Abstract

Common cement-based suspensions are capable of penetrating coarse-grained soil materials effectively (e.g. gravel and coarse-grained sands) with a permeability of 10^-1cm/sec and above. Various types of chemical solutions are used to reinforce lower permeability soils (up to 10^-4cm/sec) that can penetrate into soil formations such as fine sands and sludges. Materials of this type have significant disadvantages, such as high cost, unsatisfactory durability, low strength and can also cause environmental pollution due to their toxicity. In the last thirty years, new materials have been developed, which are presented as a counter-proposal to the use of chemical solutions for the above problems. These are extremely fine-grained cements whose suspensions have the ability to penetrate and reinforce even fine-grained sands. The main advantage of these materials over chemical solutions is that they are composed entirely of minerals and thus do not cause adverse environmental effects. The aim of this work is to review the utility of applying cement grouts to soil formations in order to improve their mechanical properties and highlighting their environmental friendliness.

Keywords:Permeation grouting; Fine-grained cements; Injectability; Sands