Geo-mechanical Model Testing for Stability of Underground Gas Storage in Halite During the Operational Period

A 3D geo-mechanical model test is conducted to study the stability of underground gas storage in halite, modeled after the Jintan gas storage constructed in bedded salt rock in China. A testing apparatus is developed to generate long-term stable trapezoid geostresses onto the model cavity, corresponding to the actual gas storage cavern. The time-depending character of the material is simulated using a rheological material, which was tested using a self-developed apparatus. The model cavern is built using an ellipsoid wooden mold divided into small blocks which are assembled and placed into the designed position during the model construction. They are then pulled out one by one to form the cavern. The ellipsoid cavern wall is then lined within a latex balloon. Gas is injected into the cavity and extracted to simulate the operational process of gas injection and recovery. Optical sensors embedded into the model to measure the displacement around the cavity showed that the largest deformation occurs in the middle section of the cavity. The deformation rate increases with increasing gas pressure. At 11 MPa the cavity is in equilibrium with the geostress. The pressure is highest during the gas recovery stages, indicating that gas recovery can threaten the cavern’s operational stability, while high gas injection causes rock mass compression and deformation outward from the cavern. The deformation is the combination of cavern convergence and gas-induced rebound which leads to tensile and compression during gas injection and recovery. Hence, the fatigue properties of salt rock should be studied further.