Geological Confinement Risk Assessment via Volume Discretization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for securing geological containment systems are incomplete, fail to account for interactions between security elements and their behavior, and lack a reliable, exhaustive means to assess risks, leading to inadequate protection against leaks or contamination.
Innovation Solution
A method that decomposes the containment system into components, models them by volume, and generates failure scenarios to identify potential risks, allowing for targeted security measures and monitoring to minimize failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current security means (insulation devices, plugs) are used to secure geological containment systems, then basic containment function is provided, but the security is incomplete and does not account for interactions between security elements or their actual behavior on the ground
Solution Approach 1:
The containment system is decomposed into discrete components (geological formation, storage cavity, security elements) that can be individually modeled and analyzed. This segmentation allows for comprehensive assessment of each element's behavior and interactions without overwhelming complexity, as each component can be studied separately and then integrated into the overall risk assessment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates monitoring of actual behavior on the ground and feeds this information back into the risk assessment model. This allows the security assessment to adapt to real-world conditions and interactions between security elements, improving completeness while managing complexity through iterative refinement rather than requiring all parameters to be known a priori.
2Adaptability or versatility
If standard and general security processes are used, then implementation is straightforward, but geological containment systems cannot be treated on a case-by-case basis, which is a major disadvantage given the diversity of systems
Solution Approach 1:
The risk assessment model is configured to incorporate local-specific parameters and conditions for each geological containment system. By allowing customization of input parameters, geological formations, security elements, and interaction models, the system adapts to case-specific characteristics while maintaining a standardized assessment framework, thus balancing adaptability with implementation ease.
3Measurement precision
If current means are used to secure containment systems, then some protection is provided, but there is no reliable and exhaustive means of knowing the risks represented by the systems or the dangers in case of failure
Solution Approach 1:
The system transforms a large number of physical, chemical, and geological parameters into a structured risk assessment model that quantifies risks and dangers. By changing the state of numerous input parameters (material properties, geological conditions, security element characteristics) and processing them through the model, precise risk measurements are obtained without requiring manual evaluation of each individual parameter, thus achieving measurement precision while managing the quantity of parameters.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention concerns a method for identifying the risk of failure of a geological confinement system (10), said method including the following steps: acquiring data concerning said system (10); based on said data concerning said system (10), breaking down said system into a plurality of components (11-17); modelling at least one component (11-17) by at least one volume (131-134), said modelling being performed by discretizing in volume said component (11-17); generating at least one failure scenario of said system, said generation comprising at least one iteration of the following steps: analyzing a state of at least one volume (131-134) modelling at least one component (11-17) of said system; detecting, based on the state of the volume (131-134), at least one potential failure mode of said volume (131-134). The inventive method and system enable the risks of failure of any system of geological confinement, natural and/or artificial, in particular oil tanks used for storing CO2, to be identified. In the case of the latter example, the identification of scenarios enable the paths of potential CO2 leakage, the sequencing of related failures, the various possible evolutions of the system over the time period concerned, to be highlighted. The inventive method and system enable solutions for securing the geological confinement system to be proposed.