Filtration-induced pressure evolution in permeation grouting

Permeation grouting is of great significance for consolidating geo-materials without disturbing the original geo-structure. To dip into the filtration-induced pressure increment that dominates the grout penetration in permeation grouting, nonlinear filtration coefficients embedded in a convection-filtration model were proposed, in which the volume of cement particles in grout and the deposited particles of skeleton were considered. An experiment was designed to determine the filtration coefficients and verify the model. The filtration coefficients deduced from experimental data were used in simulation, and the modelling results matched well with the experimental ones. The pressure drop revealed in experiments and captured in modelling demonstrated that the surge of inflow pressure lagged behind the stoppage of flow channels. In addition, both the consideration of the particles loss in liquid grout and the number of filtrated particles on pore walls presented an ideal trend in filtration rate, in which the filtration rate first rose rapidly and then reached to a steady plateau. Finally, this observed pressure drop was extended to the grouting design which alters the water to cement (W/C) ratio so as to alleviate the filtration effect. This study offers a novel insight into the filtration behaviour and has a practical meaning to extend penetration distance.