Study on Variation Characteristics of Shear Strength of Deep-Sea Sediments in the South China Sea Under Thermo-Hydraulic Coupling

Study on Variation Characteristics of Shear Strength of Deep-Sea Sediments in the South China Sea Under Thermo-Hydraulic Coupling | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Study on Variation Characteristics of Shear Strength of Deep-Sea Sediments in the South China Sea Under Thermo-Hydraulic Coupling Yan Feng, Qiunan Chen, Lihai Wu, Jinhu Tang, Guangping Liu, Zengliang Wang, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7219999/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study focuses on the unique physical-mechanical properties and special occurrence environment of deep-sea sediments in the South China Sea. Through gradient-controlled triaxial shear tests, it systematically reveals the mechanical response mechanisms of these sediments under the dual-field coupling effects of water content (15%-35%) and temperature (4°C-60°C). The research confirms that increased water content significantly reduces the undrained shear strength of sediments through water film lubrication and pore water pressure accumulation. Temperature rise leads to simultaneous weakening of cohesion and internal friction angle, attributed to low-temperature stabilization of cement crystallization and pore water viscosity enhancement, while high temperature induces cement phase softening and intensified particle thermal vibration. Although confining pressure elevation can enhance lateral constraint effects, it cannot fully counteract the dominant influence of combined water-thermal deterioration. The improved thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling model, established based on experiments, achieves accurate prediction of mechanical behavior under multi-field coupling conditions (R²>0.95) by quantifying the nonlinear relationship between temperature sensitivity coefficients and water content gradients. This provides quantitative theoretical support for submarine geological safety prediction, optimized design of marine resource development, and risk control for long-term service of offshore platforms. Physical sciences/Engineering Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences South China Sea deep-sea sediments moisture content effect temperature effect shear strength triaxial shear test thermal-hydraulic coupling model Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 28 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 26 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 25 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 14 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 14 Aug, 2025 Editor invited by journal 14 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 13 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 13 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7219999","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":502259742,"identity":"e80cab0e-30d9-44d0-9b2a-ded3372ef7bb","order_by":0,"name":"Yan Feng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hunan University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yan","middleName":"","lastName":"Feng","suffix":""},{"id":502259743,"identity":"1929c43f-a741-4eaa-bf4d-4ccf58a6537d","order_by":1,"name":"Qiunan 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Through gradient-controlled triaxial shear tests, it systematically reveals the mechanical response mechanisms of these sediments under the dual-field coupling effects of water content (15%-35%) and temperature (4\u0026deg;C-60\u0026deg;C). The research confirms that increased water content significantly reduces the undrained shear strength of sediments through water film lubrication and pore water pressure accumulation. Temperature rise leads to simultaneous weakening of cohesion and internal friction angle, attributed to low-temperature stabilization of cement crystallization and pore water viscosity enhancement, while high temperature induces cement phase softening and intensified particle thermal vibration. Although confining pressure elevation can enhance lateral constraint effects, it cannot fully counteract the dominant influence of combined water-thermal deterioration. 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