The intent of this study is to examine the internal structure of the Bayou Choctaw salt dome utilizing the information obtained from graphical representations of sonar survey data of the internal cavern surfaces. Many of the Bayou Choctaw caverns have been abandoned. Some existing caverns were purchased by the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) program and have rather convoluted histories and complex cavern geometries. In fact, these caverns are typically poorly documented and are not particularly constructive to this study. Only two Bayou Choctaw caverns, 101 and 102, which were constructed using well-controlled solutioning methods, are well documented. One of these was constructed by the SPR for their use while the other was constructed and traded for another existing cavern. Consequently, compared to the SPR caverns of the West Hackberry and Big Hill domes, it is more difficult to obtain a general impression of the stratigraphy of the dome. Indeed, caverns of Bayou Choctaw show features significantly different than those encountered in the other two SPR facilities. In the number of abandoned caverns, and some of those existing caverns purchased by the SPR, extremely irregular solutioning has occurred. The two SPR constructed caverns suggest that some sections of the caverns may have undergone very regular solutioning to form uniform cylindrical shapes. Although it is not usually productive to speculate, some suggestions that point to the behavior of the Bayou Choctaw dome are examined. Also the primary differences in the Bayou Choctaw dome and the other SPR domes are noted.

This collection of papers on research into and management of underground structures in salt formations represents the state-of-the-art on applications of salt mechanics in mines and storage caverns for gas/hydrocarbon, radioactive waste and toxic waste disposal. The contributions cover laboratory experiments, constitutive numerical modeling and field investigations, and deal with creep, damage, thermo-hydro-mechanical and chemical-coupled effects, lessons learnt from real sites and structures and in-situ monitoring. The book is organized into eight topics: • Laboratory investigations and constitutive modeling • Coupled processes and hydro-chemical effects (THMC) • Field measurements and back-analyses • Numerical modeling • Dry mining, post-mining and backfilling • Liquid hydrocarbon storage and brine-production caverns • Gaseous hydrocarbon storage and compressed air energy storage • Hazardous and radioactive waste disposal Mechanical Behavior of Salt VII will appeal to academics, engineers and professionals involved in salt mechanics.