The quenching of the same flame by a floating vortex
ring with an initial velocity of 12 m/sec and a diameter of 4 m showed that the vortex quenched the flame up to
mid-height, but then owing to the low velocities within the vortex ring the flame flashed back through the ring
and the lower, already quenched part of the jet was reignited. This undesirable effect was eliminated by load-
ing the vortex ring with finely divided fire-extinguishing powder.
The experimental r e s e a r c h enabled us to establish the b~sic principles for calculating the means
required to quench an a r b i t r a r y flame. Figure 6 shows the empirical dependence of the diameter Dv of the
flame-quenching impulsive vortex ring on the maximum diameter Df of the flame. The region of quenching
values of the diameter of the vortex ring lies above the straight line drawn from the coordinate origin.
Field tests of the proposed method confirmed its effectiveness. A burning jet of oil flowing at the rate
of 6100 tons per day was extinguished using only 6 kg of explosive and 470 kg of fire-extinguishing powder.
Glimpses of the quenching of the oil gusher are shown in Fig~ 7. In the last frame the flame has gone out and
only nonburning oil is escaping from the well.
It is to be expected that the practical application of the methods developed will lead to fires being
extinguished much more promptly and at much less expense.
The authors are grateful to V. A. Maletin, B. A. Mironov, and N. E. Chernukhin for assisting with the
proving ground experiments and to A~ V. Vyaznikovtsev for organizing the field tests.

LITERATURE CITED
1. K . V . Tkachenko, V. P. Somov, et al., Inventor's Certificate No. 237772, Byull. Izobret., No. 9 (1969).
2. M, A~ Lavrent'ev and B. V. Shabat, Problems of Hydrodynamics and Their Mathematical Models [in
Russian], Nauka, Moscow (1973).
3. L . A . Vulis, Sho A~ Ershov, and L. P. Yarin, Fundamentals of Gas Flame Theory [in Russian], l~nergiya~
Leningrad (1968).
4. A.A. Lugovtsov, B. A. Lugovtsov, and V, F. Tarasov, in.. ContinuumDynamics [in Russian], No. 3,
Novosibirsk (1969).
5. B.A. Lugovtsov, im ContinuumDynamics [in Russian], No. 38, Novosibirsk (1979),
6. D.G. Akhmetov and O~ P. Kisarov, Zh. Prikl, Mekh. Tekh. Fiz., No. 4 (1966).
7. V.F. Tarasov, in: ContinuumDynamics [in Russian], No. 14, Novosibirsk (1973).
8. V. F~ Tarasov, in: ContinuumDynamics [in Russian], No. 23, Novosibirsk (1975).
9. G. N~Abramovieh, Theory of Turbulent Jets [in Russian], Fizmatgiz, Moscow (1960).
10, G. Shraiber and P. Porst, Fire-Extingushing Techniques [Russian translation], Stroiizdat, Moscow
(1975).

494