PREDICTION OF CAVERN CONFIGURATIONS FROM SUBSIDENCE DATA
Keywords:
Subsidence, brine, salt rock, cavern, sinkholeAbstract
An analytical method has been developed to predict the location, depth and size of caverns created atthe interface between salt and overlying formations. A governing hyperbolic equation is used in astatistical analysis of the ground survey data to determine the cavern location, maximum subsidence,maximum surface slope and surface curvature under the sub-critical and critical conditions. Theregression produces a set of subsidence components and a representative profile of the surface subsidenceunder sub-critical and critical conditions. Finite difference analyses using FLAC code correlate thesubsidence components with the cavern size and depth under a variety of strengths and deformationmoduli of the overburden. Set of empirical equations correlates these subsidence components with thecavern configurations and overburden properties, and hence allows prediction of cavern configurationsfrom the subsidence components.
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