General Review on Geotechnical Aspeects

of Cavern Engineering
The importance of understanding and utilizing insitu rock stress

Presented by Professor/Chief scientist Eivind Gr v

NTNU/SINTEF
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Introduction

Annual tunnelling production in Norway since 1973, statistics

prepared by the Norwegain Tunnelling Society
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Introduction
The Scandinavian host rock:
igneous & metamorphic, poor to
extremely good rock.
Folding, faulting and high
tectonic stresses influence the
quality of the rock
Weakness zones can exhibit
great variation in quality:
extremely poor to good
The width of zones may be a few
centimeters to tens of meters
Hard rock not necessarily good
rock
Frequently changing rock mass
conditions to be negotiated

The same conditions can be

found a lot of places and is
certainly not limited to Norway or
Scandinavia
It is maybe more a matter of
philosophy and courage to utilize
the rock mass properties

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Introduction
Large rock caverns: in Norway mainly used for:
Hydro electric power stations number of 200++
Oil and gas storage, appr. 50 caverns
Combined sports halls and civil defense facilities
Sewage treatment plants, potable water storage
Railway stations
Underground parking, ice cream storage, waste repository
By the Way: What is a large underground rock cavern?
No clear definition found, assume something larger than a
normal road and railroad tunnel, eg. greater than 12m width
But TBM's today are up to 18m diameter! Caverns?
What about height? Height can be an unfavourable parameter
too which may need to be considered
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Development of large underground caverns

The hydropower development:

started in the 1950es in Norway

Lack of steel then the penstock was
deleted
Underground caverns became
compatible in price and the technology
level evolved
Unlined head race tunnels forced its
way into the design, with a maximum
water pressure to appr. 1100m
Cavern design: width 12 to 25m,
straigth walls, up to 35m height,
unlined, complicated geometry
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Development of large underground caverns

Flexible design and

construction approach!

Layout is pre-designed on the baseline

geology knowledge
But subject to modifications based on
encountered conditions:
Rock type and mechanical properties
(mapping and testing)
Characteristics of discontinuities
(continuous mapping in tunnels)
In-situ rock stress (measured at
various locations during constr.)
Groundwater conditions (monitored
under ground)
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Development of large underground caverns

Flexible design and
construction approach!
Layout is subject to
modifications based on
encountered conditions
Here: stress measurements in
a number of locations to fix;
The location and layout of
power house caverns
Air cushion chamber
Length of steel lined penstock

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Development of large underground caverns

The mining industry: learned

us numerous cases with large

span:
Were 60-80 meters wide
Were Stable
With no rock support at all
WHY?
The rock mass has certain
excellent properties:
Its stress induced confinement
Its selfstanding capacity
Its impermeable nature
Its thermal capacity

Stjern y
underground mine

Stable mining rooms

Length 70m, width 30m and
height 400 m
Feasible by:
understanding rock mechanics
performing stress measurement
numerical
and
analytical
modeling

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Measuring in-situ stress

A diamond drill hole (76 mm outer diameter) is drilled to the desired
depth. Usually, this depth is 1,5 times the span of tunnel/ cavern.
The hole bottom is flattened with a special drill bit, and a concentric
hole with smaller diameter (36 mm o.d) is drilled approximately 30
cm further.

A measuring cell with strain gauges and data log unit is installed
with a special installing tool containing orienting device.
Compressed air is used to expand the cell in the hole, and the strain
gauges are fixed to the walls in the hole.

The cell is now ready to start measuring, and continously logging of

strain data is stored in the measuring cell. The installing tool is
removed and the cell is ready for overcoring.
The small hole is over cored by the larger diameter bit, thus stress
relieving the core. The corresponding strains are recorded by the
strain gauge rosettes. The core is recovered from the hole with a
special core catcher, and immediately after removal from for the
hole the recorded data is transferred to the computer. When the
elastic parameters are determined from biaxial- and laboratory test,
the stresses may be calculated.
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Measuring in-situ stress

Optimized geometry!
Arch effect in roof

In a virgin rock body

Area for 3D

Pillar capacity
Water curtain
pressure

Pilar stress
Pilar stress vertically

horizontally

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Measuring in-situ stress

Increase the pressure at a speed of 0,1-0,5 MPa/sek

At critical pressure a crack is initiated and water flows into
the rock mass
Water supply is cut off
Re-pressurize
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Measuring in-situ stress

Measuring
hydraulic
fracturing and
jacking existing
cracks
Shut-in
pressure sets
equal to 3

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Tunnel Engineering Handbook

By Bickel & Kuesel:
Knowledge of the in-situ
stresses is essential to the
sound, logical design of
rock reinforcement systems,
excavation procedures and
opening layouts, and to the
interpretation of expected
rock strength and
deformational properties.
How did this happen??
Lack of knowledge of the in-situ
stress?!
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Development of large underground caverns

Some guidelines on design:
Geotechnical mapping focusing joints
and weak zones, geomechanical tests
In-situ stress measurements are
required (often from surface/adjacent
UG opening)
Work in the 3-D picture, pillars are
subject to high stresses, corners &
bends are released
Locate and align the cavern
Empirical and analytical design
Numerical modeling and analytical
models to verify layout
Observation/monitoring in excavation
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Confinement, OR in-situ rock stress

A particular functional
requirement of certain
facilities!
To reduce the length of access
tunnels
Lead to:
Shallow locations, such as
Holmlia: width 25m, rock cover is
only 15m
Gj vik: width 61m, rock cover
between 25 and 50m

How??
Knowledge of the in-situ
stress situation is crucial

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Construction of large underground caverns

Normally excavation is split into

various sections:
Top heading
Benching
Each level must be mapped and sup-ported prior to going to lower level
Benching can be by vertical blast
holes
Logistic is a challenge and do not
Observe the water
believe that work is going on as
curtain
holes above the
smooth as on the figure
Knowing the stress conditions may caverns, typical oil and
allow a different sequence leaving a gas caverns to work in
saturated rock mass
horisontal pilar to be done lastly
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Construction of large underground caverns

The Gj vik hall
was a complicated excavation
procedure with pilots and a
number of side stopping,
slashing, headings and
benches
Stability of caverns:
Visual inspections of exposed
rock, shotcrete and bolts
Measuring bolts
Extensometers (rod & tape),
convergence pins
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Construction of large underground caverns

Unlined Tunnelling!
Permanent rock support
consists of rock bolts and
shotcrete
Primary support is approved as
permanent on the condition that
it meets the material standard
Active design of support to fit
the encountered geological
conditions
Water control by grouting

Hydrocarbon storage at
Sture

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A cargo terminal in rock cavern?

A cargo terminal;
is being planned in
Trondheim covering a
huge surface area
replacing the existing one.
Is there any other option?
We were looking at the
possibility of locating the
shunting area
underground.
In large underground
caverns! Of course.

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A cargo terminal in rock cavern?

Underground solutions:
One single cavern with a width of 42m
and length of 700m
Two parallel caverns, each 28m wide
and with a pillar of 25m width

2 CAVERNS
SOLUTOION FOR
SHUNTING AREA

EXIT

ENTRANCE

1 TUNNEL TRACK THROUGH THE SYSTEM 2500 M

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A cargo terminal in rock cavern?

Design input:
Rock cover 125m
K-value of 1
Vertical and horizontal stress
components 3,5 to 4 MPa
One major joint set
Rock bolts in a 2x2m pattern,
5m long, no other support
An existing railway tunnel
modelled
through the area provided
Notice the model ran with
excellent
possibilities for data
42m width in 2 caverns and
acquisition
25m pilar
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A cargo terminal in rock cavern?

Results from the
numerical analysis:
No particular indications of
over-stressing in the pillar, its
stable
Positive redistribution of the
stresses above the cavern
roof establishing a stabilizing
arch
Some minor tensional areas in
the roof
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The worlds largest public rock cavern

What made the Gj vik hall
feasible??
Results from earlier projects
indicate presence of sufficient
high horizontal stress
In situ stress measurements
were done; h=3-5MPa at a
depth of 25-50m which is far
more than the theoretical gravity Rock support of the Gj vik
approach (<1MPa)
hall constitutes: 6m fully
Q-values of 30 (best=Good), 1
grouted 25mm grouted
(lowest =Poor) and 12
rebar in 2,5x2,5m, every
(average=Good)
fourth bolt is a 12m cable
Numerical analysis indicated 5- bolt, and 100mm shotcrete
10mm displacement
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The worlds largest public rock cavern

A thorough monitoring
program was undertaken
Multipoint extensometers placed in
boreholes from surface (E) and
from holes drilled from cavern (S)
The maximum deflection was
measured to 7mm, stable trend 300
days after excavation
2D stress measurements were
done in the cavern roof
Compressive stress in the range of
2-5MPa (arch/confinement).
Measuring rock bolts showed minor
loading
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Some pros and cons of in-situ stress

Type of facility

Rock caverns

Moderate to high level can

enable an optimised geometry,
too high may lead to stability
problems

Low level may produce a too

small arch building in the
roof/lack of confinement thus
instability.

Pressurised
tunnels/caverns

Minor influence, high level may

give stability problems.

Minor
principal
stress
component must be higher
than the water pressure (or
the pressure from any other
confined material) as an
ultimate requirement.

No particular
requirement.

Facilities with
particular
requirements to
tightness

Moderate to high level can

provide good confinement and
stability
and
improved
tightness.

Critical low level gives

poor safety against leakage.
Grout design press. < 3
Storage pressure < 3

No particular
requirement.

Transport-tunnels

Moderate to high level is good

for the confinement and
stability. Too high stresses may
give
stability-problems,
spalling.

No particular requirements,
but low stress might lead to
lack of confinement and
instability.

K appr. 1 is OK.

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K = hor/vert
K= 1-2 is OK.
K> 3 is not OK.
K< 0,5 is not OK.

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Conclusions
Large underground caverns
have been used in Norway
for several purposes
Majority have typical
dimensions 15-25m width
Unlined caverns, supported
by rock bolts and sprayed
concrete
In-situ stresses are utilized
to obtain confinement
Field testing is needed

Underground, presence of
in-situ rock stresses would
normally be an asset

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