Tunnel and Underground Space (터널과지하공간)

Korean Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (한국암반공학회)
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Case Study on Stability Assessment of Pre-existing Fault at CO2 Geologic Storage

CO2 지중저장 시 단층 안정성 평가

  • 김현우 (한국지질자원연구원 지구환경연구본부) ;
  • 천대성 (한국지질자원연구원 지구환경연구본부) ;
  • 최병희 (한국지질자원연구원 지구환경연구본부) ;
  • 최헌수 (한국지질자원연구원 석유해저연구본부) ;
  • 박의섭 (한국지질자원연구원 지구환경연구본부)
  • Received : 2013.01.25
  • Accepted : 2013.02.19
  • Published : 2013.02.28
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Abstract

Increase of pore fluid pressure resulting from injection of $CO_2$ may reactivate pre-existing faults, and the induced seismic activities can raise the safety issues such as seal integrity, restoration of storage capacity, and, in the worst case, removal of previously injected $CO_2$. Thus, fault stability and potential for $CO_2$ leakage need to be assessed at the stage of site selection and planning of injection pressure, based on the results of large-scale site investigations and numerical modeling for various scenarios. In this report, studies on the assessment of fault stability during injection of $CO_2$ were reviewed. The seismic activities associated with an artificial injection of fluids or a release of naturally trapped high-pressure fluids were first examined, and then site investigation methods for the magnitude and orientation of in situ stresses, the distribution and change of pore fluid pressure, and the location of faults were generally summarized. Recent research cases on possibility estimation of fault reactivation, prediction of seismic magnitude, and modeling of $CO_2$ leakage through a reactivated fault were presented.

$CO_2$를 지중저장하는 과정에서 유체압력의 증가로 인한 단층 활성화는 저장영역의 기밀성 유지에 중대한 영향을 미치며, 상황에 따라 저장기능의 회복 또는 저장중인 $CO_2$의 처리 문제 등으로 확대될 수 있다. 따라서 현지조사 결과의 불확실성을 최소화하고 이를 토대로 부지 선정과 주입압력 결정 단계에서 실제 조건에 가까운 모델링을 수행하여 저장영역 내 단층의 안정성과 $CO_2$ 누출 가능성을 평가하여야 한다. 본 연구에서는 이와 관련된 기존 연구 결과들을 살펴봄으로써 연구 동향 및 연구 방법에 대한 정보를 제공하고자 하였다. 먼저 인위적으로 지반에 주입된 유체 또는 자연 생성되어 응집되어 있던 $CO_2$에 의해 지진활동이 일어났던 사례들을 조사하였으며, 현지응력의 크기 및 방향, 단층 및 유체압력 분포 자료를 획득하는 방법에 대해 살펴보았다. 그리고 단층 활성화 가능성 평가 및 지진활동 시 진동 크기 추정, 활성화에 따른 $CO_2$ 누출 모델링 관련 연구 사례를 정리하였다.

Keywords

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