GROUND IMPROVEMENT

TECHNIQUE BY GROUTING
A seminar report submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering

Visveswaraiah Technological University, Belgaum.

By

NACHIKETHAN.K.H
VIII CIVIL
USN- 1NC07CV406

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

NAGARJUNA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
VISVESWARAIAH TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, BELGAUM

BANGALORE-562110
MAY-2010

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 DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

NAGARJUNA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND

TECHNOLOGY
(AFFILIATED TO VISVESWARAIAH TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, BELGAUM)

BANGALORE-562110

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that ‘GROUND IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUE BY

GROUTING’ is a bonafied seminar report submitted by Ms NACHIKETHAN.K.H
bearing USN 1NC07CV406 on partial fulfillment for the award of degree, Bachelor of
Engineering, in Civil Engineering of Visveswaraiah Technological University, Belgaum
during the year 2009.

Signature of the HOD

C.Ramakrishne Gowda
Professor

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The satisfaction that accompanies the successful completion of any task would be
incomplete without mentioning of the people who made it possible. Many responsible for
the knowledge and experience gained during the work course.
I would like to express a deep sense of gratitude and indebthness to Sri and Sri
Selection Grade Lectures, Civil Engineering Department, N.C.E.T College of
Engineering, Bangalore, for their constant encouragement, guidance and inspiration,
which enabled me to complete this seminar work.
I would also like to express my gratefulness towards all the faculty members,

Department of Civil Engineering, NCET, Bangalore for their timely suggestions.

I am thankful to Dr. C.Ramakrishne Gowda Professor and Head, Department of

Civil Engineering, for bringing excellent academic climate to finish my work
successfully.
Last but not the least, I express my deepest sense of gratitude for the inspiration,
enthusiasm and help given by my parents and friends.

NACHIKETHAN.K.H
1NC07CV406
VIII SEMISTER

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 Abstract

      

Ground  modification  techniques  have  become  a  major  part  of  civil 

engineering  practice  over  the  last  few  decades,  and  their  use  is  growing  rapidly, 
as  world  wide  developments  pose  an  increasing  demand  for  land  reclamation  and 
the  utilization  of  soft  or  unstable  soils. Different types of ground modification
techniques are used in practice. The choice of a particular method depends on the soil
which is to be handled. Out of the many techniques, Grouting is one technique of ground
modification adopted as an effective means to improve the properties of saturated, soft
soils. Grouting is a frequently utilized remedy in the planning and implementation of
ground improvement and tunnel rehabilitation practice

    The present seminar intends to discuss- 

1. Need for ground improvement.

2. Ground improvement technique by Grouting.

3. Principle behind Grouting, merits and demerits of the Grouting technique.

4. Case study depicting the successful implementation of the technique.

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CONTENTS

 INTRODUCTION

 GENERAL DESCRIPTION ABOUT GROUTING, MERITS AND DEMERITS

 TYPES OF GROUTING MATERIAL

 METHODS OF GROUTING

 GROUTING CONTROL

 APPLICATIONS OF GROUT

 CASE STUDIES

 CONCLUSION

 REFERENCES

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 INTRODUCTION

What is ground improvement technique?

Ground improvement technique is the process of improving the geo-technical

characteristics of soil used in construction

The soil at a construction site is not always totally suitable for supporting structures
such as buildings, bridges, highways and dams. In granular soils, in-situ soil may be
very loose and indicate large elastic settlement. Under these conditions, soil needs to
be densified to increase its unit weight and shear strength. If top layers of soil are
undesirable, it must be removed and replaced with better soil on which structural
foundation can be built. The fill soil should be well compacted to sustain desirable
structural load. In low-lying areas also, fill may be required to raise the ground
elevation for construction of foundation. Sometimes soft saturated clay layers are
encountered at shallow depths below foundations. Such soils usually undergo large
consolidation settlement depending on the structural load and the depth of the layers.
Special ground improvement techniques are required to minimize settlement under
these conditions. Similarly specific type of soil improvement techniques is required in
the case of expansive soils.

Objectives of ground improvement are to:

(i) Reduce settlement of structures.

(ii) Improve shear strength and bearing capacity of shallow foundations.
(iii) Increase factor of safety against possible slope failure of embankments and
dams.
(iv) Reduce shrinkage and swelling of soils.

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In both seismically active and inactive areas, soil improvement techniques are
commonly used, if existing soil is expected to lead to unsatisfactory performance.
Usually it is in the form of unacceptably large horizontal or vertical (or both)
movements. Consequently, soil improvement techniques are directed towards increasing
strength and stiffness of soil deposits under earthquake conditions. For earthquake
conditions, ground improvement technique is also directed towards reduction in excess
pore pressure generation during ground shaking

TYPES OF GROUND IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES

 COMPACTION PILE

 BLASTING

 PRE-COMPRESSION

 STONE COLUMN

 VIBROFLOATATION

 GROUTING

 ELECTRO OSMOSIS

 THERMAL TREATMENT
 GROUTING

Grouting is a process where by fluid like material, either in suspension or in solution

form is injected into subsurface soil or rock to achieve a decrease in permeability and

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compressibility, to improve its strength or to decrease seepage flow. The treatment may
be applied as a preventive measure before construction or as a rehabilitative treatment for
structures suffering post construction distress due to poor soil condition .

Grout is actually a variety of materials used to fill voids, stabilize soil, hold bricks
in place, coat cement, and prevent infiltration. Grouts are applied under pressure after the
pipe has been adequately cleaned to provide a good work surface. A typical grouting
application in new construction is to seal the joints between segmented concrete pipes. A
common use in rehabilitation is to seal off groundwater infiltration in no pressure
pipelines. Since grouting can be placed wet, it adapts well to irregular surface.

Limitations and Advantages of Grout

Limitations Advantages

Not a structural repair Stops groundwater from

Leaking in

Requires highly skilled operators Stabilizes soil

Difficult to seal actively infiltrating joint Fills void around pipe

Packer will not seal properly in badly Is a long-term, inexpensive

Corroded pipe trenchless technology

Not for small- or large-diameter pipe well suited to 10- to 15-in.

pipe
Can make small cracks bigger

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Pipe must be thoroughly cleaned and in good
Condition (no protruding taps or broken
Sections)

The most common grouts available are made of acryl amide gel, acrylic gel, acryl ate gel,
urethane gel, and polyurethane foam. The difference between grouts is largely due to
reaction times. Shorter gel times are better suited for actively leaking joints. Some grouts
use a chemical catalyst; others use groundwater to trigger the chemical reaction.
Cementations grouts are injected through leaky joints to minimize infiltration.
Chemical grouts are used to seal minor leaks and cracks. Chemical grout is not a
structural repair, but is used to stabilize surrounding soil and prevent groundwater
infiltration. Water- activated chemical grout is pushed out of the pipe through joints and
small cracks. It sets up outside the affected joint and plugs the gap.

Grouting is used in trench less applications to stop infiltration, stabilize voids and fill the
annular space between the host pipe and liner pipe. Although there are many different
types of grouting materials, they may be generally classified into two groups: chemical
and cementations. Cementations grouting includes the injection of micro fine cements
and mixing of Portland, soil and/or fly ash with chemical grouts. These grout materials
are injected to eliminate infiltration and stabilize soil voids. There are patented methods
available. After a pipe has been renewed through re-lining, grout may be used to stabilize
the liner by grouting the annular space remaining after insertion. These requirements vary
by manufacturer, whose recommendations should be followed.

AIMS OF GROUTING
 To increase resistance against deformation
 To supply cohesion
 To reduce conductivity and interconnected porosity
 To decrease the permeability.
 To increase the shear strength.
 To decrease the compressibility

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GROUT PROVES MORE EFFECTIVE IN THE FOLLOWING CASES

 When the foundation has to be constructed below ground water table.

 When there is difficult to the foundation level (ex: city work, tunnel shafts, sewers,
subway construction).
 When the geometric dimensions of the foundations are complicated and
involved many boundaries and contact zones.
 When the adjacent structure require that the soil of the foundation strata should
not be excavated

CLASSIFICATION OF GROUT MATERIALS

A large variety of materials can be used for grouting; the selection depends on
requirements of durability, penetration, and strength. Grout materials are classified as
follows.

 SUSPENSION GROUT (or cementations grout)

 EMULSION GROUT
 SOLUTION GROUT

SUSPENSION GROUT

This type comprises of mixtures cement plus water and other particulate solids such as
clay, fly ash, lime, asphalt emulsion etc. such type of mixtures depending on their
compositions, may prove to be stable(i.e., have minimal bleeding) or unstable when left
at rest .Stable grouts have both cohesion and plastic viscosity, increasing with time.
These suspensions are injected into soil mass to promote permeation. While doing the
permeation of suspension grout, importance has to be given to the grout ability ratio
(GR),
GR= (d15 (Formation)/d85 (Grout))>20
One of the most commonly adopted suspension grout is cement grout

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EMULSION GROUT

Colloidal solutions, evaluative Newtonian fluids in which viscosity progressively

increases with time.
Ex: sodium silicate based

SOLUTION GROUT

Pure solutions, nonevolutive Newtonian solutions in which viscosity is essentially

constant until setting, within a controlled period.
The liquid homogeneous molecular mixtures of two or more substances are solution
grout.
Ex: organic resins and a wide variety of chemical grouts

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PRINCIPLE TYPES OF GROUT

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LIMITATIONS OF CHEMICAL GROUT

 With chemical grouts, toxicity and permanency have also become an issue.
 Permanency refers to the resistance against mechanical deterioration due to
freeze-thaw or wetting and drying cycles and chemical degradation by reaction with the
ground water or soil constituents.
 Toxicity refers to health hazards in handling the grout and its effects on the
quality of the groundwater it is in contact with.

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 Unfortunately, the high-strength, high permanent grouts seem to present the
greatest risk with respect to handling, ground water pollution, and corrosion

TYPES OF GROUTING

PENETRATION OR PERMREATION GROUTING

DEFINITION:

Penetration grouting describes the process of filling joints or fractures in rock or pore
spaces in soil with a grout without disturbing the formation. Permeation Grouting is
defined as a means of impregnating the voids within a soil or rock mass and thereby
displacing water and air from the voids and replacing it with grout, without displacing the
soil particles or widening the existing fissures in the rock.

Grouts are required to have high levels of fluidity and stability and in the case of high
penetration particular grouts, contain extremely fine particles. Grout materials include, by
diminishing void size: cement based grouts with filler or foaming additives, cement,
betonies/cement, betonies/cement with high penetration additives, micro fine cement,
silica gels and resins.

The principal purposes of permeation grouting are for waterproofing and strengthening
the soil or rock and limitations are encountered only where voids become too small to
allow grout penetration, at which point in the case of soils, alternative methods of
treatment should be considered.

Permeation Grouting is strictly a low pressure operation aimed at impregnation of the soil
or rock. Elevated pressures that exceed the lowest principal stress at the point of injection
in the soil cause ‘Claquage,’ where a fissure in the soil is opened in a plane perpendicular
to the minimum principal stress defeating the objective of impregnation. In rock, elevated

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pressure in grout will encourage destabilization and segregation, resulting in decreased
effectiveness of the grouting process. Pressures must be contained to avoid these
phenomena.

Advantages

 Controlled and accurate placement.

 Economical cost.

 Significant and predictable degrees of improvement.

 Non-vibratory.

 Limited workspace require

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 COMPACTION GROUTING

Compaction grouting is the injection of grout into the soil to improve bearing capacity.
This is accomplished by using high pressure to expand a bulb of very low slump grout in
a controlled manner through an injection pipe. The process has been used successfully for
foundation improvement as a precautionary measure under new construction and for
remediation of structures that have settled.

The process of compaction grouting consists of installation of injection pipes to the

bottom of the zone being densified. The pipes are either drilled or driven into place with a
sacrificial point. The pipe is withdrawn to open the end of the injection pipe. A specially
designed low volume, high pressure pump is used to place the grout. As the grout
expands in a homogeneous bulb, the radial force exerted compacts the surrounding soils.
A relatively slow injection rate is used to prevent fracturing the soils, allowing water to
dissipate and thereby reduce uplift. Injection continues until either refusal pressure is
attained or heaving occurs at the surface. Grout placement continues at shallower
elevations as the injection pipe is withdrawn in stages.

The upward component of force causing heaving at the surface usually limits the degree
which soil can be compacted. Precise laser monitoring equipment detects any surface
movement. Structures can be re-leveled utilizing compaction grouting. With the use of
conventional surveying equipment and laser levels, the surface movement created can be
used to raise structures to precise tolerances.

The soils best suited to compaction grouting are fine grained with sufficient permeability
to allow excess water to dissipate. The process has also been used successfully in a wide
variety of soils and fills. Irregular fills or varying native soils will become more uniform
with compaction grouting. An advantage of compaction grouting is the tendency to
improve the weakest soils. The effective radius of the grout hole varies with the type of
soil being treated. Where large areas are being treated, the primary hole pattern is a
diamond or square pattern with holes on 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters) centers. Secondary
or check holes are placed to the center of the pattern.

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Compaction Grouting Geo technical Consideration

 The insitu vertical stress in the treatment stratum must be sufficient to enable
the grout to displace the soil horizontally.
 The grout injection rate should be slow enough to allow pore pressure
dissipation.
 Collapsible soils can usually be treated effectively with the addition of water
during drilling prior to compaction grout injection.


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Advantages of compaction grouting

 Pinpoint treatment

 Speed of installation

 Effective in a variety of soil conditions

 Can be performed in very tight access & low headroom condition

 Non-hazardous

 No waste spoil disposal

 Non-destructive & adaptable to exiting foundations

 Able to reach depths unattainable by other methods

HYDROFRACTURE GROUTING

Definition:

If the grouting pressure is greater than the tensile strength of the soil or rock being
grouted, the soil or rock fails resulting in fractured zone. The grout penetrates this
fractured zone forming densified region of soil or rock masses.

The ground is deliberately split by injecting stable but fluid cement-based grouts at high
pressures (e.g., up to 4 MPa).the lenses sheets of grout so formed are thought to increase
total stress, fill unconnected voids, possibly consolidate the soil locally, and,

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conceptually, create mainly horizontal, impermeable barriers. However, hydro fracture
grouting’s effects are difficult to control, and the potential danger of damaging adjacent
structures by the use of high pressure often proves prohibitive. Hydro fracture naturally
occurs with conventional cement-based grouts in soil with a permeability of less than
10^-1 cm/sec.

Advantages of Hydro fracture grouting system

 The control of settlement is carried out from outside the building and hence there
is no disruption to the occupants
 The process can be repeated allowing continued control of settlement (if required)

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JET GROUTING

Jet, or replacement, grouting is the youngest major category of ground treatment.

According to Miki and Nakanishi (1984), the basic concept was propounded in Japan in
1965,but it is generally agreed that it is only since the early 1980s that the various
derivatives of jet grounding have approached their full economic and operational
potential to the extent that today it is arguably the fastest growing method of ground
treatment worldwide. Its development was fostered by the need to thoroughly treat soils
ranging from gravels to clays to random fills in areas where major environmental controls
were strangle\y exercised over the use of chemical (permeation) grouts and allowable
ground movements.

Jet grouting can be executed in soils with a wide range of granulometries and
permeabilities.Indeed, any limitations to its applicability are imposed by other spoil
parameters (eg. the shear strength of cohesive soils or the density of granular deposits) or
by economic factors.

The ASCE Geotechnical Engineering Division Committee on grouting defined Jet

grouting as a “technique utilizing a special drill bit with horizontal and vertical high
speed water jets to excavate alluvial soils and produce hard impervious column by
pumping grout through the horizontal nozzles that jets and mixes with foundation
material as the drill bit is with drawn”.

Advantages
 Nearly all soil types grout able
 Designable strength & permeability
 No harmful vibrations
 Can be performed in limited workspace

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 Maintenance free
 Safest method of under pinning construction
 Much faster than alternative method
GROUTING CONTROL

 Monitoring the grout taken as a function of pressure

 Observing ground heave

 Digging inspection pits

 Retrieving Core samples for examination and laboratory testing

 Conducting borehole permeability tests

APPLICATIONS

 Control of ground water during construction.

 Void filling to prevent excessive settlement.

 Strengthening adjacent foundation excavation, pile

Drilling etc
.
 Soil strengthening to reduce lateral support requirements.

 Stabilization of loose sands against liquefaction.

 Foundation underpinning.

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  Reduction of machine foundation vibrations.

CASE STUDIES

CASE STUDY-1

Kraft Foods – Dover, Delaware

For construction of a 20 ft (6m) deep railcar unloading pit within an existing building, jet
grouting performed three functions: excavation support, underpinning, and grout
control to meet project performance objectives, a bathtub configuration was constructed
via perimeter wall of 20 ft deep, interconnected jet grouted columns enclosing a 6ft thick
jet grouted base.
The perimeter columns provided excavation support while those at corners of pit also
underpinned the existing adjacent footing. The jet grouting program successfully prevent
building movement and vertical and horizontal ground water infiltration.

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CASE STUDY-2

Dales ford lake development –Berwyn, Pennsylvania

A luxury, four unit town house structure founded on timber piles had exhibited structural
distress related to sink whole activity. Surface investigation revealed 5-30ft of
miscellaneous fill, including wood chips and building materials, overlaying clay soil.
Beneath this, pinnacled karastic lime stone was encountered at depths ranging between
10 and 30ft.Grout pipes were installed at 68 interior, low head room locations and 90
exterior locations, to an average depth of 16 to 21ft. Compaction grouting was performed
to stabilize the driven pile foundation, re-establish ground contact with the structure, and
halt the soil piping that had resulted from sink hole activity. The work was successfully
completed while the building remained occupied.

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CONCLUSION

> Many engineers still consider this grouting technique as a art rather than science.

> Its successful application requires great deal of experience, thorough knowledge
of geological condition and awareness of equipment capabilities and limitations.

> The overall success of grouting technology is less than 50% of intended goals.

> Is a long-term, inexpensive trench less technology

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REFERENCES

 http://www.austressmenard.com.au/permation_grouting.php
 http://www.judycompany.com/compaction_grouting.htm
 Ground Improvement by M.P.Moseley
 Koerner, R. M, (1985) construction and Geotechnical Methods in
Foundation Engineering, McGraw Hill Book Company, Newyork.
 Hausmann, M.R, (1990), Engineering Principles of Ground Modification.
McGraw Hill Publishing Company, Newyork.
 www.hayward baker.com

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