Reasonable Paths of Construction Ventilation for Large-Scale Underground Cavern Groups in Winter and Summer

Forced ventilation or newly built vertical shafts are mainly used to solve ventilation problems in large underground cavern groups. However, it is impossible to increase air supply due to the size restriction of the construction roadway, resulting in ventilation deterioration. Based on construction of the Jinzhou underground oil storage project, we proposed both a summer ventilation scheme and winter ventilation scheme, after upper layer excavation of the cavern is completed and connected with the shaft. A three-dimensional numerical model validated with field test data was performed to investigate air velocity and CO concentration. Fan position optimization and the influence of temperature difference on natural ventilation were discussed. The results show that CO concentration in the working area of the cavern can basically drop to a safe value of 30 mg/m3 in air inlet and exhaust schemes after 10 min of ventilation. Since there is inevitably a back-flow in the winter ventilation scheme, it is necessary to ensure that airflow is always moving towards the shaft. Optimal placement of the axial flow fan at the shaft bottom is on the central axis of the cavern, 5 m away from the shaft. The greater the temperature difference, the better the natural ventilation effect of the shaft. The natural ventilation effect of the shaft as an outlet in winter, is better than that of the shaft as an inlet in summer