About this Research Topic
Up to 2019, the global average temperature increased approximate 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels. In order to slow/prevent climate warming, the current consensus has been reached to reduce the usage of fossil fuels which caused the majority of the greenhouse gas emissions in the past decades of years. As the replacement of fossil energy, solar energy, wind power and other clean renewable energy have been rapidly developing. However, their match rate with the practical power load stays low due to the randomness and intermittency. Large-scale energy storage (CAES and PHES) which can smoothly bridge the renewable energy and power load will play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Regarding the difficulty in the site selection for large-scale energy storage, using underground mine space as air/gas storage or water/liquid reservoir would provide new options for energy storage.
During mining activities, large quantities of underground caverns/tunnels are formed. Using the underground space from abandoned mines would provide a new approach for underground energy storage site selection. The installation of energy storage plants requires geological stability and medium tightness. The energy storage is characterized by its fast-changing periodic load in storages, that is, the high-frequency cyclic load. The mechanical stability and seepage stability of the energy storage chamber under the creep-fatigue effect caused by the high -frequency cyclic load strongly influence its normal operation. With the mechanical stability, the underground storage chamber space is guaranteed to have the integrity and acceptable shrinkage. The seepage stability ensures that the leakage of storage media (e.g., high-pressure air, pressurized water, electrochemical fluid) lie within the allowable safety margin.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to discuss the latest progress in the stability research of underground energy storage structure in mines, providing reference for underground energy storage.
• Continuous/discontinuous fatigue performance of the surrounding rock, e.g. rock salt, sandstone, mudstone, gypsum, etc.
• Damage evolution and self-healing properties of underground surrounding rock under the creep-fatigue coupled effect;
• Thermodynmic/economic performance analysis of energy storage system using abandoned mines;
• Long-term stability assessment for the underground chambers from abandoned mines served as energy storages;
• Tightness/permeability evolution of the storage medium, compressed air, pressurized water, electrochemical fluid.
• Thermodynamic performance of the energy storage system using underground space
During mining activities, large quantities of underground caverns/tunnels are formed. Using the underground space from abandoned mines would provide a new approach for underground energy storage site selection. The installation of energy storage plants requires geological stability and medium tightness. The energy storage is characterized by its fast-changing periodic load in storages, that is, the high-frequency cyclic load. The mechanical stability and seepage stability of the energy storage chamber under the creep-fatigue effect caused by the high -frequency cyclic load strongly influence its normal operation. With the mechanical stability, the underground storage chamber space is guaranteed to have the integrity and acceptable shrinkage. The seepage stability ensures that the leakage of storage media (e.g., high-pressure air, pressurized water, electrochemical fluid) lie within the allowable safety margin.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to discuss the latest progress in the stability research of underground energy storage structure in mines, providing reference for underground energy storage.
• Continuous/discontinuous fatigue performance of the surrounding rock, e.g. rock salt, sandstone, mudstone, gypsum, etc.
• Damage evolution and self-healing properties of underground surrounding rock under the creep-fatigue coupled effect;
• Thermodynmic/economic performance analysis of energy storage system using abandoned mines;
• Long-term stability assessment for the underground chambers from abandoned mines served as energy storages;
• Tightness/permeability evolution of the storage medium, compressed air, pressurized water, electrochemical fluid.
• Thermodynamic performance of the energy storage system using underground space
Keywords: Underground space, Rock mechanics, Energy Storage, Mine Space, Stability
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
