Bubble Filler Sealing for Underground Cavern Air Leakage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in preventing air leakage within underground caverns used for compressed air energy storage (CAES) is particularly acute in regions with soft rock formations, where traditional sealing methods are cumbersome and inefficient, especially when compared to caverns in halite layers.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of a water-insoluble filler in the form of bubbles, which is introduced into the cavern, adheres to the inner surfaces, permeates through cracks, and is cured, eliminating the need for a balloon-based sealing system, allowing for efficient sealing without manufacturing complex balloon shapes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a balloon-based sealing system is used to seal the inner surface of the underground cavern, then air leakage can be prevented, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential sealing function from the complex balloon-based system and implements it through a simpler filler material that can be directly injected into the cavern. The filler material alone provides the sealing capability without requiring elaborate balloon structures, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining air leakage prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical balloon-based sealing system with a chemical/physical filler material system. Instead of using inflatable membranes and mechanical tension to seal the cavern, the solution uses injectable filler material that hardens to provide sealing, substituting a complex mechanical system with a simpler material-based approach.
2Reliability
If traditional sealing methods are used in soft rock formations, then air leakage prevention is attempted, but the ease of operation and productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The filler material exhibits self-service characteristics by automatically filling and sealing cracks and voids in the soft rock formation through its own flow and hardening properties. The material self-adjusts to the cavern geometry and rock surface irregularities without requiring complex external sealing structures or elaborate installation procedures, thereby improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes parameter changes in the filler material (from liquid/injected state to hardened state) to achieve sealing. The material transitions from a flowable state that can penetrate cracks to a solid state that provides structural sealing, allowing simple injection operations to achieve reliable air leakage prevention in soft rock formations.
3Manufacturing precision
If the filler is provided in bubble form and water is poured to make it float, then the filler adheres uniformly to the inner surface, but the use of water and additional steps increase process complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses the buoyancy force (anti-weight principle) of the filler bubbles in water to counteract gravity and achieve uniform distribution of the filler material along the cavern inner surface. The water provides an upward buoyant force that carries the filler bubbles to adhere evenly to vertical and overhead surfaces, ensuring uniform coating without requiring complex application equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
Water serves as an intermediary medium that facilitates the uniform adhesion of the filler material to the cavern surface. The water temporarily carries the filler bubbles and enables controlled deposition, after which the water can be removed leaving the uniformly adhered filler. This intermediary approach simplifies the coating process compared to direct application methods.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method enables effective sealing of the cavern's inner surfaces, preventing air leakage and reducing the complexity of sealing large underground spaces, thus enhancing the efficiency and feasibility of CAES in various geological conditions.
Implementation Method 1
pouring of water into the underground cavern to allow the water-insoluble filler in the form of bubbles to float up
Implementation Method 2
allowing the adhering filler to permeate the inner surface of the underground cavern
Data Source
AI summary
The water-insoluble filler in the form of bubbles is provided into the underground cavern. Then, the filler thus provided is allowed to adhere to a bottom surface and a lower wall surface of the underground cavern to permeate thereinto. Subsequently, the filler having permeated is cured. Here, the water-insoluble filler in the form of bubbles may be provided again into the underground cavern. Moreover, water is poured into the underground cavern to float up the filler. The filler having floated up is allowed to adhere to an upper wall surface and a ceiling surface of the underground cavern to permeate thereinto. Thereafter, the filler having permeated is cured. Here, when the filler is allowed to permeate an inner surface of the underground cavern, a pressure inside the underground cavern may be increased. Additionally, when the filler is cured, a temperature inside the underground cavern may be increased.