Numerical approach to predict ground displacement caused by installing a horizontal jet grout column

When horizontal jet grouting is conducted in fine-grained soils, the injection of large volumes of fluid with high injection pressure into the ground may cause ground surface upheaval and the lateral movement of subsoil. This paper provides a numerical approach to calculate the ground displacement caused by installing a horizontal column based on determination of the influencing radius of injection pressure and the volumetric expansion strain caused by fluid injection. During the course of this study, the relationship between the influencing radius, column radius, volumetric expansion strain, and jetting parameters is established. The proposed numerical approach is applied to analyze a case history conducted in Shanghai soft soil deposits, which include the monitoring of vertical displacement of the ground surface and lateral displacement of the subsoil during construction. A comparison of the results between the simulated values with the Mohr Coulomb model and field data demonstrates that the numerical approach can yield a reasonable prediction of these field measurements when the influencing radius is six times the radius of the column. The influence range of the horizontal jet grouting activity is also discussed by numerical analysis with respect to two soil models (the Mohr Coulomb model and the hardening soil model).