Relation between soil matrix potential changes and water conversion ratios during methane hydrate formation processes in loess

Abstract With a new apparatus designed and assembled by ourselves, the matrix potential of non-saturated loess was firstly measured and studied during methane hydrate formation processes. The experimental results showed that during two formation processes, the matrix potential changes of the loess all presented a good linear relationship with water conversion ratios. In addition, although it was well known that the secondary gas hydrate formation was easier than the initial, our experimental results showed that the initial hydrate formation efficiency in non-saturated loess was higher than that of the secondary.