Analysis of Distance Between Underground Rock Caverns for Storage of Crude Oil in a Water-Sealed Condition

Analysis of Distance Between Underground Rock Caverns for Storage of Crude Oil in a Water-Sealed Condition

The distance between underground caverns, which has great influence on cavern stability, is an important design parameter in underground engineering. Generally, the distance between underground caverns is determined by the width of caverns and the quality of the country rock masses, but there are lack of reasonable explanations. In this paper, the influence of distance between underground rock cavern storages is simulated by using numerical method. The influence of deformation on stability of cavern was analyzed in detail in order to determine the reliable effective distance. Then the reasonable distance between underground rock caverns was suggested according to the stability of structures and required conditions for the type of material stored. The parsian water-sealed underground oil cavern storage which is one of the state strategic oil store bases was taken as an example, and 8 models with different distances between caverns were analyzed. The results can provide a guide for the design of the Persian water-sealed underground oil storage