Improved lab tests for cavern design

摘要

The knowledge of the thermo-mechanical and hydraulically material behaviour of the in-situ rock salt is a main assumption to proof the static stability and tightness of salt caverns. The conduction of the material behaviour needed for the numerical design is essentially determined by results, taken from lab tests which are performed at rock salt specimens. State of the art is to conduct temperature controlled uniaxial and triaxial short term test to analyze the strength of the rock salt, temperature controlled uniaxial and triaxial creep tests to analyze the rheological material behaviour and temperature controlled triaxial permeability tests to analyze the hydraulically material behaviour. Due to the demand of an increasing economical optimization of gas storage caverns as well as the installation of high performance storage caverns and compressed air energy storage caverns advanced lab tests are needed to characterize the material behaviour under extreme loading conditions. Regarding to an operation pattern with cyclic turnover, decreasing cavern inside pressure levels, increasing pressure rates and for example the "blow out" load case the aim of the present article is to explain improved lab tests, suitable to increase the performance and availability of storage caverns.