MEASUREMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF HYDRATE-BEARING SEDIMENTS

Right estimation and prediction of mechanical properties of reservoirs are the keys to natural gas hydrate development in an economic, safe, and efficient manner. In this paper, recent advances in measurement and numerical calculation of mechanical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments are summarized respectively from the viewpoints of testing, modeling, and discrete element numerical simulation, etc. The primary methods for evaluating and predicting the mechanical parameters and their characteristics are analyzed. The existing problems and causes in the measurement and estimation of mechanical characteristics are discussed in depth. In order to solve the concerned geological problems, the mechanical behaviors and failure mechanism should be investigated by combining the experimental measurement and numerical simulation in the future, and a more accurate calculation model needs to be established for obtaining more accurate mechanical parameters under specific operating conditions and reservoir characteristics.