MIKE by DHI UK and Ireland Blog

Animated visualization of a 3D groundwater model for a flooded salt mine (Stereoscopic 3D)


To turn off stereoscopic 3D, click the red '3D' icon on the bottom navigation bar while the animation is running.

Objective of the project

Using the abandoned and flooded historical salt mine located near Staßfurt, Germany, as a case study, improve the general knowledge of the dynamics of naturally or intentionally flooded salt mines.

Approach

A regional three-dimensional mass-transport FEFLOW® model was built for the project area, including detailed 3D geometric schematizations of the mine workings.

In addition two-dimensional type-models were computed, for instance to study chemical reaction kinetics, where NaCl and MgCl2 represent the dominant salt species. Precipitation and dissolution are controlled by the amount of available MgCl2, due to this the bulk density is affected. Furthermore, permeability and porosity are also modified dynamically by precipitation and dissolution.

Benefit

Applying the FEFLOW® model it could be shown that the relevant processes in a flooded salt-mine can be modelled, precipitation and dissolution reactive processes for multi-species and multi-density processes can be modelled in type models, using the advanced visualisation possibilities of FEFLOW 6 the set-up of such a model can be speeded up, runtimes can be kept reasonably short by using parallelization.

Potential Applications

Mine flooding can not only alter underground hydrogeology, but also cause the collapse of mine workings (potentially exacerbating groundwater related flooding elsewhere), ground subsidence and damage to surface structures both in the mine and in the surrounding area. FEFLOW can be used to model the long term performance of flooding control measures, as well as dewatering works, in operational and abandoned mine workings - particularly important where rock formations are highly prone to chemical attack and erosion (e.g. gypsum mines). FEFLOW can also be used to validate remediation schemes for groundwater contaminated by mining activity.

For more information, please visit http://www.feflow.info/