Consideration of temperature distribution around rock caverns used for heated water storage

The authors have proposed and discussed temporary storage of heated water in caverns excavated in rock mountains. In this case, the rock mass around caverns will receive the affects of high temperatures due to the storage of heated water. From the results of previous research, it was found that non-steady heat conduction and thermal stress occurred in the rock mass around caverns. Therefore, the evaluation of the temperature distribution around caverns is one of the important problems for the stability of caverns. In this study, temperature distribution around caverns when heated water was stored was analyzed considering convection of the heated water. From the results of the analysis, it was supposed that the convection of heated water affects the temperature distribution around caverns. Then using the results of the temperature analysis, the thermal stress distribution was analyzed and the stability of the caverns was discussed.