Investigation of damage impact on stability and airtightness of lined rock caverns for compressed air energy storage

Abstract The lined rock cavern (LRC) compressed air energy storage (CAES) system is currently regarded as one of the most promising methods for large‐scale energy storage. However, the safety of LRC under high internal pressure has emerged as a critical issue that restricts their development. While scholars have focused on the safety of LRC under multiphysics field coupling, few have noticed the inevitable damage sustained by the primary load‐bearing components—the surrounding rock and concrete lining—under high internal pressure, compromising their strength and permeation resistance. This study investigates the impact of damage to the surrounding rock and lining concrete on the stability and airtightness of the CAES cavern. First, a damage‐permeability evolution model was established by analyzing cyclic loading and unloading test data on concrete samples. Then, a thermo‐hydro‐mechanical damage (THM‐D) coupling model for the CAES cavern was developed and validated against operational data from the Huntorf plant. The coupling responses of both the surrounding rock and lining were compared and analyzed under three different schemes of the first charging and discharging operation. The results revealed the correlation between the air temperature in the cavern and the injection rate and the uneven damage evolution of the surrounding rock and lining caused by the geostress distribution coupled with the heat transfer process. Through the analysis, a higher air injection rate causes more lining damage and air leakage, posing greater risks to engineering safety and airtightness. However, the reduction of inflation time will weaken this effect to some extent. These findings offer valuable insights into the design, construction, and safe operation of LRC compressed air energy storage systems.