The influence of the degree of saturation on compaction-grouted soil nails in sand

A series of large-scale model tests was conducted on compaction-grouted soil nails to study the influence of the degree of saturation on the soil response to compaction grouting and pull-out. The experimental results show that the initial degree of saturation of the soil strongly influences the grout injectability, thus the formed diameter of grout bulb. Subsequently, the diameter of the grout bulb alters the pull-out force, with larger grout bulbs generating higher pull-out forces and exhibiting greater hardening behaviour. Interestingly, the initial pull-out forces are the same for the same grouting pressure, regardless of the initial degree of saturation and the subsequently grout bulb. In addition, some of the main factors influencing the pressure grouting and pull-out of the soil nail, as the initial degree of saturation varies, are as follows. First, the variations in the soil pressure and density with the initial degree of saturation are similar to that of the volume of grout injected, and the compression of the soil induced by pressure grouting exhibits a similar evolution with the initial degree of saturation at different locations. Second, the initial degree of saturation of the soil sample plays a dominant role in the change in suction during pressure grouting and pull-out of soil nail. Third, the horizontal soil pressure derived from the pull-out of soil nail propagates closely in the soil sample of lower initial degree of saturation. The vertical soil pressure induced by the vertical soil dilation and squeezing effect varies in accidence with the initial degree of saturation and the grout bulb.

     

深水注浆锚设计原理及其承载特性试验研究

海洋能源开发不断向深海迈进,大型深水海上平台对锚泊结构的承载力提出了更高的要求。针对传统鱼雷锚承载比不足的问题,提出了一种新型深水注浆锚。锚体带动连接其尾部的注浆管贯入海床,然后在外部注浆设备驱动下向海床注浆,浆液挤压土体并在锚体周围形成注浆固结块,从而大幅增加锚体抗拔力。采用自主设计的海洋锚注浆和拉拔试验系统进行了模型试验,研究了不同注浆量对浆液扩散特性以及锚体承载特性的影响规律。结果表明：浆液可以较好地包裹锚体,浆块呈倒锥形与锚体紧密黏结为一体,共同承受上部荷载,浆块承载比可达 24.6,远高于传统鱼雷锚的 2.4～4.1,从而验证了深水注浆锚的可行性。随注浆量的增加,浆块端部截面积和整体高度增加,注浆锚整体承载力也不断增大。     

Numerical and experimental studies of pressure-controlled cavity expansion in completely decomposed granite soils of Hong Kong

Compaction grouting is the injection of a viscous grout into a soil under high pressure, which then densifies the surrounding soil by reducing void space. Laboratory and field tests of compaction grouting have been carried out. In this paper, a numerical model is used to simulate the compaction grouting process with the primary purpose of investigating relationships among various control parameters, such as injection pressure, void ratio and excess pore water pressure at various radial distances from the injection point. The compaction process is treated as a cavity expansion process in the numerical simulation. The soil is modelled with an elasto-plastic Mohr–Coulomb model using the commercial finite element program ABAQUS. In addition to numerical simulations, pressure-controlled cavity expansion laboratory tests were carried out on completely decomposed granite (CDG) soil specimens. Data collected from laboratory tests are compared with the finite element simulation to validate the finite element analyses. Factors that control the compaction process, such as the coefficient of earth pressure (K), initial void ratio, number of loading cycles and effective confining pressure, are explored in the numerical simulations.     

Interpretation of grouting characteristics in unsaturated sand from the perspective of water–air interface

The design of grouting engineering in practice is either based on conventional soil mechanics or empirical procedures ignoring the effect of degree of saturation (water content). In this study, a series of laboratory-pressurized grouting tests were conducted on unsaturated sand to reveal the influence of soil water content on the grouting characteristics. With combination of direct shear tests at constant water content, water retention tests as well as microscopy observations, the mechanisms that controlling the strength and in turn the grouting characteristics in unsaturated sand were interpreted from the perspective of water–air interface. It was found that the non-monotonic phenomena of grouting characteristics (injectability and diffusion characteristics) with increasing water content were strongly dependent on the shear strength, which is influenced by the apparent cohesion induced by capillary mechanisms relating to the water–air interface. The threshold value of the injectability and diffusion pattern is corresponding to the boundary of the two transition zones (two different desaturation mechanisms) in the water retention curve. In the primary transition zone, the water phase is interconnected with air bulbs entrapped. With the drainage of bulk water in the large pores, the amount of water menisci increases, generating larger and larger surface tension force between particles. Therefore, less and less grout was injected as the bearing capacity and shear strength increase. However, in the second transition zone, with the drainage of menisci water, the menisci area of each pores decreases, inducing less and less surface tension force. Thus, more and more grout was injected as the bearing capacity and shear strength decrease. It is hoped that the work in this study will facilitate researching the grouting mechanisms in unsaturated soil, thus optimizing the grouting parameters in engineering practice.

     

Interface creep behavior of grouted anchors in clayey soils: effect of soil moisture condition

This study aims at investigating the influence of moisture conditions on interface shear behavior of element-grouted anchor specimens embedded in clayey soils. The tests involved comparatively short embedment lengths and a device that was specially designed to facilitate moisture conditioning. Rapidly loaded pullout tests as well as pullout tests under sustained (creep) loading were conducted to characterize both the short-term and long-term ultimate shear strength of anchor–soil interfaces. Both values of the interface shear strength were found to decrease exponentially with increasing moisture content values, although their ratio was found to show a linearly decreasing trend with increasing moisture content. The interface shear creep response under pullout conditions was characterized by a rheological hybrid model that could be calibrated using experimental measurements obtained under increasing stress levels. The accuracy of the hybrid model was examined by evaluating the stress-dependent prediction model as well as its governing parameters. This investigation uncovers the coupled impact of soil moisture condition and external stress state on the time-dependent performance of grouted anchors embedded in clayey soils by correlating the interface shear strength with soil moisture content and associating the creep model with stress levels applied to the grout–soil interface.

     

Numerical investigation of the gel barrier formation with vertical injection pipe

Permeation grouting is the injection of a fluid grout into ground and production of a solidified mass to carry increased load and/or fill voids to control water flow. This study examined a technology of constructing horizontal gel barrier by the permeation grouting through multiple vertical injection pipes. Colloidal Silica (CS) solution was used as a gelling liquid to be injected and solidified in the unsaturated soil. Formation of a gel bulb was simulated and the results were compared with those obtained from the sleeve pipe injection with horizontal pipes. The gel bulb generated from the injection method employing vertical pipe showed greater sensitivity of the bulb’s lateral extent to variations in operating conditions compared to the sleeve pipe injection. Although in the limited numbers, in all examined cases, the vertical-pipe system appeared to consume a larger volume of CS solution than the horizontal-pipe system to form an equivalent horizontal gel barrier. This result supports our intuition that the injection with the horizontal pipes may be more effective than the one with vertical pipes in constructing horizontal gel barrier.     

基于流体体积法的劈裂注浆有限元分析

劈裂注浆作为一种有效的土体加固方法,其理论研究落后于工程实践。提出了基于弥散裂缝模型和流体体积法的劈裂注浆有限元分析方法,并通过ABAQUS二次开发编写劈裂注浆有限元程序。数值分析结果能与室内试验较好吻合,验证了有限元算法的合理性。在此基础上研究了注浆孔埋深和注浆流量对劈裂浆脉形状的影响。结果表明,劈裂注浆过程可分为起劈和劈裂发展两个阶段。当劈裂浆脉扩展到模型边界后,继续注浆会引起注浆压力的大幅提高和已有浆脉宽度的增加。随着注浆孔埋深的增加,浆脉分支减少,长度减小,宽度增加,劈裂浆脉形状的主要控制因素从土体参数的随机性变成大小主应力值的差异。注浆量一定的情况下,注浆速率越大,劈裂浆脉长度越短,宽度越大,注浆终压也越大。研究为劈裂注浆的工程应用提供理论支撑。     

An FEM/VOF hybrid formulation for fracture grouting modelling

A numerical model using a hybrid formulation of a finite element method (FEM) coupled with the volume of fluid (VOF) technique to simulate the fracture grouting processes in soils is described. The numerical model considered the couplings of the stress distribution, with two-phase fluid flows, and the mesh element damage. The hardening of grout in soil is described by a time-dependent Young’s modulus and viscosity. Crack initiation, branching, propagation, and grout vein growth in homogeneous and heterogeneous soils can be numerically reproduced. Although the method is developed particularly for simulating fracture grouting, the processes of compaction grouting and permeation grouting can also be numerically simulated. Some grouting cases have been simulated with results similar to the experimental results. This further confirms the adequacy and the power of the numerical approach.     

Use of photo-based 3D photogrammetry in analysing the results of laboratory pressure grouting tests

This paper presents a non-destructive, low-cost, photo-based, 3D reconstruction technique for characterizing geo-materials with irregular shapes of a relatively large size. After being validated against two traditional volume measurement methods, namely the vernier caliper method and the fluid displacement method for regular and irregular shapes, respectively, 3D photogrammetry was used to analyse the grout bulbs formed in laboratory pressure grouting tests. The reconstructed 3D mesh model of the sample provides accurate and detailed 3D vertex data, which allowed the volume, densification efficiency and bleeding behaviour of the grout bulbs to be analysed. Comparing the bulb section views at different grouting pressures also offers an intuitive observation of the grout development and propagation process. Moreover, the 3D vertex data and surface area included in the model are of great importance in validating numerical predictions of the pressure grouting process and analysing the interface shear resistance of grouted soil nails or anchors. Compared to existing approaches, the new 3D photogrammetry method possesses several key advantages: (a) it does not require expensive, specialized equipment; (b) samples are not destroyed or modified during testing; (c) it allows to reconstruct objects of various scales and (d) the software is public domain. Therefore, the adoption of this 3D photogrammetry method will facilitate research in the pressure grouting process and can be extended to other problems in geotechnical engineering.     

带加强肋土工格栅的极限拉拔阻力分析

在立体加筋体系研究基础上,提出了带加强肋土工格栅加筋,即通过对普通土工格栅的肋进行加强处理,使其肋具有一定的竖向厚度,构成具有立体加筋效果的带加强肋土工格栅。采用染色砂法,通过带加强肋土工格栅的拉拔试验进行了拉拔力机理分析。在拉拔过程中,加强肋前方土体会首先被挤密加强,成为一个刚性的楔体,然后刚性楔与筋材一起运动成为一个土筋共同体。推导了带加强肋土工格栅加筋土的拉拔阻力模型,分析中将加强肋的侧阻力作用简化为侧向土压力的作用,采用极限平衡理论,通过两侧的主动土压力与被动土压力进行计算。根据所建立的拉拔阻力模型计算出带加强肋土工格栅加筋的极限拉拔阻力,并与试验结果进行了对比,两者基本吻合     

细砂中钢带-填土废塑料瓶抗拔性能试验研究

研究利用填土废塑料瓶作为横向构件附在加筋土挡墙（MSEWs）中钢带上可行性。配筋中的横向构件对增加抗拔力有重要影响。该加筋系统是由作为纵向构件的钢带和作为横向构件的填土废塑料瓶组成。为更好地研究以填土废塑料瓶作为横向构件对抗拔性能的影响,对一条独立的钢带和分别带有1～7个瓶子的钢带进行了拉拔试验。在不同的法向应力下进行了超过18次的实验室大型拉拔试验（例如拉拔箱尺寸为长1.2 m、宽0.6 m、高1.0 m）来评估新提出的加固元件的性能。试验结果表明,在扁钢带上建立三维空间对提高抗拔阻力影响很大。提高抗拔阻力最有效的方法是在距离S与直径D之比为3的钢带上加入4个横向构件,其平均抗拔阻力约为单独钢带的5倍。有横向构件和无横向构件钢带的极限抗拔阻力随竖向应力的增大而增大。     

Soil/Geotextile Interface Behaviour in Direct Shear and Pullout Movements

This paper deals with soil/reinforced geotextile interface behaviour in direct shear and pullout movements. A soil/geosynthetic direct shear apparatus, developed in accordance to EN ISO 12957-1 (2004) and ASTM D5321-92 (1992) standards, is presented. Some details of the test (like: specimen fixation, influence of the vertical stress on the registered horizontal force, type of test and measurement of the vertical displacement) are discussed and modifications in the test procedures are adopted. Then, the reinforced geotextile and the residual soil of granite used in the research are described. The behaviour of soil/geosynthetic interface in direct shear is characterized based on modified direct shear tests and maximum interface shear stress is determined at peak and residual for a confining stress of 50 kPa. The modification in the pullout test apparatus described by Lopes and Ladeira (1996a; 1996b) and by Lopes and Lopes (1999) are noticed. The behaviour of soil/geosynthetic interface in pullout is characterized based on pullout tests performed, in accordance EN 13738 (2004), and interface shear stress at maximum pullout force is defined for a confining stress of 50 kPa. Finally, the values of interface coefficient at soil/geosynthetic interface are obtained in direct shear and in pullout and then compared. The main conclusions that can be outlined from the present study are the following: modifications should be made to EN ISO 12957-1 (2004) standard, namely in what concerns the dependence of the measured horizontal force from the vertical stress, the difficulties to perform constant area direct shear test with the lower half box filled with soil and on the measurement of the vertical displacement of the load plate; on the contrary to which is normally accepted the characteristics of the behaviour of soil/geosynthetic interface in pullout, when the geosynthetic has a full plane contact area with the soil, are not able to be obtained based on results of direct shear tests, as in this type of tests the contribution of the geosynthetic deformation on the characteristics of the interface in pullout is not considered.     

全风化花岗岩地层中高固相离析浆液灌浆机理研究

全风化花岗岩地层稳定性差、遇水易发生崩解,工程上使用常规材料防渗加固注浆时效果较差。针对这一情况,依托湖南省郴州市莽山水库防渗加固灌浆项目,通过自主设计的全风化花岗岩地层注浆室内模拟试验装置,进行模拟注浆试验,实现了浆液在整个注浆过程中的扩散情况模拟,对不同注浆压力、不同位置点所取试样开展单轴抗压、抗剪强度及渗透率测试试验,对不同注浆压力下完整结石体取样观察,研究以全风化花岗岩颗粒为配方主体材料的高固相离析浆液在全风化花岗岩地层的防渗加固效果及浆液扩散模式。结果表明:该浆液在全风化花岗岩地层扩散过程中经历了渗透扩散、挤密压缩、劈裂扩展三个阶段,是一种复合注浆形式;以全风化花岗岩颗粒为主体的高固相离析浆液在全风化花岗岩地层注浆中效果显著,随着注浆压力提升,单轴抗压强度显著提升为原土体的3.25～13.67倍,抗剪强度在不同法向压力情况下提升为原土体的1.63～2.69倍,渗透系数从10?4 cm/s下降至10?5 cm/s甚至10?6 cm/s。     

An Innovative Post Grouting Technique for Soil Nails

This study presents an innovative technique of executing soil nails called sectorized post grouting (SPG). The most utilized technique of soil nail grouting is gravity grouting, with the literature reporting advances in pressurized grouting. Although obtaining higher pullout resistance of soil nails, pressurized grouting, mostly done in single-stage grouting, does not compensate for exudation and its use in higher nail lengths is difficult. Thus, a technique has been developed that compensates for exudation, with easier application in lengthier nails. The technique was qualitatively assessed to evaluate its surface roughness and later applied in seven real soil nailing works, where it could be quantitatively assessed. The results show that sectorized post-grouted nails obtained greater pullout resistances than gravity grouted and single-stage grouted nails. Although similar improvement was found in tube-à-manchette (TAM) grouted nails, this method presents lower economic efficiency than sectorized post grouting. The pullout resistance results obtained in this study can be utilized in future soil nailing works executed utilizing SPG.

     

松软地层防渗灌浆帷幕结构性状实验研究

松软地层透水率较大,防渗灌浆工程吃浆量相对较大,浆液扩散极不规则,形成的防渗帷幕,包括防渗幕体厚度、力学性能、防渗效果等结构性状难以准确把握,现有的方法和技术主要采用压水试验、标贯、钻孔取心、物探等方法获取相关信息,但带有极大的不确定性,直接影响到防渗质量的评价。在现场进行多工况灌浆原型试验研究,通过注水试验、孔斜测定、取心测试、全断面开挖等多种方法,真实呈现防渗幕体的性状,包括幕体有效厚度及其影响范围、幕体强度性能和渗透性能。结果表明,在松软地层采用浆体封闭、脉动灌浆控制灌浆工艺,孔距1.5m,两排排距0.8m,并采用适宜的灌浆控制参数灌注可控性黏土水泥浆材,简便高效,孔周挤密区、结石体及胶结体形成的有效幕体均一性好,防渗效果达到5lu以下,灌后28d结石体强度达到3MPa以上。灌浆工艺和参数可直接供类似地层应用。对于不同类型地层在不同灌浆材料、灌浆工艺、灌浆参数情形下的灌浆结构性状,有必要研发物理模型进行大样本室内试验研究。     

The effect of pressure-grouted soil nails on the stability of weathered soil slopes

Pressure-grouted soil nails have been increasingly used for stabilizing slopes. The pullout resistance of a soil nail is the main factor for reinforcing the slope stability. In this study, a two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model is developed to simulate the pullout behavior of a pressure-grouted soil nail. This model is verified with field pullout tests result of a pressure-grouted soil nails by comparing with gravity-grouted soil nails. Based on the analysis, a three-dimensional finite element model is proposed for stability analysis of a slope reinforced with pressure-grouted soil nails using the shear strength reduction method. A series of numerical slope stability analyses for a slope composed of weathered soil are performed to investigate the effects of grouting pressure on the slope stability and the behavior of the soil nails. Special attention is given to the installation effect of a pressure-grouted soil nails. It is found from the result of this study that the pressure-grouted soil nails increase the safety factor by fifty percent in a slope by increasing the stiffness of the nailed slope system. Numerical analysis results confirm the fact that the pullout resistance of a soil nail is the main factor for stabilizing slopes rather than the shear resistance of the soil nail.     

Real‐scale miscible grout injection experiment and performance of advection–dispersion–filtration model

A model was developed, to describe miscible grout propagation in a saturated deformable porous medium, based on Bear's statistical model with spatial volume averaging. In a previous paper, the model was first successfully confronted to one‐dimensional laboratory experiments. In the present paper, the numerical model is used to simulate practical grouting operation in a cylindrical injection model. The cylindrical injection model lends itself to study main flow and propagation character istics for a dispersed suspension‐type grout, under axisymmetric conditions close to real scale conditions. Comparison between numerical solutions and experimental results is essential to confirm the validity and accuracy of the proposed model from a phenomenological standpoint. The numerical model performances show that the underlying mathematical model constitutes a realistic predictive model reproducing most prominent features during injection of a suspension‐type grout into a deformable porous medium. The basic mechanism by which injected miscible grout permeates a soil mass is discussed in detail. Such a tool leads to quality control criteria for grouting on a theoretical basis, which complements existing criteria acquired through engineering practice. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance of a compaction-grouted soil nail in laboratory tests

This study proposed a new soil nail known as the compaction-grouted soil nail, and a physical model was established to investigate its pull-out behaviour with different grouting pressures. The study on scale effect of the physical model was performed subsequently via numerical modelling. Additionally, interface shear tests were performed using the same boundary conditions as the physical model test. The strength parameters obtained were used to estimate the pull-out resistance of a conventional soil nail. The merits of these two soil nail types were compared based on their pull-out resistances. The physical model test results showed that the pull-out resistance of the compaction-grouted soil nail increases with increasing grouting pressure. In addition, the pull-out resistance exhibits hardening behaviour without a yield point, indicating that the compaction-grouted soil nail enables soils to remain stable against a relatively large deformation before ultimate failure. Furthermore, a higher grouting pressure results in a higher rate of increase for pull-out resistance versus pull-out displacement, which improves the performance of the compaction-grouted soil nail in the stabilization of large deformation problems. A comparison of the two types of soil nails suggests that the new compaction-grouted soil nail is more sensitive to grouting pressure than the conventional soil nail in terms of pull-out resistance improvement. In other words, the performance (pull-out resistance) of the compaction-grouted soil nail can be markedly improved by increasing the grouting pressure without inducing any accidental or undesired cracking or soil displacement.

     

帷幕灌浆扩散半径及数值模拟的研究

从连续性方程出发,考虑浆液压力对土体孔隙率的影响,分析推导了浆液在多孔介质中的渗流规律,并给出了扩散半径的简单近似计算公式;然后将二相流理论应用到注浆研究中,假设孔隙由水和浆液完全充填,且二者不相混溶,建立了浆液驱水的非稳定渗流模型。根据某大坝的实际情况,用FLAC软件中的二相流模块对大坝灌浆过程进行了模拟分析,并与推导公式相比较。由于二相流理论考虑了毛细压力的作用,模拟得到的浆液扩散速率递减得更快。模拟结果表明,浆液和水之间存在着一个过渡带,浆液的饱和度在不同时间和位置上是变化的。随着时间的延长,浆液扩散得越远,但其速率逐渐减小。扩散半径不仅与渗透系数有关,还与孔隙度有关,而且孔隙度较渗透系数对扩散半径有着更大的影响。二相流理论可以更好地模拟帷幕灌浆的浆液扩散情况。     

网格状带齿加筋体界面特性的宏细观力学机制研究

网格状带齿加筋是一种新型的土工加筋技术,汲取了传统网格状与条带式带齿加筋的优点,其筋土界面特性是加筋结构设计的基础。利用室内拉拔试验从宏观角度分析筋材与土的界面特性,结合颗粒流程序,筋材用平行黏结模拟,从细观角度分析筋土接触界面的产生和发展演化规律。数值结果表明：齿筋的存在对界面处颗粒的移动及剪切带的宽度影响显著,其破坏模式呈现波浪型,在齿筋附近出现应力集中现象。筋土界面处筋材与土颗粒摩擦、咬合和阻抗作用提供“似黏聚力”是改变网格状带齿加筋体系作用机制的内在原因。研究成果对于明确网格状带齿加筋拉拔的机制及模型的建立都具有意义。