This paper provides a systematic visualization of the development, current status and challenges of salt cavern hydrogen storage technology based on the relevant literature from the past five years in the Web of Science Core Collection database. Using VOSviewer (version 1.6.20) and CiteSpace software (advanced version 6.3.R3), this study analyzes the field from a knowledge mapping perspective. The findings reveal that global research hotspots are primarily focused on multi-energy collaboration, integration of renewable energy systems and exploration of commercialization, highlighting the essential role of salt cavern hydrogen storage in driving the energy transition and promoting sustainable development. In China, research mainly concentrates on theoretical innovations and technological optimizations to address complex geological conditions. Despite the rapid growth in the number of Chinese publications, unresolved challenges remain, such as the complexity of layered salt rock, and thermodynamic coupling effects during high-frequency injection and extraction, as well as issues concerning permeability and microbial activity. Moving forward, China’s salt cavern hydrogen storage technology should focus on strengthening engineering practices suited to local geological conditions and enhancing the application of intelligent technologies, thereby facilitating the translation of theoretical research into practical applications.

A linear theoretical model is established for the dynamics of a hanging vertical cantilevered pipe which is subjected concurrently to internal and reverse external axial flows. Such pipe systems may have instability by flutter (amplified oscillations) or static divergence (buckling). The pipe system under consideration is a slender flexible cantilevered pipe hanging concentrically within an inflexible external pipe of larger diameter. From the clamped end to the free end, fluid is injected through the annular passage between the external pipe and the cantilevered pipe. When exiting the annular passage, the fluid discharges in the counter direction along the cantilevered pipe. The inflexible external pipe has a variable length and it can cover a portion of the length of the cantilevered pipe. This pipe system has been applied in the solution mining and in the salt cavern underground energy storage industry. The planar motion equation of the system is solved by means of a Galerkin method, and Euler–Bernoulli beam eigenfunctions are used as comparison functions. Calculations are conducted to quantify the effects of different confinement conditions (i.e., the radial confinement degree of the annular passage and the confined-flow length) on the cantilevered pipe stability, for a long leaching-tubing-like system. For a long system, an increase in the radial confinement degree of the annular passage and the confined-flow length gives rise to a series of flutter and divergence. Additionally, the effect of the cantilevered pipe length is studied. Increasing the cantilevered pipe length results in an increase of the critical flow velocity while a decrease of the associated critical frequency. For a long enough system, the critical frequency almost disappears.