Creep Behaviour of Alpine Salt Rock and the Influence of Insoluble Residues in Solution Mining

Abstract

In Austrian salt mining, brine is won by way of solution mining with the borehole well method. The Alpine salt rock (Haselgebirge) consists of a high share of insolubles, and therefore leached caverns are filled with clay residues, as so-called Laist, a natural backfill, according to the salt content. The creep deformations of the Haselgebirge mainly correspond with a rupture-free flow and are calculated by means of an elasto-viscous model (power-law). These deformations mobilize the passive fill-pressure in clay residue that is described as elastoplastic with isotropic hardening by means of a modified Cam-clay model. The long-term laboratory tests are supported through calculations of the creep parameter via measured convergences of drifts at various depths. The long-term behaviour of the caverns is evaluated based on numerical calculations by the volume convergence and the degree of utilization of pillar.