Mechanical properties of sand, silt, and clay containing tetrahydrofuran hydrate

[1] The mechanical behavior of hydrate-bearing sediments subjected to large strains has relevance for the stability of the seafloor and submarine slopes, drilling and coring operations, and the analysis of certain small-strain properties of these sediments (for example, seismic velocities). This study reports on the results of comprehensive axial compression triaxial tests conducted at up to 1 MPa confining pressure on sand, crushed silt, precipitated silt, and clay specimens with closely controlled concentrations of synthetic hydrate. The results show that the stress-strain behavior of hydrate-bearing sediments is a complex function of particle size, confining pressure, and hydrate concentration. The mechanical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments at low hydrate concentration (probably 50% of pore space), the behaviorbecomesmoreindependentofstressbecausethehydratescontrolbothstiffnessand strength and possibly the dilative tendency of sediments by effectively increasing interparticle coordination, cementing particles together, and filling the pore space. The cementation contribution to the shear strength of hydrate-bearing sediments decreases with increasing specific surface of soil minerals. The lower the effective confining stress, the greater the impact of hydrate formation on normalized strength.

[1]  Christopher W. Swan,et al.  Small-strain behavior of frozen sand in triaxial compression , 1995 .

[2]  D. Davidson,et al.  Composition of Tetrahydrofuran Hydrate and the Effect of Pressure on the Decomposition , 1971 .

[3]  C. Ruppel,et al.  Thermal Conductivity Measurements in Porous Mixtures of Methane Hydrate and Quartz Sand , 2002 .

[4]  T. Baker,et al.  COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH AND CREEP BEHAVIOR OF HYDRATE-CONSOLIDATED SAND , 1990 .

[5]  J. M. Duncan,et al.  Nonlinear Analysis of Stress and Strain in Soils , 1970 .

[6]  Lars Inge Berge,et al.  Measured acoustic wave velocities of R11 (CCl3F) hydrate samples with and without sand as a function of hydrate concentration , 1999 .

[7]  A. Skempton.  THE PORE-PRESSURE COEFFICIENTS A AND B , 1954 .

[8]  J. Murphy,et al.  Acoustic and resistivity measurements on rock samples containing tetrahydrofuran hydrates: Laboratory analogues to natural gas hydrate deposits , 1986 .

[9]  M. Lee,et al.  Biot–Gassmann theory for velocities of gas hydrate‐bearing sediments , 2002 .

[10]  Amos Nur,et al.  Elastic‐wave velocity in marine sediments with gas hydrates: Effective medium modeling , 1999 .

[11]  W. Durham,et al.  Rheological comparisons and structural imaging of sI and sII end- member gas hydrates and hydrate/sediment aggregates. , 2005 .

[12]  K. Klein.  Electromagnetic properties of high specific surface minerals , 1999 .

[13]  F. Tatsuoka,et al.  Deformation characteristics of soils and rocks from field and laboratory tests, Keynote Lecture , 1992 .

[14]  Stephen H. Kirby,et al.  Polycrystalline Methane Hydrate: Synthesis from Superheated Ice, and Low-Temperature Mechanical Properties , 1998 .

[15]  Tae Sup Yun,et al.  Compressional and shear wave velocities in uncemented sediment containing gas hydrate , 2005 .

[16]  Guangjin Chen,et al.  Interfacial Tension of Methane + Water with Surfactant near the Hydrate Formation Conditions , 2004 .

[17]  David Airey,et al.  Cyclic response of calcareous soil from the North-West Shelf of Australia , 1991 .

[18]  J. Comyn.  Handbook of organic solvent properties , 1997 .

[19]  G. Narsilio,et al.  Instrumented pressure testing chamber for characterizing sediment cores recovered at in situ hydrostatic pressure , 2006 .

[20]  R. Hyndman,et al.  A seismic study of methane hydrate marine bottom simulating reflectors , 1992 .

[21]  G. A. Parks.  CHAPTER 4. SURFACE ENERGY AND ADSORPTION AT MINERAL/WATER INTERFACES: AN INTRODUCTION , 1990 .

[22]  R. Hyndman,et al.  Vertical seismic profiling and seismic properties of gas hydrate in an Arctic well , 1999 .

[23]  W. Waite,et al.  Methane hydrate formation in partially water-saturated Ottawa sand , 2004 .

[24]  W. Durham,et al.  Ductile flow of methane hydrate , 2003 .

[25]  María Guimaraes.  Crushed stone fines and ion removal from clay slurries-fundamental studies , 2002 .

[26]  C. Clayton,et al.  An effective medium inversion algorithm for gas hydrate quantification and its application to laboratory and borehole measurements of gas hydrate-bearing sediments , 2006 .

[27]  William F. Waite,et al.  Physical properties and rock physics models of sediment containing natural and laboratory-formed methane gas hydrate , 2004 .

[28]  A. Myerson,et al.  THF–water hydrate crystallization: an experimental investigation , 1999 .

[29]  C. Clayton,et al.  A laboratory investigation into the seismic velocities of methane gas hydrate‐bearing sand , 2005 .

[30]  F. Tatsuoka,et al.  A SIMPLE GAUGE FOR LOCAL SMALL STRAIN MEASUREMENTS IN THE LABORATORY , 1991 .

[31]  M. Lee,et al.  Elastic properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediments , 2001 .

[32]  Pierre Henry,et al.  Formation of natural gas hydrates in marine sediments 1. Conceptual model of gas hydrate growth conditioned by host sediment properties , 1999 .

[33]  W. Holbrook,et al.  Seismic Methods for Detecting and Quantifying Marine Methane Hydrate/Free Gas Reservoirs , 2000 .

[34]  R. C. Joshi,et al.  Compressive strength behavior of fine-grained frozen soils , 1990 .

[35]  Y. Zhong,et al.  Surfactant effects on gas hydrate formation , 2000 .

[36]  Johannes Kulenkampff,et al.  Pore space hydrate formation in a glass bead sample from methane dissolved in water , 2005 .

[37]  E. Sloan,et al.  Effect of granular sediment on some thermal properties of tetrahydrofuran hydrate , 1985 .

[38]  E. Spangenberg,et al.  Physical properties of gas hydrate bearing sediments , 2000 .

[39]  M. Fahey,et al.  Cyclic response of calcareous soil from the North-West Shelf of Australia , 1991 .

[40]  Stephen H. Kirby,et al.  The strength and rheology of methane clathrate hydrate , 2003 .

[41]  J. Carcione,et al.  Elastic velocity models for gas-hydrate-bearing sediments - a comparison , 2004 .

[42]  V. R. Parameswaran,et al.  STRENGTH OF FROZEN SAND CONTAINING TETRAHYDROFURAN HYDRATE , 1989 .

[43]  B. Buffett,et al.  Formation of gas hydrate from dissolved gas in natural porous media , 2000 .

[44]  Gye-Chun Cho,et al.  DETERMINATION OF CRITICAL STATE PARAMETERS IN SANDY SOILS - SIMPLE PROCEDURE , 2001 .

[45]  Amos Nur,et al.  Estimating the amount of gas hydrate and free gas from marine seismic data , 2000 .

[46]  Charles C. Ladd,et al.  MECHANISMS OF STRENGTH FOR FROZEN SAND , 1983 .