Modeling Water Retention Curve of Hydrate-Bearing Sediment
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20, Issue 2
Abstract
The water retention curve is an important constitutive relation routinely incorporated into numerical stimulations of production from gas hydrate reservoirs. It has significant influences on the physical and mechanical behaviors of unsaturated sediments. In most existing simulators, the water retention curve models are assumed to be independent of hydrate saturation, or coefficients are incorporated that consider the influence of hydrate, which may not accurately and fully characterize the water retention curves of hydrate-bearing sediments. This paper proposes a new model that can be used to determine water retention curves for hydrate-bearing sediments. The model was developed based on the original van Genuchten model, introducing a gas-entry pressure and residual water saturation as a function of hydrate saturation. The proposed model was calibrated against several experimental and numerical data sets. Good agreement between the experimental data and simulated results indicates that the proposed model captures the essential water retention curve characteristics of hydrate-bearing sediments, such as the residual water saturation and gas-entry pressure.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support provided by the University of Calgary Eyes High Postdoctoral Program and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The grant (11562007, 11962004) by the National Natural Science Foundation of China also is acknowledged. The authors also appreciate the constructive suggestions provided by Professor Changfu Wei (Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Science) for this paper. Experimental data sets were obtained from Ghezzehei and Kneafsey (2010), Dai and Santamarina (2013), and Mahabadi et al. (2016a, b). Any researcher who wants to use the simulated results presented in this study can contact the corresponding author by email.
References
Alloulline, S. 2001. “A model for soil relative hydraulic conductivity based on the water retention characteristic curve.” Water Resour. Res. 37 (2): 265–271. https://doi.org/10.1029/2004WR003025.
Berge, L. I., K. A. Jacobsen, and A. Solstad. 1999. “Measured acoustic wave velocities of R11 (CCl3F) hydrate sample with and without sand as a function of hydrate concentration.” J. Geophys. Res. 104 (15): 415–424. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JB900098.
Brooks, R. H., and A. T. Corey. 1964. “Hydraulic properties of porous media and their relation to drainage design.” Trans. ASAE 7 (1): 26–0028. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.40684.
Chaouachi, M., A. Falenty, K. Sell, F. Enzmenn, M. Kersten, D. Haberthur, and W. F. Kuhs. 2015. “Microstructural evolution of gas hydrate in sedimentary matrices observed with synchrotron X-ray computed tomographic microscopy.” Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 16 (6): 1711–1722. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GC005811.
Choi, J. H., S. Dai, J. H. Cha, and Y. Seol. 2014. “Laboratory formation of noncementing hydrates in sandy sediments.” Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 15 (4): 1648–1656. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GC005287.
Clennell, M. B., M. Hovland, J. S. Booth, P. Henry, and W. J. Winters. 1999. “Formation of natural gas hydrates in marine sediments: 1. Conceptual model of gas hydrate growth conditioned by host sediment properties.” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 104 (B10): 22985–23003. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JB900175.
Dai, S., and J. C. Santamarina. 2013. “Water retention curve for hydrate bearing sediments.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 40 (21): 5637–5641. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL057884.
Dallimore, S. R., and T. S. Collett. 2005. “Summary and implications of the Mallik 2002 gas hydrate production research well program.” In Vol. 585 of Scientific results from the Mallik 2002 gas hydrate production research well program, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada: Bulletin geological survey of Canada, edited by S. R. Dallimore and T. S. Collett. Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada.
Delage, P., M. Howat, and Y. Cui. 1998. “The relationship between suction and swelling properties in a heavily compacted unsaturated clay.” Eng. Geol. 50 (1): 31–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0013-7952(97)00083-5.
Dvorkin, J., M. Prasad, A. Sakai, and D. Lavoie. 1999. “Elasticity of marine sediments: Rock physics modeling.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 26 (12): 1781–1784. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL900332.
Francisca, F., and P. Arduino. 2007. “Immiscible displacement model for anisotropic and correlated porous media.” Int. J. Geomech. 7 (4): 311–317. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1532-3641(2007)7:4(311).
Fredlund, D. G., A. Xing, M. D. Fredlund, and S. L. Barbour. 1996. “The relationship of the unsaturated soil shear to the soil-water characteristic curve.” Can. Geotech. J. 33 (3): 440–448. https://doi.org/10.1139/t96-065.
Gallipoli, D., S. J. Wheeler, and M. Karstunen. 2003. “Modelling the variation of degree of saturation in a deformable unsaturated soil.” Géotechnique 53 (1): 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2003.53.1.105.
Ghezzehei, T. A., and T. J. Kneafsey. 2010. “Capillary pressure and relative permeability of methane hydrate bearing sediments.” In Proc., Paper Presented at Offshore Technology Conf. Houston: OTC Program Committee.
Gupta, S., C. Deusner, M. Haeckel, R. Helmig, and B. Wohlmuth. 2017. “Testing a coupled hydro-thermo-chemo-geomechanical model for gas hydrate bearing sediments using triaxial compression lab experiments.” Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 18 (9): 3419–3437. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GC006901.
Gupta, S., R. Helmig, and B. Wolmuth. 2015. “Non-isothermal, multi-phase, multi-component flows through deformable methane hydrate reservoirs.” Comput. Geosci. 19 (5): 1063–1088. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10596-015-9520-9.
Helgerud, M. B., J. Dvorkin, A. Nur, A. Sakai, and T. Collett. 1999. “Elastic-wave velocity in marine sediments with gas hydrates: Effective medium modeling.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 26 (13): 2021–2024. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL900421.
Huang, G. H., R. D. Zhang, and Q. Z. Huang. 2006. “Modeling soil water retention curve with a fractal method.” Pedosphere 16 (2): 137–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0160(06)60036-2.
Hyodo, M., J. Yoneda, N. Yoshimoto, and Y. Nakata. 2013. “Mechanical and dissociation properties of methane hydrate-bearing sand in deep seabed.” Soils Found. 53 (2): 299–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2013.02.010.
Jayasinghe, A. G., and J. L. H. Grozic. 2013. “Estimating pore space hydrate saturation using dissociation gas evolution measurements: In relevance to laboratoty testing of natural or artificially synthesized hydrate-bearing soil speciments.” J. Geophys. Res. 2013: 20. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/815841.
Kang, D. H., T. S. Yun, K. Y. Kim, and J. Jang. 2016. “Effect of hydrate nucleation mechanisms and capillarity on permeability reduction in granular media.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 43 (17): 9018–9025. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070511.
Kimoto, S., F. Oka, T. Fushita, and M. Fujiwaki. 2007. “A chemo-thermo-mechanically coupled numerical simulation of the subsurface ground deformations due to methane hydrate dissociation.” Comput. Geotech. 34 (4): 216–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2007.02.006.
Klar, A., K. Soga, and M. Y. A. Ng. 2010. “Coupled deformation-flow analysis for methane hydrate extraction.” Geotechnique 60 (10): 765–776. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.9.P.079-3799.
Klar, A., S. Uchida, K. Soga, and K. Yamamoto. 2013. “Explicitly coupled thermal flow mechanical formulation for gas-hydrate sediments.” SPE J. 18 (2): 196–206. https://doi.org/10.2118/162859-PA.
Mahabadi, N., S. Dai, Y. Seol, S. T. Yun, and J. Jang. 2016a. “The water retention curve and relative permeability for gas production from hydrate-bearing sediments: Pore-network model simulation.” Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 17 (8): 3099–3110. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GC006372.
Mahabadi, N., X. Zheng, and J. Jang. 2016b. “The effect of hydrate saturation on water retention curves in hydrate-bearing sediments.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 43 (9): 4279–4287. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068656.
Masui, A., H. Haneda, Y. Ogata, and K. Aoki. 2005. “Effects of methane hydrate formation on shear strength of synthetic methane hydrate sediments.” In Proc., 15th Int. Offshore and Polar Engineering Conf. Cupertino, CA: International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers.
Moridis, G. J., et al. 2011. “Challenges, uncertainties and issues facing gas production from gas hydrate deposits.” SPE Reservoir Eval. Eng. 14 (1): 76–112. https://doi.org/10.2118/131792-PA.
Moridis, G. J., T. Collett, R. Boswell, M. Kurihara, M. Reagan, C. Koh, and E. Sloan. 2009. “Toward production from gas hydrates: Current status, assessment of resources and simulation-based evaluation of technology and potential.” SPE Reservoir Eval. Eng. 12 (5): 745–771. https://doi.org/10.2118/114163-PA.
Moridis, G. J., M. B. Kowalsky, and K. Pruess. 2012. TOUGH+HYDRATE v1. 2 User’s manual: A code for the simulation of system behavior in hydrate-bearing geologic media. Berkeley, CA: Earth Science Div., Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratoty.
Pedarla, A., A. Puppala, L. Hoyos, S. Vanapalli, and C. Zapata. 2012. “SWRC modeling framework for evaluating volume change behavior of expansive soils.” In Unsaturated soils: Research and applications, edited by C. Mancuso, C. Jommi, and F. D’Onza, 183–280. Berlin: Springer.
Rockhold, M. L., R. R. Yarwood, M. R. Niemet, P. J. Bottemoley, and J. S. Selker. 2002. “Considerations for modelling bacterial-induced changes in hydraulic properties of variably saturated porous media.” Adv. Water Resour. 25 (5): 477–495. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0309-1708(02)00023-4.
Rutqvist, J., G. J. Moridis, T. Grover, and T. Collett. 2009. “Geomechanical response of permafrost-associated hydrate deposits to depressurization-induced gas production.” J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 67 (1): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2009.02.013.
Sanchez, M., X. Gai, and J. C. Santamarina. 2017. “A constitutive mechanical model for gas hydrate bearing sediments incorporating inelastic mechanism.” Comput. Geotech. 84 (4): 28–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2016.11.012.
Sun, D., W. Sun, and X. Li. 2010. “Effect of degree of saturation on mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils and its elastoplastic simulation.” Comput. Geotech. 37 (5): 678–688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2010.04.006.
Uchida, S., K. Soga, and K. Yamamoto. 2012. “Critical state soil constitutive model for methane hydrate soil.” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 117 (B3): B03209. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JB008661.
Uchida, S., X. G. Xie, and Y. F. Leung. 2016. “Role of critical state framework in understanding geomechanical behavior of methane hydrate-bearing sediments.” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 121 (8): 5580–5595. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB012967.
Van Genuchten, M. T. 1980. “A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Am. J. 44 (5): 892–898. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x.
Waite, W. F., et al. 2009. “Physical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments.” Rev. Geophys. 47 (4): 465–484. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008RG000279.
Wettlaufer, J. S., and M. G. Worster. 2006. “Premelting dynamics.” Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 38 (1): 427–452. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.fluid.37.061903.175758.
Yan, R., and C. Wei. 2017. “Constitutive model for gas hydrate-bearing soils considering hydrate occurrence habits.” Int. J. Geomech. 17 (8): 04017032. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000914.
Yoneda, J., A. Masui, Y. Konno, Y. Jin, K. Egawa, M. Kida, T. Ito, J. Nagao, and N. Tenma. 2015a. “Mechanical behavior of hydrate-bearing pressure-core sediments visualized under triaxial compression.” Mar. Pet. Geol. 66 (9): 451–459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.02.028.
Yoneda, J., A. Masui, Y. Konno, Y. Jin, K. Egawa, M. Kida, T. Ito, J. Nagao, and N. Tenma. 2015b. “Mechanical properties of hydrate-bearing turbidite reservoir in the first gas production test site of the Eastern Nankai Trough.” Mar. Pet. Geol. 66 (9): 471–486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.02.029.
Yun, T. S., F. M. Francisca, J. C. Santamarina, and C. Ruppel. 2005. “Compressional and shear wave velocities in uncemented sediment containing gas hydrate.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 32 (10): L10609. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL022607.
Yun, T. S., J. C. Santamarina, and C. Ruppel. 2007. “Mechanical properties of sand, silt, and clay containing tetrahydrofuran hydrate.” J. Geophys. Res. 112 (B4): B04106. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JB004484.
Zhou, A. N. 2013. “A contact angle-dependent hysteresis model for soil–water retention behavior.” Comput. Geotech. 49 (4): 36–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2012.10.004.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20 • Issue 2 • February 2020
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 14, 2019
Accepted: Jul 19, 2019
Published online: Dec 14, 2019
Published in print: Feb 1, 2020
Discussion open until: May 14, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.