Dilation Behavior of Gas-Saturated Methane-Hydrate Bearing Sand

The geotechnical properties of methane-hydrate-bearing sediments (MHBS) are commonly investigated in the laboratory by using artificial hydrate formations in sandy specimens. Analyses of MHBS saturated with gas or water (in addition to methane-hydrate) showed significant mechanical differences between the two pore-filling states. This paper discusses the unique dilatancy behavior of gas-saturated MHBS, with comparison to water-saturated test results of previously-published works. It is shown that the significant compaction of gas-saturated samples is related to internal tensile forces, which are absent in water-saturated samples. The conceptual link between the internal tensile forces and the compaction characteristics is demonstrated through mechanical differences between pure sand and cemented sand. The paper establishes the link between internal adhesion in gas-saturated MHBS and the unique dilation response by using a stress–dilatancy analysis.

[1]  Yukio Nakata,et al.  Mechanical behavior of gas‐saturated methane hydrate‐bearing sediments , 2013 .

[2]  Yukio Nakata,et al.  Mechanical and dissociation properties of methane hydrate-bearing sand in deep seabed , 2013 .

[3]  Hai-Sui Yu,et al.  Bond rolling resistance and its effect on yielding of bonded granulates by DEM analyses , 2006 .

[4]  Panos D. Kiousis,et al.  Behavior of cemented sands—I. Testing , 1997 .

[5]  S. Pinkert.  The lack of true cohesion in hydrate-bearing sands , 2017 .

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

[7]  S. Iglauer,et al.  Compressional wave velocity of hydrate-bearing bentheimer sediments with varying pore fillings , 2018, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.

[8]  K. Kvenvolden,et al.  Potential effects of gas hydrate on human welfare. , 1999, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[9]  N. Dutta,et al.  Exploration for gas hydrates in the deepwater, northern Gulf of Mexico: Part II. Model validation by drilling , 2008 .

[10]  Norio Tenma,et al.  A Nonlinear Elastic Model for Triaxial Compressive Properties of Artificial Methane-Hydrate-Bearing Sediment Samples , 2012 .

[11]  Niall J. English,et al.  Gas hydrate technology: state of the art and future possibilities for Europe , 2017 .

[12]  De’an Sun,et al.  Hydromechanical behaviour of unsaturated soil with different specimen preparations , 2016 .

[13]  D. D. Overton,et al.  Cementation Effects in Frictional Materials , 1989 .

[14]  Kenichi Soga,et al.  Explicitly Coupled Thermal Flow Mechanical Formulation for Gas-Hydrate Sediments , 2013 .

[15]  Carolyn A. Koh,et al.  Clathrate hydrates of natural gases , 1990 .

[16]  C.R.I. Clayton,et al.  Influence of gas hydrate morphology on the seismic velocities of sands , 2009 .

[17]  George J. Moridis,et al.  Challenges, uncertainties and issues facing gas production from gas hydrate deposits , 2010 .

[18]  Tae Sup Yun,et al.  Physical properties of hydrate‐bearing sediments , 2009 .

[19]  S. Pinkert.  Rowe’s Stress-Dilatancy Theory for Hydrate-Bearing Sand , 2017 .

[20]  S. L. Phoenix,et al.  Natural Gas Hydrate as a Storage Mechanism for Safe, Sustainable and Economical Production from Offshore Petroleum Reserves , 2017 .

[21]  P. W. Rowe.  The stress-dilatancy relation for static equilibrium of an assembly of particles in contact , 1962, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[22]  S. Pinkert,et al.  Experimental verification of a prediction model for hydrate‐bearing sand , 2016 .

[23]  Beatrice Castellani,et al.  Energy and Environmental Analysis of Membrane-Based CH4-CO2 Replacement Processes in Natural Gas Hydrates , 2019, Energies.

[24]  T. Lorenson,et al.  The Global Occurrence of Natural Gas Hydrate , 2013 .

[25]  Beatrice Castellani,et al.  Energy and Environmental Analysis of Membrane-Based CH 4-CO 2 Replacement Processes in Natural Gas Hydrates , 2019 .

[26]  Tetsuya Fujii,et al.  Characterization and Prediction of the Gas Hydrate Reservoir at the Second Offshore Gas Production Test Site in the Eastern Nankai Trough, Japan , 2017 .

[27]  R. F. Miller,et al.  Approximating soil moisture characteristics from limited data: Empirical evidence and tentative model , 1974 .

[28]  Y. Nakata,et al.  Shear strength and local deformation of methane hydrate bearing sand with fines , 2014 .

[29]  Feng Zhang,et al.  Strength and Dilatancy of Overconsolidated Clays in Drained True Triaxial Tests , 2014 .

[30]  Y. Leung,et al.  Role of critical state framework in understanding geomechanical behavior of methane hydrate‐bearing sediments , 2016 .

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

[32]  Ahmed Barifcani,et al.  Experimental pore-scale analysis of carbon dioxide hydrate in sandstone via X-Ray micro-computed tomography , 2018, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control.

[33]  Kazuo Aoki,et al.  Effects of Methane Hydrate Formation On Shear Strength of Synthetic Methane Hydrate Sediments , 2005 .

[34]  Kenichi Soga,et al.  Stress-strain response of hydrate-bearing sands: Numerical study using discrete element method simulations , 2012 .

[35]  F. Enzmann,et al.  Microstructural evolution of gas hydrates in sedimentary matrices observed with synchrotron X‐ray computed tomographic microscopy , 2015 .

[36]  J. Vaunat,et al.  Composite model to reproduce the mechanical behaviour of methane hydrate bearing sediments , 2016 .

[37]  Assaf Klar,et al.  Sand production model in gas hydrate-bearing sediments , 2016 .

[38]  Maria De La Fuente,et al.  Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Coupled Modeling of Methane Hydrate-Bearing Sediments: Formulation and Application , 2019, Energies.

[39]  R. Al-Raoush,et al.  Comprehensive literature review on CH4-CO2 replacement in microscale porous media , 2018, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering.

[40]  Chung Kwong Wong,et al.  The shear strength of unsaturated soils , 1984 .

[41]  J. Herri,et al.  Van der waals interactions in systems involving gas hydrates , 2005 .

[42]  Stephen A. Holditch,et al.  Natural gas-hydrates — A potential energy source for the 21st Century , 2007 .

[43]  William F. Waite,et al.  Methane gas hydrate effect on sediment acoustic and strength properties , 2007 .

[44]  Rodrigo Salgado,et al.  Stress-dilatancy Relation for Mohr-Coulomb Soils Following a Non-Associated Flow Rule , 2010 .

[45]  Kenichi Soga,et al.  Characterisation and engineering properties of methane hydrate soils , 2007 .

[46]  J. DeJong,et al.  Microbially Induced Cementation to Control Sand Response to Undrained Shear , 2006 .

[47]  S. Pinkert,et al.  Prediction of the mechanical response of hydrate‐bearing sands , 2014 .