Compression and Deformation Characteristics of Hydrate-Bearing Sediments under High Effective Confining Pressure
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 22, Issue 6
Abstract
The depressurization method that is used to produce methane gas can increase the effective stress in hydrate-bearing sediments and induce deformation and settlement of reservoirs, which has adverse effects on safe and stable exploitation. A series of isotropic consolidation and depressurization dissociation tests under high effective confining pressures on methane hydrate-bearing specimens were conducted to investigate compressive characteristics and deformation behaviors. Isoconsolidation test results demonstrated that the rise in effective confining pressure-induced increasing compressibility and particle crushing of sediment, while the presence of hydrates can suppress compressibility and crushing. The compression index tends to increase with increasing effective stress but decrease with increasing hydrate saturation. Dissociation test results suggested that higher effective stress during dissociation and higher deviatoric stress led to more significant deformation and particle breakage. A specimen can exhibit serious deformation (ɛv ≈ 20%) after dissociation when the effective stress is extremely high (17 MPa), even if the stress state is in the stable zone. During water recovery after dissociation, axial and volumetric strains may further increase under the combined effect of deviatoric stress and high effective confining pressure.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the National Outstanding Youth Science Fund Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51722801).
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- C
- temperature;
- e
- void ratio;
- n
- porosity;
- p′
- mean principal effective stress;
- PP
- pore pressure;
- q
- deviatoric stress;
- q/p′
- effective stress ratio;
- SMH
- methane hydrate saturation;
- T
- elapsed time;
- V①
- ;
- V②
- ;
- Vmax
- the maximal volumetric deformation;
- ɛa
- axial strain;
- ɛv
- volumetric strain;
- effective confining pressure;
- maximum effective stress; and
- maximum vertical stress.
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International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 22 • Issue 6 • June 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 16, 2021
Accepted: Jan 9, 2022
Published online: Mar 30, 2022
Published in print: Jun 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Aug 30, 2022
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