Intrinsic correlation between the generalized phase equilibrium condition and mechanical behaviors in hydrate-bearing sediments

The phase equilibrium and mechanical behaviors of natural gas hydrate-bearing sediment are essential for exploiting hydrate reservoirs. In heating closed systems, the temperature-pressure path of hydrate-bearing sediment deviates from that of pure bulk hydrate, reflecting the porous media effect in phase equilibrium. A generalized phase equilibrium equation was established for hydrate-bearing sediments, which indicates that both capillary and osmotic pressures cause the phase equilibrium curve to shift leftward on the temperature-pressure plane. In contrast to bulk hydrate, hydrate-bearing sediment always contains a certain amount of unhydrated water, which keeps phase equilibrium with the hydrate within the hydrate stability field. With changes in temperature and pressure, a portion of pore hydrate and unhydrated water may transform into each other, affecting the shear strength of hydrate-bearing sediment. A shear strength model is proposed to consider not only hydrate saturation but also the change in temperature and pressure of hydrate-bearing sediment. The model is validated by experimental data with various hydrate saturation, temperature and pressure conditions. The deformation induced by partial dissociation was studied through depressurization tests under constant effective stress. The reduction in gas pressure within the hydrate stability field indeed caused sediment deformation. The dissociation-induced deformation can be reasonably estimated as the difference in volume between hydrate-bearing and hydrate-free sediments from the compression curves.