Injectability of Microfine Cement Grouts into Limestone Sands with Different Gradations: Experimental Investigation and Prediction

One-dimensional injection tests were conducted on dry and dense sand columns with a height of 36.5 cm for the injectability evaluation of cement grouts. Three ordinary cement types were pulverized to obtain fine-grained cements having nominal maximum grain sizes of 40, 20 and 10 μm. Suspensions of these cements with water to cement (W/C) ratios of 1, 2 and 3, by weight, were injected into 54 clean, limestone sands with different gradations. Pulverization of the ordinary cements to produce microfine cements extends the range of groutable sands to “medium-to-fine”. Suspension injectability is improved by increasing cement fineness and suspension W/C ratio or by decreasing apparent viscosity and is controlled by the synthesis of the finer portion (d ≤ d₂₅) of the sand gradation. The outcome of the 131 injectability tests conducted is successfully predicted by available groutability criteria at a rate ranging between 51 and 69%. The “new groutability and filtration criteria” proposed in this study, are adapted to the finer 25% of the sand gradation, have successful predictions for 79% of the cases (10–28% higher than those of the existing groutability criteria) and predict successfully the appearance of filtration in 83% of the available cases. The model developed by performing Binary Logistic Regression analyses of the injection test results is considered appropriate for the prediction of injectability of cement grouts in sands because it exhibits a coefficient of multiple determination equal to 0.84 and provides a rate of successful predictions equal to 78% of the available experimental results.