Röda Sten Rock Laboratory (RSRL), located 70 m below ground in Gothenburg, Sweden, is a research facility planned for various mined gas storage schemes, including compressed and refrigerated gas. Considerable geological and geotechnical investigations were conducted. These includes exploratory core drilling, field observations and laboratory tests. The uniaxial compressive strength, tensile strength, Young's modulus, etc. of the rock material, in-situ stresses as well as the shear strength and deformation properties of natural joints were obtained in the laboratory. The quality of the rock mass was characterized by determination of RMR and Q values. The strength and deformation moduli were assessed with empirical methods.
Le laboratoire de Röda Sten (RSRL), situe à une profondeur de 70 m à Göteborg en Suède, est un complexe de recherche prevu pour l'emmagasinage du gaz, i compris le gaz comprime et refrigere. D'importantes etudes geologiques et geotechniques ont ete effectuees. Celles-ci comprennent des essais sur echantillons carottes, des essais sur le terrain et des essais en laboratoire. La resistance normale verticale, la resistance à la traction et le module de Young de la roche, ainsi que l'etat des tensions in-situ, la resistance au cisaillement et les proprietes de deformation des fissures naturelles ont ete etudiees en laboratoire. La qualite de la masse rocheuse fut caracterisee par la determination des valeurs RMR et Q. Les modules de resistance et de deformation furent obtenus à l'aide de methodes empiriques.
Röda Sten Rock Laboratory (RSRL), Göteborg, Schweden, in 70 m Tiefe gelegen, ist eine Forschungsstatte geplant fuer verschidene Möglichkeiten unterirdischer Lagerung von komprimiertem und gekuehltem Gas. Bedeutendes auf dem Gebiet der Geologie und Geotechnik wurde untersucht. Dises umfasst untersuchende kernbohrungen, Feldbeobachtunggen, Young's Modul u.s.w. von Felsmaterial, Spannungen an Ort und Stelle, als auch die Schubfestigkeit und die Verformungseigenschaften natuerlicher fugen wurden im Labor erzielt. Die Qualitat der Felsmasse wurde durch Bestimmen der RMR und Q Werte charakterisiert. Die Festigkeit und die Verformungsmodule wurden mit empirischen Methoden erreicht.
The Röda Sten Rock Laboratory (RSRL) is a rock mechanical research facility planned for various mined gas storage schemes, including compressed and refrigerated (liquefied) gas. Cavern A is designed and equipped for high gas pressure up to 8 MPa; and Cavern B for low temperatures down to about −200° C (Fig. 1). Geological and geotechnical investigations have been performed before and after excavation of the caverns. The investigations include exploratory core drilling, joint mapping, laboratory testing, etc. The objective of this paper is to summarize the investigations performed, so as to provide a unique platform for further research and modelling. The selection of input parameters for rock mechanical calculations and rock engineering judgements is a central issue for all underground development. Therefore, special emphasis is being devoted to comparisons between data obtained from rock samples and actual full-scale field behaviour. The particular importance of the rock joints for the mechanical behaviour of hard rock masses is recognized in the RSRL research through assessments of fracture occurrence in the rock openings, as well as determination of the mechanical properties of joints through experiments. Another important issue is the application of rock mass classification systems. General geological conditions will be presented in Sect. 2. In Sect. 3, the results of exploratory drilling will be adopted to assess some vital rock mass parameters such as joint frequency and RQD etc. In-situ stress condition is described in Sect. 4, and intact rock properties are described in Sect. 5. Joint mapping is developed in Sect. 6, where the characteristics of the joint system at Röda Sten are estimated.