Planning and Development of

Underground Space in Rock Caverns

(CV6316)
Lecture 7

Special Considerations for Underground Facilities

Lu Ming
Visiting Professor, NTU CEE
AY 2013-2014 Semester 1
1

OUTLINE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Introduction
Oil/Gas storage
Cold storage
Caverns for public use
Caverns for municipal installations
Caverns for storage of contaminating and
radioactive materials
7. Other types of underground facility

1. INTRODUCTION
Types of underground facilities in rock caverns
Oil/gas storage
Cold storage
Warehouse and logistics
Power stations
For public use: entertainment, recreation, sport, library,
research centre, car park, shopping mall
For municipal installations: water treatment plant,
incineration plant, landfills, reservoir, data centre
For defence and war protection
For other usages

2. OIL AND GAS STORAGE

Storage of oil/gas in mined rock caverns
Storage of oil in abandoned mines
Storage of compressed natural gas (CNG) in deep rock
caverns

Storage of compressed gas in shallow caverns

Oil
Crude oil and other products
Gases
Natural gas: composed primarily of methane,
but, may also contain ethane, propane and
heavier hydrocarbons
LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas): composed mainly
of propane (-42C) and smaller quantities of
butane
LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas): when natural gas is
cooled down to a temperature of approximately 162C at atmospheric pressure it condenses to a
liquid

Basic Principles for Storing Oil and

Gas in Unlined Rock Caverns

Main Problems
Gas tightness
Hydrodynamic containment
Water curtain
Thermal stress for LPG storage

Cavern stability

Gas leakage control

Methods of gas leakage control

Hydrodynamic
containment

Permeability control

Lining

Grouting

Freezing

Natural
ground water

Water curtain

Single crack model

Rock joint

Gas bubble

Cavern

Basic concept of hydrodynamic containment

Hydrodynamic containment: Use or control of ground water to reduce
or eliminate gas escape through the host rock
Two conditions: Gas entry condition and gas migration condition
Gas entry condition:

pg pw pc

or

pg pw

Gas migration condition: Ground water pressure gradient is directing

from cavern to rock
Capillarity: positive effect taken as a safety reserve
Water curtain may be used to increase ground water pressure
artificially, providing a controllable hydraulic boundary condition

10

Basic Principles (1)

Conditions that must be satisfied
The product must be lighter than water
The product must be insoluble in water
The stored product is always surrounded by
groundwater which has higher pressure
Water can flow into cavern, but oil/gas cannot leak
out from cavern
The leaked-in water will be collected and pumped
out
The ground water table must be stable
The rock formations must have sufficient strength to
make the caverns stable.
11

Basic Principles 2
After Svein Haug

Bucket in air
Oil leaks out

12

Basic principles 3
After Svein Haug

Bucket submerged in water

Water leaks into bucket

13

Basic principles 4
After Svein Haug

Groundwater table

Groundwater
pressure

Oil level in cavern

Oil pressure

Fixed water bed

Cavern cross section

14

Groundwater
pressure is higher
than the pressure of
stored oil/gas
Gradient of
groundwater
pressure around the
cavern is pointing to
the cavern
20 m rule set by the
Norwegian Authority

After Svein Haug

Oil level indicator

Oil level

Oil
Oil pump
Oil/water interface indicator

Water pump

Cavern cross section

Submerged pumps
Pump Pit
15

After Svein Haug

16

EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 1918-4

The cavern shall be located at sufficient depth
below the groundwater table to ensure the
required hydraulic pressure. The recharge
conditions shall ensure that the natural
hydrostatic head is not unacceptably depleted by
drainage into the cavern. It may be necessary to
enhance the natural hydrogeological flow pattern
and/or to provide an artificial water supply by
means of water curtains.

17

Norwegian standard
Regulations Concerning Flammable Goods, laid down by
Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning June
26th 2002
3-2. Storage in rock caverns states :
Installations in rock caverns shall be secured in a safe way
to avoid leakage from the installation.
Where the groundwater level forms the barrier against
leakage of the stored material, the groundwater level must
correspond to the vapour pressure of the stored material,
plus an extra 20 meters water column as safeguard against
irregularities in the rock

18

Basic principles 5- Water curtain is needed if

groundwater table is inadequate or instable
Water curtain

19

A system of boreholes pressurized

with water injection, creating an
artificial and controllable
groundwater boundary condition

20

General principle of hydrodynamic containment

After Goldschneider et al
21

Hydrodynamic containment at JRC

No horizontal
water curtain
due to being
under sea
Vertical water
curtain
between
caverns

Function of horizontal and vertical water curtain

For horizontal water curtain
To establish artificial hydraulic boundary condition pressure
To avoid de-saturation

For vertical water curtain

To avoid de-saturation
To identify the main water inflow location for performing
adequate grouting work
To avoid interference between neighboring caverns when
different products are stored

23

Two practical problems

Water saturation
Rock mass must be fully water saturated during operation
De-saturation may take place during construction.
Can water saturation be re-established after storage
operation starts?

Grouting
The amount of water that enters the cavern controls the
volume of water sump and pumping capacity
Excessive water entering the cavern must be avoided
Reducing rock mass permeability by grouting
Grouting criterion: for instance K<5*10-7 m/s
24

Water saturation
Rock surrounding caverns must be fully water
saturated during entire operation period
Is it necessary to keep rock fully water-saturated
during construction?
If yes, that means water curtains must be completed early
such reducing the construction flexibility
Without water curtain the surrounding rock may lose 100%
water saturation
Can rock be re-saturated by water curtains after desaturated?

25

Seepage control
Establish groundwater monitoring system as
early as possible (pre-feasibility)
Probe holes plus pre-grouting is the best
means for seepage control during
construction
Water curtains above and between caverns

26

Groundwater inflow is No 1 Geohazard

By O.T. Blindheim

Qingdao Jiaozhouwan subsea tunnel, China

Water inflow at probe hole YK4+440

Maximum water inflow from a single probe hole

in service tunnel 396 l/min

Access Shaft AS1 of JRC

High Pressure Water Ingress at OT 0/1C of JRC

GROUNDWATER CONTROL
Pre-excavation grouting (or pre-grouting) based
on the probe drilling result is the most reliable
and by far the most cost-effective method for
control of groundwater ingress
Post grouting has little chance to succeed
Allowable water ingress
Emergency: Block face when large water flow
takes place

Seepage control
Probe holes
CROSS SECTION

LONGITUDINAL SECTION
Previous holes

~3m

New holes

~3m

TUNNEL

Alternativ
with 2 holes

~20 m

Alternativ
with 3 holes

Overlap
min. 6 m

Pre-grouting

TUNNEL

Probe drillhole

33

working
face

Water bearing zone

Grout holes

Work Cycle

After every 4th

blast (typically)
Probe Ahead

Measure Water Inflow

Temporary Support

Pre-Excavation
Grouting

Scaling, Mucking
and Geological Mapping

Blasting

After Knut F. Garshol 2011

Simplified Work Flowchart

Measure Water
Ingress in Probe
Holes

< Trigger
Value?

No

Measure
water in
Control
Holes

Drill and Grout

Yes

No Grouting

No

< Trigger
Value?
Yes
Stop
Grouting

Pre-Excavation Grouting
(Tunnel)

Probe Drilling 100% of the way

Minimum 5 m overlap
Maximum grouting pressure 60-80 bar
Micro Fine Cement (MFC)
Colloidal Silica (CS)

Overlap provides tight bulkhead

After Knut F. Garshol 2011

Advance
approx. 4 m

Pre-injection, long hole drilling

After Nick Varley 2006

Pre-injection is far more economical than post injection! (10 to 50 times less
expensive to stop water ingress)
38

Water seepage control

Grouting reducing rock permeability

Groundwater must flow into cavern
Amount of leaked-in water must be controlled
Volume of water sump
Pumping capacity

For highly permeable rock grouting has to be done

to reduce the rock permeability
Grouting must reduce the rock permeability to
designed level

40

Storage of LPG
(Liquefied Petroleum Gas) in
Unlined Rock Cavern

41

Chilled Storage of LPG in Rock Cavern

Common features
Storage temperature based
on stored product, for
propane -40C -42C
Low pressure (<1MPa),
usually close to
atmospheric pressure
Shallowly seated
Cooling period 60-150 days

42

Rock Mechanics Problems

Cavern stability
Gas leakage

Thermal stress

43

Thermal stress
Thermally induced tensile stress may reach 5-12 MPa for
a rock cavern of 600 m2 in cross section area
The tensile stress may or may not cause thermal cracking
of intact rock depending upon the in-situ rock stress and
the tensile strength of rock
The tensile stress is definitely sufficient to open preexisting joints
Opening of joints and thermal cracking cause gas leakage
and extensive boil-off
Thermal stress decays rapidly from cavern surface

44

Thermally induced cracking

Thermal stress Numerical analysis

A

(A) Temperature distribution

150 days after cavern
cooling-down
(B) Temperature distribution 3
years after cavern coolingdown
(C) Horizontal stress
distribution 150 days after
cavern cooling-down
(Max. 10.9 MPa)
(D) Horizontal stress
distribution 3 years after
cavern cooling-down
(Max. 13.2 MPa)
46

Rock mechanics
4

Temperature (C)

10
0

-10

-4
-20
-30

Tangential stress
Temperature

-8

-40
-50

Tangential stress (MPa)

20

-12
0

12

Distance from cavern surface (m)

15

Joints are filled with

water which becomes
ice in cavern vicinity
Tensile strength of ice
is 0.7MPa independent
of temperature
Permeability of frozen
rock may be low
enough to prevent gas
leakage
Location of zeroisothermal line is more
critical

47

Storage of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) in unlined rock

cavern?

In comparison with LPG:

Much lower temperature (-160C), resulting in
higher thermal stress
Pressure may be higher
Must be seated deeper
Main challenges:
Leakage control
Cavern stability
High cost
48

An Accident at LPG cavern

49

Storage of Carbon dioxide (CO2) in rock cavern

Storage of CO2 in rock cavern

Plan of Sture crude oil caverns

Five crude oil cavern:
1,000,000 m3
One LPG cavern: 60,000
m3
Ballast water caverns:
200,000 m3
One condensate storage
cavern: 150,000 m3
Other caverns: 238,000
m3

52

Longitudinal section

53

Cross section

54

Sture Oil Storage Cavern

Ekeberg oil storage cavern

Krst propane caverns

57

Krst propane caverns

58

Krst propane caverns excavation

Before excavation
Ground water
observation
wells
Borehole
extensometers
for each cavern

59

Mongstad Refinery & Crude Oil Terminal

60

Mongstad: The crude oil caverns

61

Mongstad: The crude oil caverns

Six rock caverns established
in 1985 1987
Volume: 4x240 000 m3 &
2x174 000 m3
Dimension: 18x33x300-600 m
Pumps operated through
shafts
Water containment:
Water injection system
Water monitoring system

62

Mongstad: Refinery caverns for liquids

63

Mongstad: The refinery gas caverns

64

Mongstad: The Westprosess caverns

65

Underground oil storage project at Huangdao, China

66

Jurong Rock Cavern (JRC) for oil storage

67

Jurong Rock Cavern for oil storage

68

Jurong Rock Cavern for oil storage

69

Jurong Rock Cavern for oil storage

70

Storage of Oil/Gas

in
Abandoned Mines

List of Abandoned Mines for Oil/Gas Storage

Country
USA

Name of Mine
Iconton mine (Ohio)

Type of Ore
Limestone

Capacity
Crude oil, 21 M bbl

Remarks
Concept under study

USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
Canada
France
Sweden
Belgium

Central Rock mine (kentucky)

Lime Flekl mine (New York state)
Kleer mine (Texas)
Weeks Island Mine Louisiana)
Cote Blanche mine (Louisiana)
Leyden mine (Colorado)
Wabana mine (Newfoundland)
May-Sur-Ome mine
Harabacka mine
Pronnes

Limestone
Limestone
Salt
Salt
Salt
Coal
Iron
Iron
Fluorite
Coal

Crude oil, 14 M bbl

Crude oil
Oil storage, 30 M bbl
Crude oil, 89 M bbl
Crude oil, 27 M bbl
Natural gas, 34 M m3
Crude oil
Oil, 5 M m3
Oil 1 M m3
Natural gas, 120 M
m3
Natural gas, 20 M m3

Concept under study

Belgium Anderlues

72

Coal

Concept under study

Concept under study
Concept under study
Concept under study
Converted in 1948, still in use
Terminated in 1996
Low pressure , Max 0.35 MPa

Conclusions from Leyden and

other two similar facilities in Belgium
It has been demonstrated from the three projects that
abandoned mine gas storage is both technically
feasible and economically profitable
Some authors even say this is a proven technology
However, one article on internet reads:

There are other types of underground gas storage facilities

that have been experimented with, such as abandoned
mines, but the effort failed.

73

Storage of Compressed Gas

in
Deep Rock Caverns

Hje underground gas storage project

Pressure: 9.5-12.5 MPa
Cross section area: 13-15 m2
Length: 45 km
Depth: ~ 950m
Ground water table 800 m above
caverns
Storage volume: 620,000 m3

Hje underground gas storage project

From the strict definition this is the sole underground rock cavern for
storage of high pressure natural gas
Generally speaking if the static pressure of ground water is lower than the
gas pressure a water curtain system is needed.
But, there is no water curtain in the Hje UGS project when the gas pressure
reaches 12.5 MPa and the ground water pressure is only 850 m
Three reasons for the successful operation
Very low permeability of the surrounding rock mass 10-10 - 10-12 m/s
Long travel path for the gas to migrate to the ground surface
Gas pressure fluctuation

So when the gas migrate to the rock joints under high storage pressure it
come back to the cavern when pressure drops before reaching the ground
surface
Stability of the concrete plugs is critical

76

 Theoretically there is no problem

Main problem is the high cost resulting from
the great depth location

77

Storage of Compressed Gas

in
Lined shallow Rock Caverns
(LRC)

Basic Concept
Cavern excavated in hard rock
Steel plate lining installed inside the cavern to ensure gas
tightness
The gap between the steel plate and the host rock is backfilled with concrete such transferring the internal pressure
load from the steel plate to the surrounding rock.
A drainage system on the interface between the rock and
concrete to reduce the water pressure on the concrete and
steel plate.
Function of each element:
Steel plate: gas tightness
Rock: to take the load
Concrete: to transfer the load from steel plate to rock

79

Concept Development
Research started in 1987
Field tests were conducted at a pilot project at Grngesberg, Sweden,
early 1990s
After the concept had been proved by the field test at Grngesberg a
demonstration project was constructed at Skallen, Sweden, in 1999-2002
An extensive testing and demonstration programme was then followed
at Skallen project, which includes
Loading the cavern with 220 bar of water pressure of multiple load cycles
Full pressure cycles with natural gas

The project is now in commercial operation

In 2004, construction commenced of a further complex of 4 LRCs in
Sweden, at a depth of 100 to 200 m, each with a volume of 40,000 m3

80

Testing of shallow lined caverns at Grngesberg, Sweden

Steel plate: leakage

barrier
Rock: Load bearing
structure
Concrete: Load
transfer material

81

Main Features

Cavern diameter: 5.4 m

Rock: Granite, UCS=340
MPa, E=56GPa
Overburden: 50 m
Lined with 6 mm steel
plate
Steel: Elastic strength
350 MPa, Yielding
strength 510 MPa
Concrete: 50 cm

82

Observations
Maximum internal pressure: 52 MPa
Steel liner
Strain of steel liner distributed scattered
Mean of maximum strain: 0.58%
Mean of residual strain: 0.28%
Maximum local strain: 1.1%

Concrete
Cracks in concrete developed
Crack frequency: 1-4 cracks per meter
Cracks mainly in vertical direction

Rock mass
Maximum displacement 5.6 mm
83

Schematic principles of Skallen project

AfterJan Johansson et al.

84

Basic Data of Skallen project

85

Cavern diameter: 35 m
Height: 51 m
Total Gas Volume 10x106 m3
Rock cover: 115 m
Gas Pressure 200 bar
Working Gas Volume 8.5x106 m3
Max withdrawal flow 40 000 m3/h
Withdrawal Time 10 days
Max Injection flow 15 000 m3(n)/h
Injection Time 20 days

Layout of the Drainage System

86

Sketch of the Drainage System

87

Main advantages
Great freedom of localization with respect to
geology. Most suitable for the regions where the
geological conditions for conventional storage
methods are not available
High deliverability and turnover rates
No gas treatment is needed
Low impact on landscape and environment
Possibility to expand a storage plant in steps by
adding storage cavern modules.

88

3. COLD STORAGE
Usages
Gas storage
Food storage
Other products
Main concerns
Thermal cracking
Gas leakage
Energy loss

Deep freeze cavern for storage of food

Width: 15, length: 85, heigth: 8.6 m
Temperature: - 26C

Food storage in rock cavern, Bergen, Norway

For storing meat and meat products

Cavern dimensions: 20x10.8x57 m
Volume: 11,000 m3
Operation temperature: -22 ~ -28C
Operation started in 1977
Construction cost is 35% lower than
similar surface store
Energy consumption is 50% of similar
surface store

An storage cavern for frozen stuff. Underground rock caverns are ideal for cold storage
due to good thermal insulation of the rocks.

Bergen Food Storage Caverns

93

Underground storage of ammonia at Glomfjord

Operation temperature -33C, zero pressure

Capacity of 40,000 metric tonnes of liquid ammonia
Cross section: width 10-16 m; height 25 m
Overburden: 50-100 m

North latitude 81

 To protect genetic diversity

300,000 different types of plant
seed to be stored in the rock
caverns

3 caverns:
9.5x9X27 m
Storage
temperature 18C
Refrigeration
plant: 40-10 kW
Ventilation
system: 1500
(7000) m3/h

Thermally induced cracking

Temperature gradient

-41C

Rock cracking

Tensile thermal stress

>10MPa

+10C

Ground water inflow

102

Gas leakage

Analysis
Compute temperature development and distribution
around the cavern
Compute thermal stresses of rock
Evaluate the required heat flux and refrigerator capacity for
both cooling-down and operation period
Optimization of cooling scheme
Steady state and transient analysis of heat transfer
Thermal parameters of rock (temperature-dependent)
Thermal conductivity k= 2-5 W/mK
Specific heat Cp =700-1000 J/kgK
Thermal expansion coefficient =1.5-3.5x10-5 1/C

Convection

Thermal stress Numerical analysis

A

(A) Temperature distribution

150 days after cavern
cooling-down
(B) Temperature distribution 3
years after cavern coolingdown
(C) Horizontal stress
distribution 150 days after
cavern cooling-down
(Max. 10.9 MPa)
(D) Horizontal stress
distribution 3 years after
cavern cooling-down
(Max. 13.2 MPa)
104

Temperature development with time

Temperature distribution after 80 day

cooling-down

Analysis of cooling process with UDEC

Krst LPG storage

Analysis of cooling process with UDEC

Krst LPG storage

Analysis of cooling process with UDEC

Krst LPG storage

Analysis of cooling process with UDEC

Krst LPG storage

Thermal simulation for Vegglifjell Skitunnel

111

4. CAVERNS FOR PUBLIC USE

Caverns for public use
Entertainment
Recreation & sports
Library
Research centres
Car parks
Shopping malls
Main concerns
Cavern stability - safety
Fire safety
Air quality and ventilation (ACMV)
Life cycle cost

Gjvik Olympic Mountain Hall

113

Gjvik Olympic Mountain Hall

114

115

The Gjvik Mountain Hall

Width: 61, Length: 91, Height: 25 m, Overburden: 25-50 m

116

Layout of underground installations in Gjvik

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
15)
16)

Ice-hall
Swimming hall
Telecommunication center
Civil defence
Protected area
TV coach
Pedestrian area
Rock garden
Entrance for press/media
Main access
Access for VIP
Escape tunnel
Parking
Ticket control
Press center
Wardrobe

Telecommunication center in rock cavern

Plan view of Holmlia sports hall and swimming

pool
Open to public: 1983
Rock cover: 20 m
Design capacity:
7,000 persons
Cross section SH:
25x45 m
Excavated rock
volume: 53,000 m3
Total floor area:
7,550 m2

Underground swimming pool at Holmlia

120

Underground swimming pool at Holmlia

121

Underground sports hall at Holmlia

122

Underground technology
Dimensions: 1525m width,
Length: up to
100m and height
10-15m

123

The Swedish National Archive

housed in rock cavern.

An achieve in underground rock caverns, in Sweden.

Royal Library in Stockholm

National Library of Norway

National Library of Norway

Library, Museum and

Institutional Use
Caverns can host libraries,
museums, lecture theatre,
exhibition hall, R&D centres,
offices and control centres.

Library

Archive

Offices and R&D centre

A college library in limestone cavern, Kansas, USA.

VTT Research Hall

Espoo, Finland
For large scale lab
tests
Floor area 15,000
m2 and volume
125,000 m3
50 people work
underground
Construction cost
21 millon USD
(1985)

Bicycle park in Tokyo

Rock cavern below city: car park for the Sydney Opera House, Australia.

Massive warehouses and offices housed in limestone caverns, Kansas, USA.

5. Caverns for municipal installations

Caverns for municipal installations:
Water treatment plant
Incineration plant
Landfills
Water reservoir
Data centre
Main concerns
Layout optimization: Aboveground components and underground
components
Life cycle cost
Environmental issues

Oset Water Treatment Plant

Supply 80-90% of Oslos drinking water

Two stages starting from 1966 til now
Total capacity 640,000 m3/ day
Water source from lake
Typical underground facility with small
aboveground buildings such as chlorination room
and offices

Rock type: syenite

Oset Water Treatment Plant - Old

138

Oset Water Treatment Plant - New

139

Oset Water Treatment Plant - New

140

Svartediket Water Treatment Plant and Reservoir

Commissioned in 1985 (old) and 2007 (new)

Two cavern volume: 120,000 m3
Cavern dimensions: BxHxL=17x15x50 m, spacing 15 m
Rock cover 30-80 m
Rock type: gneiss
Capacity: supply 80,000 m3/ day drinking water
The aboveground facilities include personnel building
with offices, laboratory, cantina, wardrobe and a
museum.
Total cost 300 million NOK (2007)

Svartediket Water Treatment Plant and Reservoir

Svartediket Water Treatment Plant and Reservoir

Svartediket Water Treatment Plant and Reservoir

Viikinmki Sewage Water Treatment Plant, Helsinki, Finland

Treating the waste water of about 700,000

1,000,000 local residents and industry of nearby
cities
1990 1994, expansion 1998-1999
Cavern volume 1,000,000 m3
The treatment process includes three stages,
mechanical, biological and chemical treatment.
Typical underground facility
Rock type: Granite

Viikinmki Sewage Water Treatment Plant

Underground layout

View of Aeration Basin

Cost - 990 million FIM in 1994

VEAS Sewage Water Treatment Plant

Treating the waste water of about 315,000 people, plus

250,000 equivalent commercial and industrial waste water
First commissioned in 1982, then redeveloped in 19911995 due to more strict requlations
Cavern volume 400,000 m3, maximum BxH=16x20 m,
spacing 12-14 m
Rock type: sedimentary rock, mainly limestone and shale
Typical underground facility
Total cost: 800 million NOK
Annual operation cost for the plant is 140 million NOK

VEAS Sewage Water Treatment Plant - layout

Steinan Water Reservoir

152

Steinan Water Reservoir

Unlined cavern with concrete floor and a concrete dam wall

Construction cost: 1 million USD (1979)
Operation/maintenance cost: 10,000 UDS (2006), mainly electricity
Manpower for operation/maintenance: 0.06 man-labor year
Cleaning every second year
Water is transported from the source, the Lake Jonsvatnet, to a treatment plant through
tunnel and concrete pipes
Afterwards the water is transported to the reservoir. From here water is distributed to the
users, for both drinking and industrial use.
Storage period in the reservoir is about 36 hours.

Water supply tunnel from Jonsvannet

155

Hgsen water tank for drinking water

Commissioned in 1993
Two double caverns, volume: 26,000 m3
Rock cover 20-40 m
Rock type: Greenstone
Operation model:

water source is the Lake Jonsvatnet

water is transported through tunnels and concrete pipelines to a water
treatment plant
Thereafter the water is transported and stored in Hgsen reservoir.
From the basins the water is distributed through a pipeline system, mainly
cast-iron pipes.

Cost:

Total construction: 27.5 million NOK

Caverns: 8.5 million NOK
Tunnel 4.6 million NOK
Operation and maintenance about NOK 100,000 (2006)

The Hgsen underground water tank

157

Hvringen underground sewage treatment plant (1)

One of the 2 sewage water treatment
plants in Trondheim
Completed in 1978
Marine outfall 50 m deep and 100 m
from the shore
The other commissioned in 1992, 3
caverns, excavated volume 10,000 m3

158

Hvringen underground sewage treatment plant (2)

159

Conceptual design of an underground

water treatment plant

Conceptual design of an underground

landfill facility

6. Caverns for storage of contaminating and

radioactive materials
Caverns for storage of contaminating and radioactive

materials
Landfills
Industrial waste storage
Nuclear/radioactive waste disposal
Main concerns
Caverns or silos?
Groundwater pollution: Cavern water proofing
Waste transportation and compaction
Handling of leachate
Nuclear radiation

ODDA Industrial Waste Disposal

Waste: Zinc production residuals

1980 present
One cavern for 1-2 years, currently 14 caverns
Solid waste is mixed with water to a slurry, which is pumped
through approximately 2 km long transport pipelines to the
storage caverns
Cavern cross section: width 17.5 22 m; height 23.5 41 m.
Total volume is approximately 2 millions m3.
Overburden varies from 200 to 600 m
Completely underground facility
Rock type: Granitic gneiss

ODDA Industrial Waste Disposal

164

ODDA Industrial Waste Disposal

165

Radioactive Waste Disposal at Himdalen

Waste: Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste

Commissioned in 1999
Detailed geological and hydrogeological investigations
Four parallel caverns BxHxL=11.8x12.5x54.4 m
Rock cover 50 m
Reinforced concrete lining at wall and floor
The facility is planned to remain in operation up to 2030. The halls will
then be back filled in such a way that the draining system functions for
a very long time ahead.
An institutional control period is planned to last 300-500 years with
surveillance, measurements and restrictions placed on the use made of
the area around the repository

Radioactive Waste Disposal at Himdalen

167

Radioactive Waste Disposal at Himdalen -Placing container

Radioactive Waste Disposal at Himdalen

- Cavern cross section

Conceptual Design of Yucca Mountain Disposal Plan

1.

2.

3.

4.

Canisters of waste,
sealed in special casks,
are shipped to the site
by truck or train.
Shipping casks are
removed, and the inner
tube with the waste is
placed in a steel,
multilayered storage
container.
An automated system
sends storage
containers underground
to the tunnels.
Containers are stored
along the tunnels, on
their side.

COMPOSITE SUPPORT+WATER TIGHT

STRUCTURE
Shotcrete/Sprayed Membrane/Shotcrete

171

172

173

174

7. Other types of underground facilities

Power station
Hydropower development
Thermal power plant
CAES
War protection

Underground hydropower plant

Underground technology

Width 12 to 25m,
straight walls, up
to 35m height,
unlined

177

External view of underground hydropower stations

178

Early underground hydropower stations

179

Modern underground hydropower stations

180

Underground Power House for Xiaolangdi Hydropower Project on

Yellow River
Location: Henan province,
China
Rock type: Sedimentary rocks
mainly sandstone, siltstone,
claystone and mudstone with
flat foliation
Dimensions (WxHxL):
26x61.4x251.5m
Overburden: ~75 m
Rock support: Sprayed
concrete + rock bolts + cables

Underground Power House for

Xiluodu Hydropower Station, China
Width: 33 m
Height: 78 m
Length: 400 m
Volume: ~ 1,000,000 m3

Underground gas-fired thermal power

plant

General layout

Gas storage caverns

pressure 10 MPa
Volume: 1 million m3
cross section area:538 m2

Power house caverns

Concept of CAES
(Compressed Air Energy Storage)

Concept of UPHS
(Underground Pumped Hydroelectric
energy Storage)