The transition to a fossil-free energy matrix may require large quantities of hydrogen gas, which could be stored efficiently in an underground lined rock cavern (LRC). Since the consequences of failure can be catastrophic, the LRC design needs to have a small probability of failure. However, the current design practice for LRCs is deterministic, which limits the possibility to stringently address geotechnical uncertainties in the design. In this paper, a reliability-based design tool is presented for LRCs. The adaptive directional importance sampling (ADIS) method, which requires a relatively small number of samples, is used with a 3D finite element (FE) model to evaluate small probabilities of failure. An illustrative example based on the LRC in Skallen, southwestern Sweden, demonstrates the implementation and applicability of the developed design tool. The considered uncertainties are related to the geological conditions and the steel lining. The results show that the reliability of this LRC design meets the expected safety requirements. Considering different geological conditions with correlations, at least “good” quality rock mass is needed for the LRC design. An additional sensitivity analysis is performed to study the potential influence of corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement on the reduction of the LRC design reliability.

The storage of hydrogen gas in lined rock caverns (LRCs) may enable the implementation of the first large-scale fossil-free steelmaking process in Sweden, but filling such storage causes joints in the rock mass to open, concentrating strains in the lining. The structural interaction between the LRC components must be able to reduce the strain concentration in the sealing steel lining; however, this interaction is complex and difficult to predict with analytical methods. In this paper, the strain concentration in LRCs from the opening of rock joints is studied using finite element (FE) analyses, where the large- and small-scale behaviors of the LRC are coupled. The model also includes concrete crack initiation and development with increasing gas pressure and rock joint width. The interaction between the jointed rock mass and the reinforced concrete, the sliding layer, and the steel lining is demonstrated. The results show that the rock mass quality and the spacing of the rock joints have the greatest influence on the strain distributions in the steel lining. The largest effect of rock joints on the maximum strains in the steel lining was observed for geological conditions of “good” quality rock masses.

The storage of hydrogen gas in underground lined rock caverns (LRCs) enables the implementation of the first fossil-free steelmaking process to meet the large demand for crude steel. Predicting the response of rock mass is important to ensure that gas leakage due to rupture of the steel lining does not occur. Analytical and numerical models can be used to estimate the rock mass response to high internal pressure; however, the fitness of these models under different in situ stress conditions and cavern shapes has not been studied. In this paper, the suitability of analytical and numerical models to estimate the maximum cavern wall tangential strain under high internal pressure is studied. The analytical model is derived in detail and finite element (FE) models considering both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) geometries are presented. These models are verified with field measurements from the LRC in Skallen, southwestern Sweden. The analytical model is inexpensive to implement and gives good results for isotropic in situ stress conditions and large cavern heights. For the case of anisotropic horizontal in situ stresses, as the conditions in Skallen, the 3D FE model is the best approach.

Efforts to decrease CO2 emissions in the Swedish steelmaking process involve the use of industrial quantities of hydrogen gas supplied from large-scale Lined Rock Cavern (LRC) storages in order to eliminate the use of fossil fuels. This storage must be placed at sufficient depth so that the overburden is able to resist the uplifting gas pressure from inside the cavern. Both the high reliability requirement and addressing the uncertainties related to the rock mass properties make it difficult to design for such structures. In this work, a reliability-based design methodology for the LRC depth specification using the Response surface (RS) method is presented. Geologic conditions of Sweden, i.e. hard rock, are considered and the analytical solution for the resistance to uplift includes the tensile strength of the failure surface in addition to the overburden weight pressure. The highest uncertainties are assumed to be related to the rock mass parameters and both the cavern radius and the maximum operational pressure are chosen to be the same as for the LRC in Skallen, in southwestern Sweden. Four random variables with varying correlation are used to estimate the acceptable cavern depth and the results are reasonable compared to previous experience. The efficiency of the RS method for the considered problem is observed both for required number of samples and accuracy, showing suitability to be used with more complex, difficult to evaluate, problems such as Finite Element models.

Efforts to substitute the use of fossil fuels in industry by hydrogen gas requires the storage of large volumes of gas with a reliable pressure vessel design. The Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology (HYBRIT) initiative aims to make the whole steel making process in Sweden fossil-free with the storage of industrial scale quantities of hydrogen in underground Lined Rock Cavers (LRCs). The LRC concept is a relatively new design methodology that can be further developed with respect to safety and economic efficiency and reliability-based design methods provide one option to comply with codes and regulations. High reliability is required for the storage of hydrogen gas and the computational time becomes unpractical for the evaluation of a complex system such as the LRC. In this paper, the efficiency of Subset Simulation (SuS) regarding accuracy, precision and required number of samples is studied for the calculation of probability of failure against fatigue of the steel lining. It can be observed that by increasing the number of samples per level and increasing the conditional probability of failure the precision increases as well as the total number of samples. The accuracy of the SuS is checked with respect to Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) showing good agreement and with greater precision for fewer number of samples. A case study is performed for the geologic conditions of Sweden showing that the considered failure mode is unlikely for high stresses and good rock mass quality.

Sveriges stålproduktion släpper idag ut stora mängder växthusgaser. Med initiativet HYBRIT hoppas SSAB, LKAB och Vattenfall göra stålproduktionen fossilfri genom att använda vätgas i processen. I HYBRIT:s forskningsprogram RP1 bidrar KTH Jord- och bergmekanik med att utveckla och förfina storskalig teknik för lagring av vätgas i bergrum. Artikeln beskriver de viktigaste frågeställningarna i forskningsprojektet.

The objective of HYBRIT RP1 is to explore and assess pathways to fossil-free energy-mining-iron-steel value chains and thereby provide a basis for industrial development activities and the necessary future transformative change in this field. A large-scale storage capacity for hydrogen gas is an important component of the proposed HYBRIT concept. Underground storage in lined rock caverns provides a reasonable option: a large-scale demonstration plant for storage of natural gas was constructed in Sweden in 2002 and has operated safely since then. Considering that this lined rock cavern facility was constructed for natural gas, the present report investigates the current research needs to allow for underground storage of hydrogen gas in such a facility. This will serve as a basis for the research in Work Package 2.3 of HYBRIT RP1.

Studying the experiences from decades of Swedish and international research and practice on the construction of underground gas storage facilities, the conclusion is that the lined rock cavern concept seems a reasonable way forward. In terms of rock engineering research, there are currently no critical research issues; however, a development of a previously proposed risk-based design framework for lined rock caverns may further strengthen the ability to manage risks related to underground gas storage facilities. The report identifies several potential research questions on this topic to be further studied: development of a risk-based design approach using subset simulation, the optimization potential of the concrete thickness in the lining, and the effect of spatial variation of rock mass properties on a location’s suitability for the storage facility.

Additionally, the report identifies the potential effect of hydrogen embrittlement on the steel lining as a critical research issue to ensure safe storage of hydrogen gas in lined rock caverns. However, as this issue is not related to rock engineering, but a material issue, it will not be covered further in Work Package 2.3.

Syftet med HYBRIT RP1 är att undersöka och utvärdera möjliga vägar till att göra värdekedjorna för energi-gruva-järn-stål fossilfria och därigenom ge en grund för industriella utvecklingsarbeten och den framtida omställningen. En viktig del i HYBRIT-konceptet utgörs av behovet av lagring av stora volymer vätgas. Lagring i inklädda bergrum är ett möjligt alternativ: en storskalig demonstrationsanläggning för lagring av naturgas byggdes 2002 i södra Sverige och har använts sedan dess. Eftersom denna anläggning konstruerades för naturgas, är syftet med denna rapport att undersöka det nuvarande forskningsbehovet för att kunna lagra vätgas i en sådan typ av anläggning. Detta kommer att utgöra basen för det fortsatta arbetet inom delprojekt 2.3 i HYBRIT RP1.

Efter att ha studerat resultaten från svensk och internationell forskning, samt erfarenheterna från byggnation av inklädda bergrum för gaslagring, är slutsatsen att inklädda bergrum utgör ett rimligt alternativ för lagring av vätgas. Avseende bergmekanik finns det för närvarande inga kritiska frågeställningar. Däremot finns möjlighet att vidareutveckla riskbaserade dimensioneringsmetoder för inklädda bergrum, vilket kan stärka förmågan till god riskhantering vid byggnation av sådana anläggningar. Rapporten identifierar flera forskningsuppslag inom detta område att arbeta med inom delprojekt 2.3: utveckling av en riskbaserad dimensioneringsmetod med hjälp av subset-simulering, studie av optimeringspotentialen för betongliningens tjocklek, samt hur bergmassans rumsliga variation påverkar en plats lämplighet för anläggandet av ett inklätt bergrum.

Avseende materialfrågor finns dock en kritisk frågeställning för underjordisk vätgaslagring: vätgasförsprödning av stålliningen ses som ett möjligt problem och bör studeras vidare. Men eftersom detta inte är relaterat till bergmekanik kommer det inte att studeras vidare inom delprojekt 2.3.