Publications Details
Strength analyses of Weeks Island bulkheads
When the Morton Salt Mine in Weeks Island, Louisiana was converted into a strategic Petroleum Reserve oil reservoir, massive concrete bulkheads were installed to seal the access shafts against oil or water leakage. Recent inspection of these bulkheads has raised questions about their ability to perform satisfactorily in the event of a catastrophic water leak into the mine. Calculations are reported here which examine the response of the five bulkheads to a worst-case scenario of flooding by brine from the surface into the oil reservoir below the bulkheads. These calculations show that, under conservative analysis assumptions, factors of safety under such a load for the bulkheads sealing the service shaft and the two raisebores are close to 1. The Markel incline and production shaft bulkheads exhibit safety factors in excess of 2 and 3, respectively. 10 refs., 24 figs., 3 tabs.