Abstract: In this study, the unconfined compressive tests at low temperature conditions were conducted on the artificial THF hydratebearing sediment samples under four different hydrate saturations (0%, 40%, 50%, 60%). The sediment skeleton was prepared according to the drilling results of SH2 station in South China Sea. The results show that, the stressstrain curve of samples have a large strain soften in shape, which is more obvious with the increase of hydrate saturation. The intergranular hydrate significantly increases the elastic modulus which shifts to higher area with the increase of hydrate saturation. Besides, with the increase of hydrate saturation, the unconfined compressive strength of samples increases exponentially, which is consistent with the trend of strength measured by triaxial and direct shear tests.

Key words: South China Sea, HydrateBearing Sediments, Stress-Strain Curves, Elasticity Modulus, Unconfined Compressive Strength