Modeling the Mechanical Behavior of Gas Hydrate Bearing Sediments Based on Unified Hardening Framework

Gas Hydrate Bearing Sediments (GHBS) are natural soil deposits that contain methane hydrate inside their pores and they have been considered as a potential energy resource. Deformation behavior and change in shear strength of sediments are not clearly understood on the occasion of methane hydrate production and its modeling poses great challenges. In this study, a new GHBS model based on unified hardening framework has been proposed with less and easily determined model parameters. This analytical model incorporates modified Cam-clay yield surface, plus the effect of hydrate saturation parameters to capture the mechanical behavior of GHBS. Comparisons of tri-axial compression tests with model simulations have been conducted to show the proposed model is able to predict the mechanical behavior of GHBS at different hydrate saturations and confinement conditions.