Compensation grouting

Settlement control by displacement grouting

Corrective grouting (jacking)
Grouting is performed after
settlement has occurred

Compensation grouting
Grouting is performed
simultaneously with settlement
generation
Compensation grouting may be:

Concurrent
Observational
Monitoring is a key element of
settlement control/compensation

Kummerer (2003)

Types of grouting
Compaction grouting
Injection of stiff high
viscosity grout

Fracture grouting
Injection of low viscosity grout
at pressures that cause
fracturing

Intrusion grouting
Injection of a fluid grout with a
high solids content. Solids
remain near point of injection
but limited fracturing

Harris (2001)

Compensation grouting

Harris (2001)

Compensation grouting
Directional drilling

railway bridge
Ponte vecchio
Via Emilia Levante
Bologna

10 m
11,5
18,0

grouting pipe array

with maximum length of 68m

1,5
1.5
5,0

tunnel
9,4 m in diameter

Compensation grouting: a bit of history

Compaction grouting
Bolton Hill Tunnels, Baltimore (Baker et al, 1983)
Minneapolis tunnel (Cording et al., 1989)
By the 1990s compensation using compaction grouting well
established in the US (Littlejohn, 2003)

Fracture grouting

Essen in 1986 (Chambosse & Osterbein, 2001)

Vienna metro (Pototschnik, 1992)
Other tunnels in Germany & Austria (e.g. Raabe, 1989)
First used in UK in Waterloo station, 1992 (Mair & Hight, 1994)
Extensive use in Jubilee extension line, London (well
documented; Burland, Standing & Jardine eds.)
Used extensively: Lisbon, Porto, Madrid, Barcelona, Antwerp and
many others (also sometimes used in the US)

The term compensation grouting

Apparently coined by D.W. Hight (GCG) (Mair, 1994)

Concept and design

Compaction grouting vs. Fracture grouting
Compaction grouting

Fracture grouting

Better control of grout

extension

Little control of fracture

extension and direction

More robust with respect to

implementation parameters

Repeat grouting requires

redrilling

Multiple injection is
straightforward (TAM
grouting)

Lower efficiency?

Higher injection pressures

Lower injection pressures

Creates a smaller region of

pore pressure increase

Creates a larger region of

pore pressure increase

Dominant in the US

Dominant in the Europe

Compensation grouting

Rodio (2005)

Compensation grouting

EPB machine: 12.3 m diameter

smax

D2
=
Vl
32 i

Ground movements control: compensation grouting

Juan Valera road

Ground movements control: compensation grouting

Grouting well
Grouting well

Grouting boreholes

Silt with sand

and gravel

W.T.
W.T.

Gravel and coarse sand

TUNNEL
Silt with sand and gravel

Juan Valera road

Ground movements control: compensation grouting

Juan Valera road

Ground movements control: compensation grouting

0.5
0
10/6/2003 10/31/2003 11/25/2003 12/20/2003 1/14/2004

2/8/2004

-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
-2.5

Point HT1 (13.2m to the north

of tunnel axis)
Point HT2 (3.2m to the north
of tunnel axis)
Point HT3 (16.1m to the south
of tunnel axis)

Passage of EPB

Vertical displacement [mm]

-3
Time

Juan Valera road

3/4/2004

3/29/2004

4/23/2004

Ground movements control: compensation grouting

-10

-5

Vertical displacement [mm]

0
5
10
0
5

15

At 9.1 m from the centreline

On the tunnel centreline

Depth [m]

10
15
20
25
30

Juan Valera road

20

Mechanisms
Do we have a sufficient understanding of the relevant grouting
mechanisms?
Under which conditions fracture occurs?
What is the direction, extent, thickness of grout-filled fractures?
Principal stress orientation
Heterogeneity / planes of weakness
Grout composition
Injection rate
Simultaneous vs. Sequential injection
Single injection phase vs. Multiple injection phases

Mechanisms
Do we have a sufficient understanding of the relevant grouting
mechanisms?
Fracture direction and principal stress orientation.
Laboratory results from Soga and co-workers in Cambridge

Mechanisms
Do we have a sufficient understanding of the relevant grouting
mechanisms?
Laboratory results from Soga and co-workers in Cambridge

Effect of injection rate

Mechanisms
Do we have a sufficient understanding of the relevant grouting
mechanisms?
Laboratory results from Soga and co-workers in Cambridge

Multiple injections epoxy grout

Mechanisms
Preconditioning grouting: what are its role and effects?,
Objectives of preconditioning phase
Compensate the effects of drilling and TAM installation
Compression of loose layers and filling of voids
Increase horizontal stress
Prepare for the actual compensation phase

Mechanisms

Barcelona Metro: Line 9

Mechanisms

Barcelona Metro: Line 9

TUNNEL

Mechanisms
Preconditioning grouting: what are its role and effects?,

Proposed topics for discussion: Mechanisms

Preconditioning grouting: what are its role and effects?,

Mechanisms
What are the reasons for the low efficiencies in compensation
grouting?
Efficiency: volume of ground heave / volume of grout injected
Typical values 1/3 -1/5, sometimes 1/10 and 1/20!
They usually increase as grouting progresses

wells

Antwerp Central Station

Kummerer at al. (2003)

Implementation
Is compensation grouting really compatible with TBM excavation?
Fast tunnel face passage; grouting intensity based on predictions

Is the specification of a exclusion zone justified? Where should

grouting be performed?
Measured effects on lining pressures are often small (Lee et al., 1999)

Proposed topics for discussion: Mechanisms

What are the reasons for the low efficiencies in compensation
grouting?
Efficiency: volume of ground heave / volume of grout injected
Typical values 1/3 -1/5, sometimes 1/10 and 1/20!
They usually increase as grouting progresses
Where is the grout going?
Lateral compression / excavation deformation
Densification of ground (not in undrained clay)
Solid particles penetration in pores (not in clay)
Grout bleeding / leakage
Even so, efficiency figures are too small
No significant differences between clays and granular materials
Numerical analyses never yield such low efficiencies

Concept and design

What is the best way to perform numerical analyses of
compensation grouting?
Two main methods: prescribed strain and prescribed stress
Prescribed strain

Usually a volume change is applied

Simpler method

Extension and magnitude of compensation grouting must be

defined in advance

It may require to represent ground improvement due to the

conditioning phase (Kummerer et al., 2003)

conditioned zone

applied vol at "injection element"

Concept and design

What is the best way to perform numerical analyses of
compensation grouting?
Two main methods: prescribed strain and prescribed stress
Prescribed stress

A pressure is applied (usually through especial elements)

Less straightforward

In principle the model could model grout flow (and even fracture
development)

It may require independent volume control

Surface structure

Tubes-a-manchette

Franzius et al., (2007)

Concept and design

Use of compensation grouting in soft clays
Grouting generates pore pressures especially in soft clays
Dissipation of pore pressures will cause settlement and counteract
compensation grouting heave

Komiya et al. (2001)

Concept and design

Use of compensation grouting in soft clays
Compensation grouting trial in Singapore marine clay (Shirlaw et al.,
1999)

Concept and design

Use of compensation grouting in soft clays
Compensation grouting trial in Singapore marine clay (Shirlaw et al.,
1999)

Concept and design

Use of compensation grouting in soft clays
Compensation grouting trial in Singapore marine clay (Shirlaw et al.,
1999)

Concept and design

Should we apply compensation grouting to all types of
excavation?
Description of a case in Shanghai soft clay involving a braced excavation

Risk to the wall (grouting injected after bracing installed)

Liu (2003)

Implementation
Monitoring requirements
A key element of any compensation grouting

Grouting
information

Settlement
monitoring

Rodio (2005)

Implementation
Monitoring requirements
Sensible recommendations ( adapted from Littlejohn, 2003)
proper bedding-in period
incorporation of a degree of instrument redundancy (manual back up
system)
use of dummy instruments for checking
proper interpretation and evaluation procedure (in real time!)
Most suitable instruments for settlement control

a plea for the installation of ground instruments at depth!

Summary and conclusions

Compensation grouting
Very useful and proven technique to control settlements.
The procedure appears to have reached a settled stage
Butwe lack a good understanding of the mechanisms
underlying its performance
This hampers a more reliable and risk-free application
In those circumstances, monitoring and field trials
probably save the day
Well documented field experiences (as well as laboratory
and field research) are the key to sound progress!