Mechanical experiments and constitutive model of natural gas hydrate reservoirs

Natural gas hydrate is a new type of green energy resources and has great development prospects, and it has attracted worldwide attentions. The exploitation of natural gas hydrate may result in a series of geological disasters. Therefore, the constitutive model of natural gas hydrate bearing sediments needs to be established to reveal deformation laws of the reservoir sediments and accurately evaluate mechanical properties of hydrate reservoirs. This is the basic guarantees for the effective exploitation of natural gas hydrate resources. The triaxial compressive tests were conducted on samples of natural gas hydrate sediment. Furthermore, the Duncan-Chang hyperbolic model was modified by considering the influences of hydrate saturation based on the test results to obtain the constitutive model according with the deformation characteristics of natural gas hydrate reservoirs. The results show that the stress-strain curves of natural gas hydrate reservoirs show unobvious compaction stage and peak strength, short elastic stage, long yield stage, and significant strain hardening characteristics. After applying loads on natural gas hydrate bearing sediments, the internal solid particles were dislocated and slid. When the loads were small, the sediments demonstrated elastic deformation. With the increase of loads, plastic flows appeared in the interior, and the hydrate crystals were re-orientated, thus the sediments showing plastic deformation. Initial tangent elastic modulus increased with the effective confining pressures, which had little correlations with hydrate saturation. Furthermore, the damage ratio increases with the increase of effective confining pressures, while slightly decreases with the increase of natural gas hydrate saturation. The predicted results of stress-strain curves of sediments with different hydrate saturations well coincide with the results of triaxial compressive tests, indicting the feasibility and rationality of this model.     

天然气水合物沉积物分解过程中本构关系研究

天然气水合物具有储量大、分布广泛、清洁燃烧等优点,近年来受到研究人员的广泛关注。为了实现天然气水合物资源的安全高效开采,对其沉积层的力学稳定性进行系统评估是十分必要的。本研究在实验室内重塑了40%孔隙度的天然气水合物沉积物试样,并基于力学实验设备,对其在不同围压条件下分解过程中的力学强度及变形进行了一系列测试,获取了相应的应力应变数据。研究结果表明,水合物分解会造成沉积层强度的降低。此外,基于实验数据,在借鉴土力学邓肯-张本构模型的基础上,考虑了围压及分解时间对沉积物力学特性的影响,本文构建了适用于不同围压条件下天然气水合物沉积物分解过程中的本构模型,研究结果表明,该模型可以较好地模拟沉积物试样在分解过程中的应力应变关系,可为实现天然气水合物的安全开采提供一定的理论依据。     

基于电-力-声多物理场耦合数值模型的含水合物多孔介质声速和衰减特性研究

在物理模拟实验中对水合物微观赋存模式和饱和度进行准确控制和评价尚存在技术困难,仅依赖实验技术研究含水合物沉积物声学特性、建立储层参数解释模型存在局限性。采用基于有限元的数字岩石物理技术,针对悬浮、接触和胶结三种典型的水合物微观赋存模式分别建立多孔介质的三维电-力-声多物理场耦合模型,考察了微观赋存模式和水合物饱和度对多孔介质声速和衰减的影响规律,对比了声速数值模拟与理论模型计算结果,建立了声波衰减参数与水合物饱和度之间的关系式。研究结果表明：（1）对于三种水合物赋存模式,由于水合物相比孔隙水具有更高的弹性模量,多孔介质的声速随着水合物饱和度的增大而增大;水合物的存在导致声波在传播过程中遇到更多不连续的声阻抗界面,声衰减随着水合物饱和度的增大而近似线性增大;（2）悬浮和接触赋存模式条件下,水合物饱和度对多孔介质的声速和衰减影响规律基本一致;对于相同的水合物饱和度,胶结模式条件下含水合物多孔介质具有更高的声速和更小的声衰减;（3）通过合理选择参数值,利用权重方程与Lee改进的Biot-Gassmann Theory（BGTL）模型估算的含悬浮和接触模式水合物多孔介质的声速较为准确;通过等效介质理论模型C计算的含胶结模式水合物多孔介质的声速更为准确。研究结果可为获取复杂条件下含水合物沉积物的声学特性提供数值建模方法,为基于声波测井数据的水合物储层精细评价提供理论支撑。     

基于宽频复电阻率的含黏土沉积物中水合物饱和度计算方法

天然气水合物沉积物中的黏土成分显著影响沉积物的电学特性以及水合物饱和度的计算模型。以自主设计开发的复电阻率参数测量装置为实验平台,在20 Hz ~ 100 kHz频率范围内测试了黏土条件下含水合物海沙体系的复电阻率,分析了复电阻率的频散特性、黏土影响以及主导的电极化机制,利用泥质修正Archie公式建立了基于宽频复电阻率的水合物饱和度计算模型。研究结果表明：（1）含水合物海沙体系的复电阻率呈现出显著的频散特性,双电层极化和界面极化分别是20 Hz ~ 1 kHz和1 ~ 100 kHz频段主导的极化机制;（2）黏土颗粒表面的双电层发生形变增强了含水合物沉积物双电层极化作用,提高了复电阻率相角和虚部的绝对值;（3）在20 Hz ~ 100 kHz频率范围内泥质修正Archie公式岩性系数较为稳定,而胶结指数和饱和度指数与测试频率之间的关系在20 Hz ~ 1 kHz和1 ~ 100 kHz频段差异显著,因此应分频段建立水合物饱和度计算模型。本研究为探讨含水合物沉积物的低频电学特性和建立含黏土沉积物中水合物饱和度计算模型提供了新的途径。     

天然气水合物储层力学特性研究进展

自然界中的水合物一般产出于深水海底浅层未固结成岩的松散沉积物中和陆域冻土区岩石裂隙或孔隙中。水合物的分解会导致地层胶结强度、孔隙度、地质结构等发生变化，从而引发地质灾害，严重威胁水合物资源的安全开采。本文在大量调研文献的基础上，结合已有的天然气水合物制样、三轴力学测试研究现状和本构模型研究进展，系统分析影响含水合物沉积物的力学特性的主要因素和本构模型的发展趋势，梳理了获得的共识和存在的问题，提出了下一步研究方向，从而为下一步含水合物沉积物力学强度实验、本构模型开发以及储层稳定性研究等提供参考。     

含水合物沉积物的渗透率实验研究

天然气水合物储层的渗透率是影响水合物开采时气、水运移的关键,也是水合物开采潜力评价、资源评价、开采工艺选择等需要了解的关键参数.目前,国内外学者对天然气水合物储层的渗透率进行了一定的研究并有了初步认识.但是,对于围压、轴向压力、水合物饱和度、赋存模式等对水合物沉积物渗透率的影响机制和机理还不清楚.本文在自主设计的水合物...     

Modeling the mechanical response of gas hydrate reservoirs in triaxial stress space

Exploitation of gas from deep-sea methane hydrate-bearing layers might lead to some geological disasters, including marine landslides and excessive settlement of marine ground. The first offshore gas production tests for methane hydrate-bearing sediments were carried out in eastern Nankai Trough. However, knowledge on mechanical behavior of gas hydrate reservoirs with similar gradation and minerology component to the marine sediment is still insufficient. Consequently, proper modeling of geomechanical properties of methane hydrate-bearing sediments is crucial for reservoir simulation and deep ocean ground stability analysis for long-term gas production in the future. This study conducted a series of triaxial shear tests to examine the shear response of methane hydrate-bearing sediments with a similar grading curve and minerology components to the hydrate-rich sediments in Nankai Trough. The test results demonstrated that the presence of hydrate mass between sand grains altered the stress-strain pattern from strain-hardening to postpeak strain-softening. A simple constitutive model based on several empirical relationships of granular materials is proposed to describe the stress-strain relationship of methane hydrate-bearing sediments under triaxial stress condition. This model can reproduce the enhancement of shear strength, initial stiffness, and dilation behavior of methane hydrate-bearing sediments containing different amounts of fines content with a rise in the methane hydrate saturation at a wide range of effective confining pressures. The numerical results indicate that the parameter A associated with initial stiffness of stress-strain curve and the parameter $\text{α}$ related with dilation properties are jointly governed by the confining pressure, fines content, and hydrate saturation.     

Shear strength and pore pressure characteristics of methane hydrate-bearing soil under undrained condition

Hydrate exploitation requires a deep understanding on the mechanical behavior of methane hydrate-bearing sediment (MHBS). Due to the low permeability of overlying strata, partial MHBS likely exhibit failure behavior under undrained condition. Therefore, it is essential to understand the undrained shear strength and excess pore pressure behavior of MHBS for facilitating the evaluation of the stability of hydrate-bearing layer during methane hydrate recovery. This study conducted several undrained triaxial compression and hydrate dissociation tests on methane hydrate-bearing sand specimen to analyze the shear strength and excess pore pressure characteristics of MHBS under undrained condition. The experimental result shows that hydrate saturation and initial effective confining pressure significantly affect the undrained mechanical behavior of MHBS. Hydrate saturation increases the shear strength and negative excess pore pressure. High initial effective confining pressure also enhances the shear strength but suppressed the negative excess pore pressure. Hydrate saturation has a minimal effect on the undrained internal friction angle but remarkably enhances the undrained cohesion. The effective internal friction angle and cohesion exhibits an increase with the increase in hydrate saturation. Notably, completely different from the common soil, the effective undrained strength indexes are not equivalent to the drained strength indexes for MHBS, which should be careful in evaluating the stability of methane hydrate-bearing layer. In addition, the hydrate dissociation test by thermal stimulation method concludes that hydrate dissociation induces the positive excess pore pressure, axial compression, and volume expansion under undrained condition. The large deviatoric stress enhances volume expansion of MHBS but hinders the generation in excess pore pressure during hydrate dissociation. These findings significantly contribute to the safe exploitation process of methane hydrate.     

海底天然气水合物地层钻井潜在风险及控制措施

天然气水合物是一种清洁高效能源,其广泛分布于大陆永久冻土带和海洋环境中,其中海洋环境又以海洋大陆斜坡和深海盆地为主。对海底天然气水合物地层进行钻井是研究海底天然气水合物及获得海底地层油气资源最直接的手段之一,但海底天然气水合物地层地质环境复杂,钻井面临诸多风险。本文通过综合分析海底天然气水合物地层的储层特性,探讨了海底地层中天然气水合物分解与再形成对钻井工程的影响、可能诱发的地质灾害及环境效应,并提出了相应的应对措施,以期为我国海底天然气水合物地层钻井提供参考。     

含甲烷水合物的石英砂渗透率实验和分形模型对比研究

含水合物的多孔介质渗透率是影响水合物开采的关键参数,多孔介质渗透率与水合物的饱和度密切相关。定量研究多孔介质渗透率随水合物饱和度的变化,对自然界中天然气水合物藏内渗流场的研究具有重要的理论价值。本文以平均粒径为139.612 μm的石英砂为多孔介质,采用稳态注水法测量在不同甲烷水合物饱和度（0 ~ 28.56%）下的石英砂渗透率,将实验数据与两种不同水合物赋存形式（颗粒包裹、孔隙填充）下的石英砂渗透率二维分形模型进行了对比。结果表明,石英砂渗透率比K_r随甲烷水合物饱和度S_h的增大呈现指数减小的趋势。当水合物饱和度低于11.83%时,渗透率比下降缓慢。而当水合物饱和度高于11.83%时,渗透率比下降迅速;当饱和度指数n = 12时,渗透率分形模型与实验数据吻合良好。通过分形模型与实验数据对比,发现当水合物饱和度低于11.83%时,甲烷水合物的赋存形式为颗粒包裹型。在11.83% ~ 28.56%水合物饱和度范围内,甲烷水合物的赋存形式为孔隙填充型。本研究成果量化了石英砂渗透率与甲烷水合物饱和度的关系,确定了含甲烷水合物的石英砂的渗透率分形模型的参数取值。     

CO2 sequestration in depleted methane hydrate deposits with excess water

The recent increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration makes it necessary to investigate new ways to reduce CO₂ emissions. Simultaneously, natural gas hydrate mining technology is developing rapidly. The use of depleted methane hydrate (MH) deposits as potential sites for CO₂ storage is relatively safe and economical. This method can alleviate the shortage of hydrate displacement gas with CO₂. The purpose of this study was to investigate CO₂ hydrate formation characteristics during the seepage process—in reservoirs with excess water—and their effect on CO₂ storage. The experimental process can be divided into 5 parts: MH formation, water injection, MH dissociation, CO₂ hydrate formation, and CO₂ hydrate dissociation. Magnetic resonance imaging was employed to monitor the distribution of liquid water, and the effects of different parameters on the formation and dissociation of CO₂ hydrates were analyzed. It was found that a state of initial water saturation can effectively control hydrate saturation in artificial MH reservoirs for hydrate reservoirs with excess gas. In the process of CO₂ flow, initial water saturation was not the main controlling factor for CO₂ hydrate formation. Increasing the flow pressure and reducing the flow rate were beneficial for CO₂ hydrate formation. This study is of great significance for advancing the science of CO₂ geological storage in the form of deep‐sea hydrates.     

南海北部陆坡天然气水合物研究进展

综合调查已揭示了一系列显示南海北部陆坡存在天然气水合物的地质、地球物理和地球化学指标。结果表明两类天然气水合物系统即低通量扩散型水合物和高通量渗漏型水合物共存于南海北部陆坡,特别是东沙海域和神狐海域。天然气水合物钻探航次获得的资料为进一步理解神狐海域和东沙海域的天然气水合物系统提供了基础。钻探结果证明强似海底反射往往与低饱和度的含天然气水合物沉积物薄层联系在一起;高饱和度的天然气水合物一般不需要与地震剖面上识别的似海底反射对应,而与气体渗漏和断裂构造等特征相关。地球化学资料显示神狐海域和东沙海域的天然气水合物气源主要为微生物成因气。神狐海域钻探证实的天然气水合物分布区具有160亿立方米的甲烷地质储量,在目前天然气水合物开采技术和工艺条件下,开采具有较大困难,有待于开发更为先进的技术。随钻测井资料显示东沙海域浅部存在中等-高饱和度水合物,而深部水合物稳定带底界上方存在低饱和度天然气水合物。南海北部陆坡天然气水合物有待于深入探究其赋存状态、饱和度、储层特性和资源前景。     

水合物藏定质量流量转定井底流压开采规律研究

天然气水合物资源潜力巨大，降压法是水合物资源开采最有前景的方法。本文提出了定质量流量转定井底流压生产的降压开采模式，使用数值模拟方法研究了此模式下水合物藏的气水生产动态和物理场的变化规律。结果表明：（1）定质量流量生产阶段的产气速率约为定井底流压生产阶段的3倍；对于分解气速率，定质量流量生产阶段与定井底流压生产阶段相当，但在定井底流压生产阶段后期分解气速率上升幅度近200%；产水速率在定质量流量生产阶段和定井底流压生产阶段整体较为稳定。（2）储层的压力场、温度场和水合物饱和度场的变化有相似的规律，随时间增加，低压、低温和低水合物饱和度范围均以井筒为中心不断扩大。（3）本文降压生产模式的总体开发效果介于单一的定质量流量生产和定井底流压生产之间，具有较高的产量，且能够较好地保持地层能量。     

基于TDR双参数的沉积物中水合物饱和度测量

针对沉积物中水合物饱和度的测量问题,立足于时域反射技术（TDR）能够同时获得含水合物沉积物表观介电常数和电导率的优点,提出了一种基于介电常数/电导率双参数的水合物饱和度评价新方法。在分析介电常数和电导率测量原理的基础上,设计了四氢呋喃（THF）水合物模拟实验与参数测量系统以及实验方案;基于TDR测量响应分析了孔隙水电导率对水饱和的以及含水合物的模拟沉积物介电常数和电导率的影响;利用TDR获取的不同水合物饱和度条件下的介电常数测量数据对比分析了经典介电常数模型的性能,并以Lichteneker-Rother（LR）模型为原型建立了水合物饱和度与介电常数之间的关系模型,以阿尔奇公式为原型建立了基于TDR测量电导率的水合物饱和度计算模型。研究结果表明：采用LR模型和Maxwell-DeLoor模型能够较准确地描述TDR测量表观介电常数与水合物饱和度之间的关系;基于表观介电常数/电导率双参数的水合物饱和度联合评价方法为提高评价结果的准确度和可靠性提供了新途径。将来需要结合水合物储层实际特征开展模拟实验并进一步完善饱和度计算模型,将基于TDR双参数的饱和度联合评价方法推广应用到含天然气水合物沉积物。     

Effect of Nanobubble Evolution on Hydrate Process: A Review

As a huge reserve for potential energy, natural gas hydrates(NGHs) are attracting increasingly extra attentions, and a series of researches on gas recovery from NGHs sediments have been carried out. But the slow formation and dissociation kinetics of NGHs is a major bottleneck in the applications of NGHs technology. Previous studies have shown that nanobubbles, which formed from melt hydrates, have significant promotion effects on dissociation and reformation dynamics of gas hydrates. Nanobubbles can persist for a long time in liquids, disaccording with the standpoint of classical thermodynamic theories, thus they can participate in the hydrate process. Based on different types of hydrate systems(gas + water, gas +water +inhibitors/promoters, gas + water + hydrophilic/hydrophobic surface), the effects of nanobubble evolution on nucleation, dissociation, reformation process and "memory effect" of gas hydrates are discussed in this paper. Researches on the nanobubbles in hydrate process are also summarized and prospected in this study.     

Experimental study on dynamic acoustic characteristics of natural gas hydrate sediments at different depths

Acoustic properties are important geophysical parameters, compared to resistivity, pore water and other parameters that need to be obtained through drilling, the acoustic wave velocity of hydrate deposits is much easier to obtain. Therefore, the study of acoustic characteristics of hydrate reservoir is the basis for geophysical exploration and resource evaluation for hydrates. In this study, an experimental apparatus was developed to measure dynamic P- and S-wave velocity of gas hydrate bearing sediment. The effect of sensitivity factors including hydrate saturation, confining pressure, and reservoir solid phase particle size on the acoustic characteristics of hydrate reservoir were explored. The experimental results showed that the longitudinal and transverse wave velocities of natural gas hydrate rock samples correlated positively with hydrate saturation and confining pressure and the particle size of the solid phase exhibited little effect on the vertical and horizontal wave velocity of the gas hydrate reservoir. The results of this study indicated that the compression factor of different rock samples is the main factor affecting the vertical and horizontal wave velocity of the reservoir through mechanical experiments. At the same time, acoustic experiments and computed tomography results revealed the existence of different contact modes between natural gas hydrate and sediment particles under different saturations. Furthermore, the possibility of detecting the microscopic distribution of hydrates in sediments by acoustic waves was verified. The data can be used in well logging to determine hydrate saturation and other properties of hydrate bearing formations.     

三维实验模拟垂直井和水平井降压开采水合物

为了研究降压法在不同井网布置条件下开采天然气水合物的机理,在水合物三维实验模拟平台中进行了垂直井和水平井降压开采实验,获得了两种布井方式的产气、产水、温度变化和三维温度空间分布情况。研究表明,在该实验条件下,利用水平井开采水合物的平均产气速率是垂直井的1.48倍,但水平井开采的产水量较大,垂直井开采的产水量则很小。三维温度分布图表明,开采过程中全釜的温度同步下降,水合物在反应釜内均匀分解,反应釜四周的温度比反应釜中心温度高,热量从边界向釜中心传递。     

Analysis of physical properties of gas hydrate-bearing unconsolidated sediment samples from the ultra-deepwater area in the South China Sea

Marine natural gas hydrate has recently attracted global attention as a potential new clean energy source. Laboratory measurements of various physical properties of gas hydrate-bearing marine sediments can provide valuable information for developing efficient and safe extraction technology of natural gas hydrates. This study presents comprehensive measurement results and analysis of drilled hydrate-bearing sediments samples recovered from Qiongdongnan Basin in the South China Sea. The results show that the gas hydrate in the core samples is mainly methane hydrate with a methane content of approximately 95%, and the other components are ethane and carbon dioxide. The saturation of the samples fluctuates from 2%–60%, the porosity is approximately 38%–43%, and the water content is approximately 30%–50%, which indicate that high water saturation means that timely drainage should be paid attention to during hydrate extraction. In addition, the median diameter of the sediment samples is mainly distributed in the range of 15 to 34 μm, and attention should be paid to the prevention and control of sand production in the mining process. Moreover, the thermal conductivity is distributed in the range of 0.75 to 0.96 W/(m∙K) as measured by the flat plate heat source method. The relatively low thermal conductivity of hydrates at this study site indicates that a combined approach is encouraged for natural gas production technologies. It is also found that clay flakes and fine particles are attached to the surface of large particles in large numbers. Such characteristics will lead to insufficient permeability during the production process.     

Production behavior of methane hydrate in porous media using huff and puff method in a novel three-dimensional simulator

The gas production behavior of methane hydrate in porous media using the huff and puff method was investigated in the Cubic Hydrate Simulator (CHS), a novel developed three-dimensional 5.8-L cubic pressure vessel. Three horizontal layers equally divide the CHS into four regions. A 9-spot distribution of the vertical wells, a single horizontal well and a 25-spot distribution of the thermometers are arranged on each layer, respectively. The vertical wells at the axis of the CHS were used as the injection and production wells. The huff and puff method includes the injection, soaking and production stages. The amount of water injected and produced, the gas production rate, the percentage of the hydrate dissociation and the gas-to-water ratio were evaluated. Under the thermodynamic conditions in this work, the gas production from the sediment in this work using the huff and puff method is economically profitable from the relative criterion point of view. The sensitivity analysis demonstrates the dependence of the gas production on the initial hydrate saturation, and the temperature and the injection rate of the injected hot water.     

BSR与CSEM识别天然气水合物的优缺点对比

天然气水合物是一种分布广泛的新型清洁能源,是目前能源勘探界的研究热点之一。提升天然气水合物勘探技术以探测天然气水合物分布和进行资源量估算,对我国天然气水合物的开采和利用至关重要。本文对比总结了似海底反射（BSR）和海洋可控源电磁法（CSEM）识别天然气水合物的优势与局限性。结果表明,BSR是目前识别海洋天然气水合物的一种常用且重要的方法,但BSR与天然气水合物的存在并非一一对应,难以准确估算天然气水合物饱和度和资源量。海洋CSEM能相对准确地识别天然气水合物,并可通过获取储层电阻率估算天然气水合物饱和度和储量。两者的结合将有效提高天然气水合物的钻探成功率、降低勘探风险和节约勘探成本。