Undrained Triaxial Shear Tests on Hydrate-Bearing Fine-Grained Sediments from the Shenhu Area of South China Sea

Changes in undrained shear strength are important to the stability analysis of hydrate reservoirs during natural gas hydrate production. This study proposes a prediction model of undrained shear strength of hydrate-bearing fine-grained sediments based on the critical state theory. Several consolidated undrained triaxial shear tests are conducted on hydrate-bearing fine-grained samples from the Shenhu area of the South China Sea. The effects of effective consolidation stresses and hydrate saturations on the undrained shear strength are investigated. The results show that the undrained shear strength increases linearly with increasing effective consolidation stress. When the hydrate saturation is greater than the effective hydrate saturation, the undrained shear strength significantly increases with increasing hydrate saturation. The undrained shear strength of hydrate-bearing fine-grained sediments is a two-parameter function of effective hydrate saturation and a void ratio. The instability risk of the hydrate reservoir under undrained conditions is greater than that of under-drained or partially drained conditions. Furthermore, low-porosity reservoirs face more shear strength loss from hydrate decomposition yet lower risk than high-porosity ones. These results can improve the understanding of mechanical properties of hydrate-bearing fine-grained sediments under undrained conditions. This study also has implications for the design of marine structures in areas with hydrate-bearing sediment.