Abstract
A mumber of rock caverns due to the water-seal system have been constructed to store a large amount of fuels like oils and liquified propane gas (LPG). The water-seal system is one of the most powerful techniques for piling the fuels through groundwater barrier. This paper studies key points of water-seal hydraulics theoretically and experimentally. This is focused on:(1) mechanism of water-seal system, and (2) gas penetration process after gas leakage. According to the results of the present study, it is suggested that the design depth of caverns is specified not only by hydrostatic pressure but also by capillary pressure and threshold pressure of gas penetration in wetted rocks.
