Making cavity using directionally butted wells technology and its feasibility

• 1、State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics and Control, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China

Abstract：Based on the horizontal drilling technology, we propose a cavity-making method using directionally butted wells technology for multi-interlayered salt cavity. This method can well solve the common problem of cavity shape control in the conditions of thick interlayers and thick salt layers in China, and can accelerate the speed of cavity making. Locating wells and controlling targets are the crucial drilling technology in the proposed method. The process of solution mining can be divided into two periods: channels making period and construction period. Long-term creep characteristics under the action of different working pressures have been simulated after the completion of the cavity, and the long-term cavity operation shrinkage analyzed. It has been proved that making cavity using our proposed method meets the engineering requirements, and has feasibility to certain extent.

Keywords： salt rock directionally butted wells target cavity making numerical simulation