Shear modulus of hydrate bearing calcareous sand-fines mixture

¹ Nanjing TKA Technology, Nanjing, China
² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, China
³ Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Geomechanics and Embankment Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

^* Corresponding author: acf_chiu@stu.edu.cn

Abstract

This article presents a laboratory study on the maximum shear modulus of a THF hydrate bearing calcareous sand (CS)–fines mixture. The maximum shear modulus was inferred from the shear wave velocity measured from the bender elements installed in a temperature-controlled triaxial apparatus. The specimen preparation procedures were specially designed to mimic the hydrate formation inside the internal pores of CS. A trial test was conducted to validate whether the shear wave velocity is a feasible parameter to monitor the formation and dissociation of hydrate in the CS-fines mixture. Based on the bender element test results, hydrate has a more profound effect than confining pressure on enhancing the maximum shear modulus of CS-fines mixture.