Abstract
To analyze the seepage characteristics of water-sealed underground oil storage caverns, a calculation software was programmed based on the Signorini type variational inequality formulation. The storage region and boundary condition of oil-groundwater contact surface were generalized, and a two-dimensional numerical simulation model of finite-element method was built. The seepage characteristics and the water inflow of oil storage caverns were analyzed, while the conditions of different oil levels in caverns with water curtain system were taken into account. The effect of a water curtain system was assessed, and the design parameters of water curtain system such as width, water pressure, borehole space, and elevation were evaluated. The seepage simulation model was applied to estimate the seepage field and water inflow of the Huangdao underground oil storage caverns during the future operation period.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bruch Jr., J.C., 1980a, A survey of free boundary value problems in the theory of fluid flow through porous media: variational inequality approach—Part I. Advances in Water Resources, 3, 65–80.
Bruch Jr., J.C., 1980b, A survey of free boundary value problems in the theory of fluid flow through porous media: variational inequality approach—Part II. Advances in Water Resources, 3, 115–124.
Chen, Y.F., Zhou, C.B., and Zheng, H., 2008, A numerical solution to seepage problems with complex drainage systems. Computers and Geotechnics, 35, 383–393.
Chen, Y.F., Hu, R., Zhou, C.B., Li, D.Q., and Rong, G., 2011a, A new parabolic variational inequality formulation of Signorini's condition for non-steady seepage problems with complex seepage control systems. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 35, 1034–1058.
Chen, Y.F., Hu, R., Lu, W., Li, D.Q., and Zhou, C.B., 2011b, Modeling coupled processes of non-steady seepage flow and non-linear deformation for a concrete-faced rockfill dam. Computers & Structures, 89, 1333–1351.
Desai, C.S. and Li, G.C., 1983, A residual flow procedure and application for free surface flow in porous media. Advances in Water Resources, 6, 27–35.
Desai, C.S., Lightner, J.G., and Somasundaram, S., 1983, A numerical procedure for three-dimensional transient free surface seepage. Advances in Water Resources, 6, 175–181.
Finsterle, S., Ahlers, C.F., Trautz, R.C., and Cook, P.J., 2003, Inverse and predictive modeling of seepage into underground openings. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 62, 89–109.
Jiang, Z.M., Feng, S.R., Zeng, L., Zhao, H.B., and Mei, S.H., 2011, Numerical study on variation features of water table in area of underground rock cavern for oil storage. Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 33, 1780–1785. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Kim, J., Cho, W., Chung, I.M., and Heo, J.H., 2007, On the stochastic simulation procedure of estimating critical hydraulic gradient for gas storage in unlined rock caverns. Geosciences Journal, 11, 249–258.
Liang, J. and Lindblom, U., 1994, Analyses of gas storage capacity in unlined rock caverns. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 27, 115–134.
Lee, C.I. and Song, J.J., 2003, Rock engineering in underground energy storage in Korea. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 18, 467–483.
Li, Z.K., Wang, K.Z., Wang, A.M., and Liu, H., 2009, Experimental study of water curtain performance for gas storage in an underground cavern. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 1, 89–96.
Liu, Q.Y., Wan, L., Zhang, B.X., Cao, G.L., and Zhang, X., 2009, Numerical simulation analysis of influence of water-sealed underground oil storage in rock caverns on groundwater. Advances in Science and Technology of Water Resources, 29, 61–65. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Norwegian Tunnelling Society, 2007, Underground constructions for the Norwegian oil and gas industry. Norway, Publication No.16.
Su, B.Y., Shen, Z.Z., and Zhao, J., 1996, The cut-off negative pressure method for solving filtration problem based on the theory of variational inequalities. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 3, 22–28. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Sun, J.P. and Zhao, Z.Y., 2010, Effects of anisotropic permeability of fractured rock masses on underground oil storage caverns. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 25, 629–637.
Shi, H.B. and Liu, B.G., 2010, Design and seepage discharge analysis of artificial water curtains for water sealed underground petroleum storage caverns in rock. Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 32, 130–137. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Thunvik, R. and Braester, C., 1980, Modelling of ground water flow around oil storage caverns. Applied Mathematical Modelling, 4, 225–227.
Yang, H.S., Kang, J.G., Kim, K.S., and Kim, C.S., 2004, Groundwater flow characterization in the vicinity of the underground caverns in fractured rock masses by numerical modeling. Geosciences Journal, 8, 401–413.
Yoshida, H., Maejima, T., Nakajima, S., Nakamura, Y., and Yoshida, S., 2013, Features of fractures forming flow paths in granitic rock at an LPG storage site in the orogenic field of Japan. Engineering Geology, 152, 77–86.
Zheng, T.S., Li, L., and Xu, Q.Y., 1995, An iterative method for the discrete problems of a class of elliptical variational inequalities. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, 16, 351–358.
Zheng, H., Liu, D.F., Lee, C.F., and Tham, L.G., 2005, New variational inequality formulation for seepage problems with free surfaces. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, 64, 1–16.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dai, Y., Zhou, Z. Steady seepage simulation of underground oil storage caverns based on Signorini type variational inequality formulation. Geosci J 19, 341–355 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-014-0041-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-014-0041-7