Maximum Sizes of Fluid-Occupied Pores within Hydrate-Bearing Porous Media Composed of Different Host Particles

Figure 5

Irregularly shaped pores within hydrate-free and hydrate-bearing porous media. Gray color stands for solid particle, white for fluid-occupied pores, and yellow for gas hydrates. Red dashed circles represent incircles quantifying fluid-occupied pores. (a) Irregularly shaped pores with different sizes in hydrate-free porous media. (b) Irregularly shaped pores in porous media containing grain-coating hydrates. Gas hydrates uniformly grow in all pores with different sizes, and the shape of fluid-occupied pores before and after hydrate formation is unchanged. (c) Irregularly shaped pores in porous media containing pore-filling hydrates. Gas hydrates uniformly grow in all pores with different sizes, and the shape of solid hydrates is identical with that of intrinsic pores within porous media.

(a)

(b)

(c)