Grout formulation

Table 7.21 Water-cement injection grout formulations, Type l/ll cement (Ralcitsky)... 

For many years after the Joosten Process was proven in the field, the term chemical grout was synonymous with the Joosten Process and sodium silicate. However, sodium silicate is the basis for many chemical grout formulations in addition to the silicate-chloride two-shot injection. In a similar marmer to the way the techniques of cement grouting could not be cost effectively applied to chemical grouting, the techniques of using high viscosity silicates did not transfer well to the low viscosity materials coming on the market. 

If a count were made of all the chemical grout formulations that have passed through patent offices in the past 30 years, it would reach into the hundreds. Although most of those formulations have commercial possibilities, very few have been developed commercially. The majority have been eliminated by the normal industrial selection process. In the United States, from about 1970 onward, two specific materials (silicates and acrylic-based grouts) shared a market percentage estimated at between 85% and 90%, with the remaining portion of the market divided among only six other products. 

Structures Publishing Company Figure 1. Binder and grout formulation... 

R. M. Berry and E. D. MagH, "Chemical Grouting What s New and What s Being Done This Decade," unpubHshed manuscript, 1992 contains tables of grouting products, formulation viscosities, as well as pricing information available from Avanti International, Webster, Tex. 

In adhesive systems, vinyl esters impart low-viscosity, flexibility, and superior wetting characteristics to DGEBA-type epoxy resins. Because of their good chemical resistance they are often found in construction applications such as flooring and grouting. However, their shrinkage is greater than that of any conventional epoxy resins, and often the formulator will have to counteract this. 

The viscosities of four different grouts, as measured by a Stormer viscosimeter, are shown in Fig. 10.5. Viscosities, of course, vary with percent (dissolved) solids, and the chart is presented in that fashion. The usable viscosities of the various materials depend on the minimum desirable field concentration of solids. Thus, while it is obviously possible to work with a 20% sodium silicate solution in the Joosten process (a viscosity of between 3 and 4 cP), a gel would not form at that low a concentration, and it would be misleading to claim a 4 cP viscosity. In a similar fashion, other silicate formulations can be used to give either low viscosity of high strength, and it is misleading to list those values simultaneously as if they were the properties of the same fluid. 

The variation of strength with silicate concentration is shown in Fig. 11.2, taken from the manufacturer s data. (The same data plotted versus viscosity of the grout solution are shown in Fig. 11.8.) These data are approximately representative of all silicate formulations having gel time control. 

The phenomenon of creep in grouted soil masses has been recognized since the late 1950s (the earliest studies were made by the author with acrylamide grouts in 1957. Results were published shortly afterward in an inter-company report, and are shown in the section on acrylic formulations). 

Of course, SIROC is not the only domestic silicate grout in use. GELOC is proprietary formulation using esters as catalysts. Data regarding strength and gel time control is similar to those shown in Figs. 11.5, 11.6,... 

A second polyurethane grout CR-260 (3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota) was marketed primarily for sewer sealing applications. It is applied internally through a packer inside the sewer and acts as a gasket in the spigot. (This type of application is covered in greater detail in later chapters.) Newer formulations are intended for use as soil stabilizers. 

The past two decades have seen the development of many new urethane formulations for grouting. Virtually all of this development was done in Europe, and although the products have seen widespread use there, they have not appeared in the American market to any extent. Descriptions and details of these new formulae can be found in the proceedings of the Third International Conference on Grouting Ground Treatment, held in New Orleans, LA, in February, 2003. 

Pumping GroutjDye Tracer A. hand-operated, equal volume, dual piston pump was connected to the previously secured packer. Grout was formulated to give a gel of about 12 seconds. 

GROUT SYSTEM Formulation of different materials used to form a grout. 

Another interesting aspect is that shower enclosures are usually either ceramic (grouted tiles) or plastic (methacrylate, or Plexiglas ). One patent emphasizes the choice of surfactant and its effect on plastic. Nonionic surfactants have been said to cause crazing in plastic surfaces [300], and one shower rinse formulation claims the use of amphoteric surfactants for superior soil removal and greater safety to plastic surfaces [301],... 

The new adhesive compositions were used for joint grouting of reinforced SPS precast structures. The composition formulation is given in Table 3.11. 

Figure 2 (top). Dry-stacking the block to build the walls. Figure 3 (middle). Grouting the steel door frames to the block with the sulfur formulation. Figure 4 (bottom). Forming the window sill with the sulfur formulation. 

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