Stability Evaluation of Horizontal Salt Caverns for Gas Storage in Two Mining Layers: A Case Study in China

Kai Zhao, Hongling Ma, Yinping Li, Yuanxi Liu, Rui Cai, Xiaopeng Liang, Si Huang, Zhen Zeng, Xuan Wang and Haoran Li ()
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Kai Zhao: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Hongling Ma: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Yinping Li: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Yuanxi Liu: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Rui Cai: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Xiaopeng Liang: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Si Huang: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Zhen Zeng: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Xuan Wang: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Haoran Li: Collaborative Innovation Center for Performance and Security of Large-Scale Infrastructure, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang 050043, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-20

Abstract: To increase natural gas storage capacity and further utilize salt mine resources, salt cavern gas storage in the Yunying salt mine, Hubei Province, China, was simultaneously constructed in two different mining layers (K3 and K4). The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term feasibility of operating salt caverns for gas storage in two mining layers. Based on the geological conditions and sonar test results, the geometric parameters for the salt caverns in the two mining layers were designed, and a 3D geomechanical model was built to predict the cavern stability. The corresponding evaluation index included the displacement, volume shrinkage rate, equivalent strain, and dilatancy factor. The results show that simultaneously operating salt cavern gas storage in two mining layers is feasible, and the operational pressures for the salt caverns in mining layers K3 and K4 should be no less than 4–9 and 7–12 MPa, respectively, to satisfy the stability requirements. The surrounding rock of the salt caverns presents a larger displacement and volume reduction compared with cases in which the salt caverns are operated in a single mining layer. Increasing the injection–withdrawal frequency increases the deformation of the surrounding rock.

Keywords: rock salt; two mining layers; cavern stability; numerical simulation; energy storage (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: 2023
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