Shear behaviour of methane hydrate bearing sand: DEM simulations

This paper presents the numerical simulations results carried out using Discrete Element Method (DEM) on the shear behaviour of Methane Hydrate (MH) bearing sand during monotonic loading. A series of triaxial drained loading tests were carried on an assembly of particles for different methane hydrate saturations. In this study, pore filling habit of MH leading to load bearing distribution is considered for the DEM simulation. In qualitative sense, the DEM simulations results have captured the shear behaviour of MH bearing sand similar to the laboratory experiments. The DEM simulation results highlights that MH saturation and confining pressure has a profound influence on the shear behaviour of hydrate bearing sand. Moreover, the evolution of micro-mechanical parameter (e.g. contact force) during shear loading has been presented and discussed.