Simulation of submarine slope stability related to hydrate dissociation

Hydrate dissociation is a significant factor causing submarine slope slide, which is dangerous to human operation. Due to the complex condition of seabed, it is hard to observe the process of slope slide directly. Numerical simulation is an effective approach to acquire some important parameters such as the slide area, slide scale, sliding distance and safety factors etc. Choosing shear strength reduction technique of the finite element based on the software of ABAQUS, we could not only simulate both the process and result of a slope slide, but also evaluate the influence of hydrate dissociation. By changing the parameters of modeling, the characteristics of seafloor can be considered. Of course, the inducing factor is the interaction between the structure of slope and hydrate dissociation. It can guide the hydrate exploitation process and avoid some possible problems by integration of the theoretical and simulation results.