Keywords: 
• natural gas hydrate /
• porous media /
• simulation experiment /
• experimental device /
• testing technique

Abstract: Simulation experiment techniques for natural gas hydrate (NGH) are described in details in this paper. A deep study on equipment for simulation of development of different types of NGH shows that the simulation experimental researches for NGH exploitation remain in its infancy, and most of them are qualitative from one-dimensional models based on different development methods. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional experiment models based on the similarity theory should be designed to simulate the real physical and engineering environment during NGH drilling and exploitation. In the model designs, more attention should be paid to the precision and accuracy of the experimental data, the reliability of experimental equipment and the convenience of experimental operation. It is not encouraged to only seek for low-temperature, high pressure and large capacity of device. An optimized design index is given in this paper, which can be used as a reference for design of experimental apparatus.