ESG - Underground Storage Systems
ESG offers complete microseismic monitoring solutions for a variety of geotechnical applications including underground storage facilities (LPG sites and nuclear waste repositories), vibration thresholds and blasting and monitoring of structures such as dams, high speed rail tracks, bridges and tunnels. Our underground storage systems incorporate microseismic, temperature and pressure data into one fully integrated monitoring platform. This complete system is customized to include everything from integrated acquisition through to visualization based on client needs.
Microseismic monitoring systems have been installed at many underground LPG and LNG storage sites to ensure containment integrity. Typically ESG’s Portable Paladin™ and seismic accelerometers are installed from the water curtain galleries to provide high resolution seismic coverage of the caverns, providing operators with real time 3D event location display of any seismic activity occurring within the site.
Peizometers are also installed at various locations around the cavern to monitor the hydrostatic pressure around the water jacket, and correlate any associated fluid escape with seismicity that may be occurring within the cavern. Pressure data is automatically collected by the system, and presented graphically to the operators.
Nuclear Waste Repository StorageESG is actively involved in using microseismic monitoring to study the long-term integrity of the underground structures used to store nuclear waste. ESG’s monitoring systems characterize the stress distribution around the storage caverns and can identify and characterize micro-fracture development and rock properties. Our systems can be employed in a laboratory environment or in-situ during underground tests. The data obtained from these monitoring programs are then used to calibrate geotechnical models and understand the rock mass response to excavation. Tests have also been completed to include data from heating or pressurizing the rock.