Preliminary design of an underground reservoir for pumped storage

Abstract

The current interest in the potential utilization of subsurface space for the storage of a wide variety of materials is responsive to the increasing pressures of environmental concerns, particularly as it applies to the development of urban or suburban space. These pressures, in conjunction with the continuing development of underground excavation technology, combine to provide a situation within which the concept of subsurface space utilization is becoming increasingly attractive relative to more conventional surface developments. Underground pumped storage is currently an economically viable alternative to the conventional above ground type of facility, and is made increasingly attractive by consideration of the reduced environmental impact, which the underground concept make possible. This paper is intended to provide an introduction to the engineering challenges of underground pumped storage, with particular reference to a limestone mine located some 671 m below the ground surface and having a volume of 9.6 million m3. To this end, the paper presents the numerical modeling and analyses to establish a powerhouse setting that would provide both a structurally stable excavation under the loading conditions imposed by the high-pressure brine, and eliminate the possibility of significant brine inflow to the excavated caverns.