• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.287-296
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• 2011

We performed a numerical modeling study of thermodynamic and multiphase fluid flow processes associated with underground compressed air energy storage (CAES) in a lined rock cavern (LRC). We investigated air tightness performance by calculating air leakage rate of the underground storage cavern with concrete linings at a comparatively shallow depth of 100 m. Our air-mass balance analysis showed that the key parameter to assure the long-term air tightness of such a system was the permeability of both concrete linings and surrounding rock mass. It was noted that concrete linings with a permeability of less than $1.0{\times}10^{-18}\;m^2$ would result in an acceptable air leakage rate of less than 1% with the operational pressure range between 5 and 8 MPa. We also found that air leakage could be effectively prevented and the air tightness performance of underground lined rock cavern is enhanced if the concrete lining is kept at a higher moisture content.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.297-306
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• 2011

In this paper, we performed thermodynamic energy balance analysis of the underground lined rock cavern for compressed air energy storage (CAES) using the results of multi-phase heat flow analysis to simulate complex groundwater-compressed air flow around the cavern as well as heat transfer to concrete linings and surrounding rock mass. Our energy balance analysis demonstrated that the energy loss for a daily compression and decompression cycle predominantly depends on the energy loss by heat conduction to the concrete linings and surrounding rock mass for a sufficiently air-tight system with low permeability of the concrete linings. Overall energy efficiency of the underground lined rock caverns for CAES was sensitive to air injection temperature, and the energy loss by heat conduction can be minimized by keeping the air injection temperature closer to the ambient temperature of the surroundings. In such a case, almost all the heat loss during compression phase was gained back in a subsequent decompression phase. Meanwhile, the influence of heat conductivity of the concrete linings to energy efficiency was negligible.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.394-405
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• 2011

In this paper, we applied coupled non-isothermal, multiphase fluid flow and geomechanical numerical modeling using TOUGH-FLAC coupled analysis to study the complex thermodynamic and geomechanical performance of underground lined rock caverns (LRC) for compressed air energy storage (CAES). Mechanical stress in concrete linings as well as pressure and temperature within a storage cavern were examined during initial and long-term operation of the storage cavern for CAES. Our geomechanical analysis showed that effective stresses could decrease due to air penetration pressure, and tangential tensile stress could develop in the linings as a result of the air pressure exerted on the inner surface of the lining, which would result in tensile fracturing. According to the simulation in which the tensile tangential stresses resulted in radial cracks, increment of linings' permeability and air leakage though the linings, tensile fracturing occurred at the top and at the side wall of the cavern, and the permeability could increase to $5.0{\times}10^{-13}m^2$ from initially prescribed $10{\times}10^{-20}m^2$. However, this air leakage was minor (about 0.02% of the daily air injection rate) and did not significantly impact the overall storage pressure that was kept constant thanks to sufficiently air tight surrounding rocks, which supports the validity of the concrete-lined underground caverns for CAES.