Designing Cement-Based Grouting in a Rock Mass for Underground Impermeabilization

Iñigo Escobal-Marcos, Martina-Inmaculada Álvarez-Fernández, María-Belén Prendes-Gero and Celestino González-Nicieza
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Iñigo Escobal-Marcos: Viuda de Sainz, A.S., 48500 Abanto-Zierbena, Spain
Martina-Inmaculada Álvarez-Fernández: DinRock Group, University of Oviedo, 33003 Oviedo, Spain
María-Belén Prendes-Gero: DinRock Group, University of Oviedo, 33003 Oviedo, Spain
Celestino González-Nicieza: DinRock Group, University of Oviedo, 33003 Oviedo, Spain

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-18

Abstract: Fractured rock masses below the water table are a problem in underground excavations because of their low strength and high permeability. Nowadays, these negative connotations can be reduced with techniques such as injection of cement, microcement, or resins grouts. These materials increase the rock mass cohesion while reducing the flow of water through the discontinuities. This paper describes the work carried out to design a waterproofing screen for a three-storey underground basement located in a building near the Bilbao estuary (Northern Spain) and with problems of water seepage from the river. First, a survey of the rock mass is carried out. This survey shows the presence of highly fractured zones and the variability of the permeability as functions of the fractures. Subsequently, the effect on permeability caused by the injection of cement grouts and microcement is studied by means of two pilot injection boreholes and eight control boreholes. Finally, a behavioural model is proposed to explain the heterogeneity observed in the radius of influence of the injection. As a result, a waterproofing screen with three types of treatment is designed: An ordinary treatment with cement grouts, an intensive treatment with microcement grouts, and an isolation treatment with cement-bentonite grouts.

Keywords: underground waterproofing; rock mass grouting; cement grouting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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