Rühaak, W. ; Luo, J. ; Diersch, H.-J. G. (2009)
3D modeling of brine flow - a case study for a flooded salt mine.
2nd International FEFLOW User Conference. Potsdam/Berlin (14.09.2009-18.09.2009)
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Kurzbeschreibung (Abstract)

An abandoned and flooded historical salt mine located in Stassfurt (Germany) is studied within a joint research project. The objective of this project is to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of naturally or actively flooded salt mines. Within this survey the stability of the salt mine and the surrounding caprocks is studied. One task within this research framework is the computation of different density-dependent 3D groundwater transport models. Aim of these models is to improve the understanding of the impact of different remedial engineering solutions. For instance, it is studied which amount of salt will be dissolved due to pumping activities. Subsequently, the related potential of subsidence effects is assessed. A further challenge is the analysis of effects of the underground cavities on the groundwater and mass-transport dynamics. Detailed geometry of the mine workings is included in 3D model schematizations. Chemical reaction kinetics is also considered, where NaCl and MgCl2 are the dominant salt species. Precipitation and dissolution are controlled by the amount of available MgCl2. The consideration of these different salt types can be of importance as they possess different specific densities. Furthermore, permeability and porosity are also affected by precipitation and dissolution. It is shown that the impact of these different chemical and physical relations may have a relevant impact on the modeling result. The presented work is currently still in progress. However, the availability of 3D numerical models provides many advantages. Despite all limitations these models can serve as effective analysis tools to improve the understanding of the relevant processes.

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