Stability Analysis of a Typical Salt Cavern Gas Storage in the Jintan Area of China

Jingcui Li, Jifang Wan, Hangming Liu, Maria Jose Jurado, Yuxian He, Guangjie Yuan and Yan Xia
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Jingcui Li: CNPC Engineering Technology R&D Company Limited, Beijing 102206, China
Jifang Wan: CNPC Engineering Technology R&D Company Limited, Beijing 102206, China
Hangming Liu: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, China
Maria Jose Jurado: Geosciences Barcelona CSIC, Spanish National Research Council, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Yuxian He: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, China
Guangjie Yuan: CNPC Engineering Technology R&D Company Limited, Beijing 102206, China
Yan Xia: CNPC Engineering Technology R&D Company Limited, Beijing 102206, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: Using underground space to store natural gas resources is an important means by which to solve emergency peak shaving of natural gas. Rock salt gas storage is widely recognized due to its high-efficiency peak shaving and environmental protection. Damage and stress concentrations inside the cavern injection during withdrawal operations and throughout the storage facility life have always been among the most important safety issues. Therefore, accurate evaluation of the stability of rock salt gas storage during operation is of paramount significance to field management and safety control. In this study, we used the finite element numerical analysis software Flac3D to numerically simulate large displacement deformations of the cavern wall during gas storage—in addition to the distribution of the plastic zone of the rock around the cavern and the surface settlement—under different working conditions. We found that the maximum surface settlement value occurred near the upper part of the cavern. The surface settlement value increased as a function of creep time, but this increase leveled off, that is, a convergence trend was observed. The value was relatively small and, therefore, had little impact on the surface. The application of gas pressure inhibited the growth of the plastic zone, but on the whole, the plastic zone’s range increased proportionally to creep time. For the 20-year creep condition, the deformation value of the cavern’s surrounding rock was large. Combined with the distribution of the plastic zone, we believe that the cavern’s surrounding rock is unstable; thus, corresponding reinforcement measures must be taken.

Keywords: rock salt; cavern; creep; gas storage; stability evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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