Mix Design and Quality Control Procedures for High Mobility Cement Based Grouts

Abstract

Measures of success for any grouting program should include superior technical performance and cost effectiveness. These can be achieved by designing grouts with properties that are specifically tailored to the application. This requires a fundamental understanding of the fluid and set performance characteristics needed for a specific application. For high mobility cement based grouts (HMG), these properties include bleed, segregation, resistance to pressure filtration, control of particle agglomeration, anti-washout characteristics, rheology, evolution of cohesion with time, set time, matrix porosity, ultimate strength, resistance to chemical attack, and durability. A description of how each property is quantified, evaluated and optimized is provided, and related to appropriate standards. A three-step process for the design and quality control of an HMG project is outlined. The first step is a laboratory-scale testing program to determine basic formulations, optimized for performance characteristics and cost. The second step is full-scale trial batching performed on site with the materials and equipment that will be used on the project. The third step is quality control testing during production grouting to ensure that the grouts being used are being batched correctly and will perform appropriately in situ. A digest of mix HMG designs used on recent projects is provided for illustration and reference.

Effect of acrylic latex on the properties of cement grouts

“…Various chemical admixtures such as superplasticisers, accelerators, anti-freezes, air-entraining agents, stabilisers and many others are utilised to modify grout properties according to the in situ conditions and the grouting purpose (Akbulut and Saglamer, 2003;Allan and Kukacka, 1995;Anagnostopoulos, 2015;Boel and Schutter, 2006;Chuaqui and Bruce, 2003;Kazemian et al, 2011;Sahmaran et al, 2008;Saric-Coric et al, 2003;Yahia and Khayat, 2003). In recent years, powdered emulsions and water-soluble polymers such as ethylene vinyl acetate, styrene-butadiene rubber and polyacrylic ester have been incorporated into cement mixes due to their potential influence on rheological properties (Allan, 1997), strength (Bureau et al, 2001), durability (Ohama, 1998), impermeability (Gao et al, 2002) and resistance to chemical erosion (Hatzitrifon and Anagnostopoulos, 2000).…”

Towards Better Injection Control and Verification of Rock Grouting

“…These in turn gave way to thixotropic control with fluidizing additives in the 1990's and, by the early 2000's, reached the current balanced, stable, highly controllable mixes of today (DePoali et al, 1992a,b). Current balanced, stable grouts, utilizing a cocktail of additives based around Welan (or Diutan) Gum, (Chuaqui & Bruce, 2003) are now the norm -we refer to these as 'modern' grouts.…”

Design, Construction, and Performance of Seepage Barriers for Dams on Carbonate Foundations

“…The use of ''neat'' cement grouts with high water:cement ratios and perhaps nominal amounts of super-plasticizer or bentonite is simply not acceptable (Chuaqui and Bruce, 2003). N The current state of the art in grouting monitoring and evaluation is a fully integrated system where all field instruments are monitored in real time through a computer interface, all necessary calculations are performed automatically, grouting quantity information is tabulated and summarized electronically, program analyses are conducted automatically by the system using numerous variables, and multiple, custom as-built grouting profiles are automatically generated and maintained in real time.…”