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Geomechanics in Underground Technologies for Renewable Energy supply: The example of Enguri power tunnel leakage

Niederhuber, Thomas ORCID iD icon 1; Müller, Birgit I. R. 1; Röckel, Thomas; Kalabegishvili, Mirian; Schilling, Frank 1; Aberle, Bernd
1 Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften (AGW), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Abstract (englisch):

The Enguri Dam (Georgia) is one of the highest arch dams in the world, located at Enguri river in the Caucasus, supplying ca. 40% of the Georgian power. In mountainous areas hydropower reservoirs use topography to improve power generation and separate the reservoir and the powerhouse by so-called powertunnels. At Enguri , a 15 km long pressure tunnel with a slope of 0.6° connects the reservoir to the power station. The tunnel is located in karstic limestones with a maximum overburden of 300 m. It was flooded in 1978 with flow rates up to 450 m³/s. Annual water level changes in the reservoir can reach up to 100 m. The hydraulic pressure generates internal water pressure. Water losses of more than 10 m³/sec have required extensive rehabilitation work in 2021.
The pressure tunnel is lined by concrete segments separated by construction joints. During the rehabilitation in Spring 2021, a ca. 40 m section of one longitudinal construction joint with a gaping fissure and several smaller cracks have been observed in the tunnel. To explain why only one construction joint was leaking, we combined field observations with numerical modelling of the stress state around the pressure tunnel. ... mehr


Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften (AGW)
Publikationstyp Poster
Publikationsdatum 15.06.2022
Sprache Englisch
Identifikator KITopen-ID: 1000148145
Veranstaltung DGMK/ÖGEW Frühjahrstagung 2022 – Geo-Energy-Systems and Subsurface Technologies – Key Elements towards a Low Carbon World (2022), Celle, Deutschland, 15.06.2022 – 16.06.2022
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