Study of Mechanical Properties of Different Hydrate Reservoirs

Based on the triaxial shear tests of mud sediments in the South China Sea, mud chalk-type sediments in the South China Sea, and sandy sediments in the Nankai Trough, Japan, at different hydrate saturation and enclosing pressures, the stress-strain relationships of hydrate-bearing clays, mud chalk-type soils, and sandy soils were analyzed. The test results show that:(1)The stress-strain curves of the South China Sea clay sediments show three stages of elasticity, plastic deformation and strain hardening, which are significantly different from those of the hydrate-free clays; the stress-strain relationships of the hydrate-containing clays before and after hydrate decomposition are significantly different, and the undrained strength of the clays decreases by up to 50% after hydrate decomposition compared with that before hydrate decomposition; the above results indicate that the presence of hydrate enhances the linkage or cementation between the clay particles. The above results indicate that the presence of hydrate enhances the linkage or cementation between the clay particles.(2)For the mechanical properties of the hydrate specimens of the muddy chalky sand type in the South China Sea, the hydrate endowment, effective stresses and pore pressures all have some influence on the strength and deformation properties. The inclusion of hydrate in the pore space enhances the shear expansion characteristics of the sediments. For the effect of effective stress on the mechanical properties of hydrate sediments, the increase of effective peritectic pressure reduces the strain softening properties of hydrate sediments. The destructive strength of the sediments increases with the increase of effective confining pressure.(3)For the hydrate specimens in the Nankai Trough of Japan under the same effective circumferential pressure conditions, with the increase of hydrate saturation, the stress-strain law of the sediments showed a tendency to transform from strain hardening to strain softening, and the morphology of sandy sediment axial strain-lateral strain curves was controlled by the factors of hydrate saturation, and the absolute value of the slope of the curves expressed the rule of change of the tangent Poisson's ratio.