Grouting Effectiveness Construction QA/QC of Post Grouted Shafts Gray Mullins, Ph.D., P.E.

Problem Statement  Post grouted drilled shaft tips have amazing benefits: increased end bearing, reduced foundation cost, increased design confidence, etc.  However, grouting must be effectively performed requiring field monitoring measures to aid both quality control and verification.

Grouting Processes  Single stage Grout pressure is achieved in first application.  Multi-stage (stage grouting) Grout pressure is not achieved in first application requiring subsequent cycles/stages to achieve design pressure

Design Options (Conservative)

Design Options (Empirical) Mullins et al. 2006; Dapp and Brown 2010

Design Methods  Methods depend on achieving a specified design grout pressure  Require grouted area to fully form beneath shaft tip.

Present Quality Control Measures  Must achieve and hold design grout pressure.  Must place a minimum net grout volume to indicate sufficient grout area (soil dependent)  Should stay within safe uplift limits (soil dependent; wide range of acceptability)  Present methods do not verify effectiveness

Effective Grouting  Should show increase in pressure with increase in volume  Should show increase in uplift (or strain) with increased pressure  If both above are true, then increases in volume are registered as increases in uplift Large amounts of scourable or liquefiable overburden make strain more appropriate than uplift measurements

Grouting Concept

Mullins and Winters 2004 Grout Pressure (psi) Grout Pressure (cu ft) Uplift (in) Grout Pressure (psi)

NOTE: (1) All graphs should demonstrate a diagonal trend away from the center. (2) If any one of the graphs demonstrates a horizontal or vertical trend confirmed by a second graph, the post grouting process has become ineffective for the reason shown Winters 2014

Example 1 Mullins 2015 Example 1

Increased Volume w/o pressure or displacement Mullins 2015

Increase Pressure w/o volume or displacement Mullins 2015

Example 2

Toe Strain Gages

N Bottom of Shaft Thermal Integrity Profiling Confirmed more grout on one side Before GroutingAfter Grouting

Grout Criteria Multi-Stage Grouting  Note change in P-V slope  Original grout bulb acts to distribute shaft tip pressure to a lesser value at soil  Second Stage produces pressure to shaft tip but no new pressure to soil  No further soil improvement is achieved  Second Stage DOES PROOF LOAD to that level (e.g. P grout A tip )

Conclusions  Field monitoring and plotting of P,V, and U as shown can directly confirm effective grouting  However, grout should be pumped into as many lines as practical (at least opposing sides)

Conclusions  Uplift is the strongest indication of global force emanating from grout pressure  However, unbalanced designs with large amounts of scour-able or liquefiable overburden need an alternate measurement as top of shaft uplift may not be detectable

Conclusions  Multi-stage grouting is not the same as single stage grouting.  Supported by lower TCM value derived for stage grouted shafts (Dapp and Brown 2010)  Design should account for the use of stage grouting (if used) at design phase or effects should be shown by test shaft

Conclusions  Where possible grouting should be performed on cool shafts to prevent flash-set grout line blockages  For test programs on fast track schedules, use chemical retarders or larger grout lines less prone to blockage.  Chilled water or grout in small grout lines cannot offset heat capacity of shaft.

References Dapp, S. and Brown, D. (2010). “Evaluation of Base Grouted Drilled Shafts at the Audubon Bridge,” GeoFlorida 2010: Advances in Analysis, Modeling & Design, ASCE (GSP 199). Mullins, G., (2015). “Constructin QA/QC of Post Grouted Shafts.” ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, In Press. Mullins, G., Winters, D., and Dapp, S. (2006). “Predicting End Bearing Capacity of Post Grouted Drilled Shafts in Cohesionless Soils” ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and GeoEnvironmental Engineering, Vol. 132, No. 4. pp Mullins, G. and Winters, D. (2004). "Post Grouting Drilled Shaft Tips - Phase II Final Report." Final Report submitted Florida Department of Transportation, June. Mullins, G. and O’Neill, M. (2003). “Pressure Grouting Drilled Shaft Tips - A Full-Scale Load Test Program.” Research Report, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, May. Winters, D. (2014). “Selected Topics in Foundation Design, Quality Assurance, and Remediation,” Ph.D. Dissertation, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

Questions   (813) (office)  (813) (mobile)