• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.243-256
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• 2012

Developing efficient and reliable energy storage system is as important as exploring new energy resources. Energy storage system can balance the periodic and quantitative mismatch between energy supply and energy demand and increase the energy efficiency. Industrial waster heat and renewable energy such as solar energy can be stored by the thermal energy storage (TES) system at high and low temperatures. TES system using underground rock carven is considered as an attractive alternative for large-scale storage, because of low thermal conductivity and chemical safety of surrounding rock mass. In this report, the development of available thermal energy storage methods and the characteristics of storage media were introduced. Based on some successful applications of cavern storage and high-temperature storage reported in the literature, the applicabilities and practicabilities of storage media and technologies for large-scale cavern thermal energy storage (CTES) were reviewed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.155-167
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• 2015

The thermal-hydrological-mechanical (T-H-M) behavior of rock mass surrounding a high-temperature cavern thermal energy storage (CTES) operated for a period of 30 years has been investigated by TOUGH2-FLAC3D simulator. As a fundamental study for the development of prediction and control technologies for the environmental change and rock mass behavior associated with CTES, the key concerns were focused on the hydrological-thermal multiphase flow and the consequential mechanical behavior of the surrounding rock mass, where the insulator performance was not taken into account. In the present study, we considered a large-scale cylindrical cavern at shallow depth storing thermal energy of $350^{\circ}C$. The numerical results showed that the dominant heat transfer mechanism was the conduction in rock mass, and the mechanical behavior of rock mass was influenced by thermal factor (heat) more than hydrological factor (pressure). The effective stress redistribution, displacement and surface uplift caused by heating of rock and boiling of ground-water were discussed, and the potential of shear failure was quantitatively examined. Thermal expansion of rock mass led to the ground-surface uplift on the order of a few centimeters and the development of tensile stress above the storage cavern, increasing the potential of shear failure.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2015

Thermal energy storage (TES) is a technology that stores surplus thermal energy at high or low temperatures for later use when the customer needs it, not just when it is available. TES systems can help balance energy demand and supply and thus improve the overall efficiency of energy systems. Furthermore, the conversion and storage of intermittent renewable resources in the form of thermal energy can help increase the share of renewable resources in the energy mix which refers to the distribution of energy consumption from different sources, and to achieve this, it is essential to combine renewable resources with TES systems. Underground TES using rock caverns, known as cavern thermal energy storage (CTES), is a viable option for large-scale, long-term TES utilization although its applications are limited because of the high construction costs. Furthermore, the heat loss in CTES can significantly be reduced due to the heating of the surrounding rock occurred during long-term TES, which is a distinctive advantage over aboveground TES, in which the heat loss to the surroundings is significantly influenced by climate conditions. In this paper, we introduced important factors that should be considered in the shape and multiple layout design of TES caverns, and proposed guidelines for storage space design.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.168-185
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• 2015

The thermal-hydrological-mechanical (T-H-M) behavior of rock mass surrounding a large-scale high-temperature cavern thermal energy storage (CTES) at a shallow depth has been investigated, and the effects of hydrological conditions such as water table and rock permeability on the behavior have been examined. The liquid saturation of ground water around a storage cavern may have a small impact on the overall heat transfer and mechanical behavior of surrounding rock mass for a relatively low rock permeability of $10^{-17}m^2$. In terms of the distributions of temperature, stress and displacement of the surrounding rock mass, the results expected from the simulation with the cavern below the water table were almost identical to that obtained from the simulation with the cavern in the unsaturated zone. The heat transfer in the rock mass with reasonable permeability ${\leq}10^{-15}m^2$ was dominated by the conduction. In the simulation with rock permeability of $10^{-12}m^2$, however, the convective heat transfer by ground-water was dominant, accompanying the upward heat flow to near-ground surface. The temperature and pressure around a storage cavern showed different distributions according to the rock permeability, as a result of the complex coupled processes such as the heat transfer by multi-phase flow and the evaporation of ground-water.