I

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Book Contents

Cementitious Grouts
and Grouting
by Steven H. Kosmatka

Cementitious grout is a versatile construction material

used in many applications. This engineering bulletin
provides a brief description of the ingredients, properties, proportions, tests, mixing, and placing of cementitious grout for various applications. Over 50 tables
and figures illustrate particular items of interest. The
text is not intended as a complete discussion of the
subject but rather a concise review of grout and its
applications. Readers are encouraged to consult the
references for more-detailed information.
Specific subjects on grout can be located in the text
through use of the extensive table of contents and
index. The Appendix contains commonly referenced
standards by ASTM and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. A table of metric conversion factors is also
included in the Appendix.
The author wishes to acknowledge contributions
made by many individuals and organizations who provided valuable assistance in the writing and publishing
of this bulletin. A special thanks to William C.
Panarese, Manager of Construction Information Serv-

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ices for PCA, for his review of the manuscript; Wayne

Adaska at PCA for reviewing sections on slurry-trench
walls, soil grouting, and rock grouting; Robert Packard
at PCA for reviewing sections on slabjacking and undersealing; Richard Helmuth at Construction Technology Laboratories, Inc., for reviewing grout properties;
William Babcock of Five Star Products, Inc., for reviewing sections pertaining to nonshrink grout; 4rden
Orr for her editorial work; Richard C. Wagner of
Wagner Design Services for his layout design and production; and the staff of PCA and Construction Technology Laboratories, Inc., for technical information,
reference materials, drafting, and coordination of production activities.
The author has tried to make this a concise and
current reference on cementitious grout technology. As
there is always room for improvement and new grouting techniques and applications are constantly developing, readers are encouraged to submit comments to
improve future printings and editions of this book.

Book Contents

This engineering bulletin was authored by Steven H.

Kosmatka, assistant manager, Construction Information Services, Portland Cement Association.
First Edition print history
First printing 1990
0 1990 Portland Cement Association
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from
the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote
brief passages in a review written for inclusion in a
magazine or newspaper.
Library of Congress catalog card number: LCW62102
ISBN 0-89312-088-X
Printed in the United States of America
This publication is based on facts, tests, and authorities
stated herein. It is intended for the use of professional
personnel competent to evaluate the significance and
limitations of the reported findings and who will accept responsibility for the application of the material it
contains. The Portland Cement Association disclaims
any and all responsibility for application of the stated
principles or for the accuracy of any of the sources
other than work performed or information developed
by the Association.

Caution: Avoid prolonged contact between unhardened (wet) cement or grout mixtures and
skin surfaces. To prevent such contact, it is advisable to wear protective clothing. Skin areas that
have been exposed to wet cement or grout, either
directly or through saturated clothing, should be
thoroughly washed with water.

EBlll.OlT

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Book Contents

CONTENTS
Grout Ingredients ................
1
Cementitious Materials
1
Water ...
.......
11111111111 2
Aggregates ..................
2
Mineral Admixtures and Fillers ........
2
Chemical Admixtures
2
Grout Properties ...........
: : : : : : : : : 3
Consistency
3
Workability and W&kingTime. : : : : : : : : 4
Bleeding, Settlement, and Water
Retention ..................
4
Setting and Hardening
4
Strength . ......
: : : : : : : : : : : : 5
Volume Changes
6
Temperature Rise ....................
: : : : : 7
Durability
...............................
Permeability
: : i
Mixing and Placing Grout ............
8
Measuring Grout Materials
...................
8
Mixing Grout .
: : : 9
Handling Grout
9
Reinforced Grouted I%&ry~ Wails : : : : : : : 9
Grout Selection . ....
10
Specifications and Codes ,: : : : : : : : : : : 10
Strength ........
I, ..........
11
Consistency
.......
11
Mixing ...
: : : : : : 1 : : ..
11
Placing. ............
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11
Curing ....................
11
Sampling and Testing .............
11
Building Reinforced Concrete
Masonry Walls ................
12
Procedures Before Grouting
........
12
Low-Lift Grouting .............
13
High-Lift Grouting
15
Grout Cleandown ...............
: : : : : : : 16
Ceramic Tile
16
Commercial Portland Cement Grout : : : : : 16
Sand-Portland Cement Grout .........
17
Dry-Set Grout ................
17
Latex-Portland Cement Grout
17
Grout Installation
.. .......
: : : : : : : 17
Toppings and Underlayments for Floors .....
17
Composition
18
Properties .........................
: : : : : 18
Application and Installation
18
Bonding Grout and Repair Grout : : : : : : : : 19
Bonding Grout ................
19

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Repair Grout .................

Flowable Fill ..................
Grouted Post-Tensioning Ducts .........
Grouting Column Baseplates, Machine Bases,
Anchors, and Precast-Panel Joints ........
Column Bases ................
Machine Baseplates ..............
Anchor Bolts ..............
: :
Grout
....
..............
Preparation for Grouting :
..
Mixing and Placing Grout ..........
Preplaced-Aggregate Concrete ..........
Materials and Proportioning
Preparation and Placement . : : : : : : : :
Delivery, Insert, and Vent Pipes ........
Placing Coarse Aggregate ...........
Grouting ...................
Joints and Finishing
Postplaced-Aggregate Concrete f : : : : : : : :
Restoring Old Stone Masonry by
Pressure Grouting ................
Grout ....................
Holes ....................
Pressure ...................
Mixing Equipment ..............
Discharge Lines ...............
Grouting Procedure
Rock Grouting ....
: : : : : : : : : : : :
Extent and Location of Grout .........
Grouting Methods ..............
Grout Mixtures ................
Pressures ...................
Grout Holes
Grouting Procedure : : : : : : : : : : : :
Ground Anchors ................
Geological Review ..............
Grout Mixture ................
Drilling
...................
Grouting ...................
Slabjacking ...................
Equipment ..................
Drilling ..................
Grout Mix ................
:
Pumping and Lifting Techniques
Slab-Elevation Control During Jacking : : :
Plugging and Cleanup .............
Subsealing (Undersealing) ............

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19
20
21

:
.

22
22
23
24
25
26
26
27
27
28
28
28
28
29
29
29
29
30
30
30
30

: zi
31
31
32
32
33
: 33
33
34
34
34
35
35
35
35
: 36
36
: 37
37
37

CONTENTS (continued)

Void Detection ................

37
Hole Patterns .................
38
................
38
Grout
Grouting Equipment .............
39
Grouting Procedures .............
39
Foundation Jacking (Lifting and
Leveling Structures) ...............
39
Soil Grouting ..................
40
Permeation Grouting .............
40
Deep-Soil Mixing ...............
41
Compaction Grouting .............
42
Jet Grouting .................
42
Oil-well Grouting ................
43
Slurry-Trench Cutoff Walls ...........
44
Excavating Techniques ............
44
Design ....................
45
Mixing Methods ...............
45
Grouting Ballast for Track Bases .........
45
Aggregate ...................
46
Grout ....................
46
Stabilizing Railroad Track by
Pressure Grouting ................
47
Track Conditions Suited for
Pressure Grouting ...............
48
Grout
48
Equipment : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 48
Auxiliary Equipment .............
49
Summary of Equipment and Accessories ...
50
Procedure ..................
50
Demolition Grouting ..............
52
References ...................
52
Appendix ....................
55
ASTM Standards ...............
55
Corps of Engineers Standards .........
56
Metric Conversion Factors ..........
57
Index. .....................
58

iv

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Book Contents

Cementitious Grouts and Grouting

Grout is a valuable and versatile construction material,
as illustrated by the number of grout applications in
Table 1. Unfortunately, standard guidelines for its
properties and potential uses are limited or are often
difficult to obtain. This publication will briefly review
grout-what it is, its properties, and its use in construction.
Cementitious grout is a mixture of hydraulic cement* and water with or without aggregatesand with
or without admixtures. Depending on the application,
it is usually proportioned to produce a pourable consistency, like very wet mortar or soupy high-slump
concrete, without segregation of the constituents. Stiff
grouts, however, are used for some applications. Making a distinction between grout, mortar, and concrete
is sometimes difficult due to the like ingredients and
properties. This similarity results in an occasional
interchange of terms.

GROUT INGREDIENTS
Grout can be made from many different materials
proportioned in a wide range of amounts depending
on the grouting application. For example, neat cement
grout contains hydraulic cement and water with or
without admixtures. Sand or sanded grout refers to any
grout containing fine aggregate. Grout can also be
made of other ingredients, resinous grouts for example.** The more common materials used in cementitious grout are listed in the following sections along
with their respective American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) or other standard designation. Materials applicable to specific grouting techniques will
be presented 1ater.t

Cementitious

Materials

The cementitious materials used in grout include one

or a combination of the following: portland cement
(ASTM

C150),

blended

hydraulic

cement

(ASTM

C 595), expansive hydraulic cement (ASTM C 845),

ground slag (ASTM C 989), or oil-well cement (American Petroleum Institute Specification 10). Type I
(ASTM C 150) normal portland cement would be used
unless special considerations are involved. For exam-

Table 1. Cementitious

Grout Applications

Anchor bolts
Ballast grouting
Bonding grout
Ceramic tile
Column baseplates
Dam foundations
Demolition
Flowable fill
Foundation grouting (stabilization)
Foundation jacking (lifting)
Ground anchors
Groundwater control
Grout cleandown
Joints between precast units
Machine bases
Masonry walls
Oil Wells
Postplaced-aggregate
concrete
Post-tensioning ducts
Preplaced-aggregate
concrete
Railroad track stabilization
Reinforced masonry walls
Repair
Rock grouting
Slabjacking
Slurry-trench cutoff walls
Soil grouting
Stone-masonry
restoration
Structural repairs
Subsealing (undersealing)
Toppings
Tunnels
Underlavments
Waterproofing of inground structures

ple, for moderate or severe sulfate resistance, ASTM

C 150portland cement Type II or V, respectively, would
be used (see Table 2). When sulfate-resistant cement is
not available, seeReference 72 for alternatives. If highearly strength or small particle size ;arerequired, ASTM
C 150 Type III cement would be ,applicable. Cement
*Hydraulic cements react with water to form a hardened paste that
maintains strength and durability in water and also maintains its
properties upon drying.
**Soil grouts (i.e., bentonite, silt), bituminous grouts (asphalt emulsions), and chemical grouts, (i.e., epoxy, polyester, sodium silicate,
acrylate polymer, calcium chloride, aluminate, and others) are not
the subject of this publication.
tASTM and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers standards related to
grout or referred to in the text are listed on pages 55 and 56. Refer
to References 59 and 66 for more extensive information on cements, aggregates,water, and admixtures.

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Table 3. Acceptance Criteria for Questionable

Water Supplies

Table 2. Types of Cement for Grout Exposed to

Sulfate Attack
Water-soluble
Sul;;t&yd)

Sulfate
exposure
Negligible
Moderate*

percetG
by weight
0.00-0.10

Sulfate (SO,)
in water,
fwm
1
o-1 50

0.10-0.20

150-1500

Cement type
(ASTF5;;,50 or
No restrictions

Severe

0.20-2.00

1500-l 0,000

1 II, IP(MS), IS(MS),

P(Ms), I(PM)(MSj,
W4WS)
v

Very
severe

Over 2.00

Over 10,000

v plus
pozzolan**

*Seawater.
**Pozzolan that has been determined by test or service record to improve sulfate
resistance when used in grout containing Type V cement.
Adapted from References 30 and 72.

with low-alkaki content (to resist alkali-aggregate reactivity) and low heat of hydration options can be specified. Blended hydraulic cements can be used to meet
normal or special needs. Expansive grout can be made
with expansive cement (ASTM C 845) or expansive
admixtures. Ultrafine (microfine) cement is portland
cement or blast-furnace slag ground very fine (less than
about 10 microns) for use in permeating into fine soil
or thin rock fissures. The fineness of cementitious and
other fine materials can be analyzed by ASTM C 430
and C 786 or with a commercial particle size distribution analyzer.
Oil-well cements, used for sealing oil wells, are
usually made from portland cement clinker or from
blended hydraulic cements. Generally they must be
slow-setting and resistant to high temperatures and
pressures. The American Petroleum Institute Specifications for Materials and Testing for Well Cements
(API Specification 10) includes requirements for nine
classes of well cements (classes A through H and J).
Each class is applicable for use at a certain range of
well depths, temperatures, pressures, and sulfate
environments. The petroleum industry also uses conventional portland cements with suitable cementmodifying admixtures. Expansive cements have also
performed adequately as well cements.

Water
Almost any natural water that is drinkable and has no
pronounced taste or odor can be used as mixing water
for making grout. Water of questionable

suitability

can

be used for making grout if the requirements in Table

3 are met. Excessive impurities in the mixing water
not only may affect setting time and strength, but also
may cause efflorescence, staining, corrosion of reinforcement, volume instability, and reduced durability.
When grouting around high-strength

Compressive strength, minimum

percentage of control at 7 days

steel (more than

80 ksi) or dissimilar metals, the maximum chlorideand sulfide-ion content of the water should be limited
to about 100 ppm and 10 ppm, respectively. Additional
information on the effects various impurities in mix
water have on cementitious materials is in References
11and 66.

*Comparisons
should be based on fixed proportions and the same volume
of test water compared to control mix using city water or distilled water.

Aggregates
Aggregates, when used, are added essentially as a filler
and to improve particular properties. Both fine and
coarse aggregatescan be used. Depending on the application, aggregate meeting ASTM C 33, ASTM C 404
(for masonry grout), ASTM C 144, or other specification can be used. The aggregate essentially should be
free of harmful amounts of organics, be nonstaining,
be sound, and have an appropriate grading for the
application.

Mineral Admixtures

and Fillers

Finely divided mineral admixtures are sometimes used

to improve certain properties such as flowability, to
aid or supply additional cementitious reactions, or to
act as fillers. Impermeability and resistance to sulfate
attack, alkali-aggregate reactivity, and bleeding can be
improved with certain mineral admixtures. Mineral
admixtures include ground granulated blast-furnace
slag (ASTM C 989), natural pozzolans and fly ash
(ASTM C 618), silica fume, and ground stone. Certain
types of clays are useful in geotechnical grouting applications to reduce bleeding, improve pumpability and
injectivity, and act as a filler. Bentonite, for example, is
mainly used for its gel-swelling properties. Hydrated
lime (ASTM C 207) is used for masonry grout.

Chemical Admixtures
Accelerating (ASTM C 494), air-entraining (ASTM
C 260), retarding (ASTM C 494), water-reducing
(ASTM C 494), and superplasticizing (ASTM C 1017)
admixtures can be used to alter the properties of grout
where permitted. Gas-forming admixtures, aluminum
powder, and other materials can be used to cause
expansion. Foaming admixtures (ASTM C 869) develop lightweight

grouts of high fluidity.

without increasingwater content.Water-retentivead-

mixtures (gelling agents) are used to make thixotropic

grouts* to suspend cement particles and reduce bleed*Thixotropic materials,like mayonnaise,are low-viscosity,thin liquids during agitation,but when agitation stops, they form stiff, highviscosity liquids (gels) or even solids.

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Pigments (ASTM

C 979) can be used to color grout for architectural

appearance or hazard warning. Red grout to embed
utility lines or pipelines can signify their presence and
give warning of a potential hazard if penetrated. Superplasticizers can greatly increase the fluidity of a grout

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ing. Grout fluidifiers meeting ASTM C 937 and Corps

of Engineers CRD-C619 specifications should help
control stiffening, hold fine particles in suspension,
induce controlled expansion, reduce mixing water, improve water retention, and reduce bleeding of grout.

GROUT PROPERTIES
The required properties of grout, such as strength and
consistency, and the proportions of grout ingredients
depend on the grouting application. The proportions
of ingredients and choice of ingredients must be determined in the laboratory to obtain certain properties
such as expansion, strength, and fluidity, unless established proportions are used, such as for masonry grout
(ASTM C 476). Field testing is performed as specified.
Field sampling can be done according to Corps of
Engineers standard CRD-C620, ASTM C 1019,or other
applicable specification. The following discussion is
general in nature. For more specific information refer
to the applicable grout application later in the text or
seeReferences 59 and 66.

Volume of grout

Stolnless steel
discharge tube

Consistency

.-

Consistency refers to the ability of grout to flow. The

consistency of fresh grout varies with application. Grout
can range in consistency from a near-water or verythin-paint consistency to an almost thick, stiff mortar
or thixotropic* consistency, depending on the application and desired workability.
Consistency is especially important with respect to
bond strength. Fluid grouts have better bond than stiff
dry grouts. Grouts for self-leveling applications or filling voids without vibration must be very fluid.
Consistency can be measured with various techniques, such as the flow cone or flow table. The flow
cone, ASTM C 939 and Corps of Engineers CRD-C611,
measures consistency by monitoring the time for a
specific amount of grout to run out of the cone (Fig. 1).
This time period is called the efflux time. The flow
cone is used for thin fluid grout with an efflux time of
35 seconds or less. Fluid grouts are considered to have
an efflux time of 10 to 30 seconds-they form a nearlevel surface without vibration or rodding. Water has
an efflux time of 8 seconds.
The flow table, ASTM C 230, is used for thick grouts
(Fig. 2). The test measures the spread of grout after the
table is dropped a specified number of times within a
certain time period. The flow-table test for grout per
ASTM C 827 uses 5 drops in 3 seconds with the ASTM
C 230 flow table. Using the ASTM C 827 consistency
test (flow table), grout consistency can be defined as
follows: (1) a stiff plastic grout has a flow of less than
lOO%, (2) plastic grout has a flow between 100% and
125%,and (3) a flowable grout has a flow between 125%
and 145%. Plastic grout levels off only after vibration
or rodding while a flowable grout levels off with light
vibration or rodding.

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(b)
Fig. 1. (a) Cross section of flow cone for measuring consistency meeting ASTM C 939 and Corps of Engineers CRDC611. (b) Grout discharge and timing to determine efflux
time or time of flow (time it takes the grout to discharge
from the cone).

*Thixotropic materials, like mayonnaise. are low-viscosity, thin liquids during agitation, but when agitation stops, they form stiff, highviscosity liquids (gels) or even solids.

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avoided to maintain the strength, durability, and other

properties of the grout. Grout that becomes unworkable should be discarded and replaced with new grout.
Working time can be tested by running consistency
tests over time.

Bleeding, Settlement,

Fig. 2. Flow table for measuring

C 230, and C 827).

Concrete

consistency

Mortar

Fig. 3. Slump test comparison

masonry grout.

of concrete,

(ASTM C109,

Grout

mortar, and

A modified flow cone, flow table, or other test should

be used for thixotropic grouts and grouts with a flowcone efhux time of more than 35 seconds. A 12-in.
ASTM C 143 slump cone and sometimes a 6-in. cone
are also used in the field to control the consistency of
plastic and flowable grout. Fig. 3 illustrates the difference in consistency for concrete, mortar, and masonry
grout as measured by the slump test (ASTM C 143).
Additional consistency tests are the Brookfield viscometer (ASTM D4016) and the Marsh funnel (Reference
80).
Admixtures can be used to increase fluidity without
increasing water content. The stiffest consistency that
can be applied should be used to avoid the negative
aspects of high water contents often used to make thin
grout.

Workability

and Working Time

Workability is the ease with which a grout can be

placed, handled, and consolidated without segregation
or excessive bleeding. Without good workability, a
grout can be difficult to handle and result in a poorquality product. The amount of time a grout remains
workable is called the working time or pot life, which
varies with grout types and needs. The working time
of a grout should be known before it is used on a
project. Proprietary grout manufacturers should provide working times for their products. Working time
should be of a sufficient period to allow for transport,
handling, and placing of grout at a comfortable pace.
Retempering-adding water and remixing the grout to
regain desired consistency or workability-should
be
4

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and Water Retention

Bleeding may be described as the development of a

layer of water at the top of freshly placed grout caused
by sedimentation (settlement) of solid particles (cement and any aggregate) and the simultaneous upward
migration of water. Excessive bleeding can result in a
surface with a high water-cement ratio causing poor
durability and reduced strength; even a water pocket
or void can develop (Fig. 4). After evaporation of bleed
water, the hardened surface will be lower than the
freshly placed surface. This reduction in volume or
vertical dimension from time of placement to initial
set is often called settlement shrinkage.
The bleeding rate and bleeding capacity (total settlement per unit of original paste or mortar height) increases with initial water content, grout height, and
pressure (see Fig. 5). The water-retention propertyability of grout to keep water in the grout and cement
particles in suspension-signficantly
affects bleeding.
High water-retentivity grouts, such as thixotropic
grouts, allow little or no bleeding (Fig. 4). Use of waterretention or gelling agents, certain general chemical
admixtures, air entrainment, silica fume and other
mineral admixtures, clays, and finer cements can also
reduce bleeding. Grouts used to fill voids, provide
support, or provide watertightness by intimate contact
should have low-bleeding properties to avoid development of water pockets between the grout surface and
the item grouted.
Bleeding can be tested according to ASTM C 232,
C 243, and C 940, or by tests described in Reference
48. Pressurized bleeding tests are described in References 21 and 34. Water retentivity can be tested according to ASTM C 941 or Corps of Engineers CRD-C612.
Also see References 3, 6, and 62.

Setting and Hardening

The setting, hardening, strength development, and
other properties of grout are due to a chemical reaction
called hydration that occurs between cement and water
in the cement paste. Each hydrating cement particle
forms a type of fiberlike growth on its surface that
gradually spreads until it links up with the growth from
other cement particles or adheres to adjacent substances such as aggregate.The formation of this growth
structure (primarily calcium silicate hydrate) is responsible for the pastes binding or cementing action. Without water, hydration stops, thereby terminating any
further strength gain. Therefore it is important to
retain moisture in the grout until the desired strength
has been achieved. Generally, this is not a problem for
many grouting applications, as grout is often placed in
locations where the water in the grout cannot readily
escape.After sufficient hydration, the paste, along with

Book Contents

Bleeding copaclty (settlement),

0.25-

AH

0.20 -

O.l5-

O.lO-

0.05 -

(4

/
OL
1.0

Aixture of cement and water

I2

14
Woter-cement

I8

I6

2.0

2.2

2.4

rotlo by absolute volume

Fig. 5. Range in relationship between bleeding capacity

(total settlement per unit of original grout height) and water
content of grouts made with normal portland cement and
water. To convert water-cement
ratio by absolute volume
to water-cement
ratio by weight, multiply by 0.3175. Reference 6.

any encapsulated aggregate, forms a hardened grout of

stonelike appearance and properties. Once hydration
is deemed sufficient to accomplish the desired properties, curing can be terminated; any remaining water in
the grout will evaporate from the microscopic pores
and capillaries within the paste. The time of set can be
tested according to Corps of Engineers CRD-C614 or
applicable ASTM standards C 191,C 266, C 403, C 807,
or C 953. Also see the section Strength following.

Strength

03

Fig. 4. (a) Illustration of settlement of cement particles

(bleeding) in grouts with water-cement
ratios by weight of
0.3:1, 0.7:1, and 2:l (left to right). All cylinders contain 250
ml of grout and were photographed
1 hour after the grout
was mixed and placed in the cylinders. Note the accumulation of bleed water for grouts with the higher water-cement
ratios. (b) The consistency of thixotropic grout (right) prevents the grout from flowing from the cylinder after agitation is stopped. (c) Thixotropic grout has little to no bleeding or settlement of cement. This low water-cement
ratio
thixotropic grout was undisturbed in a 250 ml graduated
cylinder for 2 hours.

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The compressive, flexural, and tensile strength required of a grout depends upon the grouting application, whereas the strength actually achieved by the
grout is a direct result of the amount of cementitious
materials and water in the grout as well as degree of
hydration. The strength of grout is directly related to
the water-cement ratio. As the water-cement ratio is
reduced, the strength increases (Fig. 6). Also as long as
sufficient moisture (relative humidity greater than 80%
in the grout), unhydrated cement, and void space are
present in the grout, the strength will increase, as
illustrated in Fig. 7.
An excess of water causes not only low strength but
also excessbleeding, increased shrinkage, and reduced
durability. The time of set is reduced and strength
development increased with reduced water-cement
ratios and higher temperatures. Bond strength is
more dependent on consistency than the amount of
water in grout; a wetter grout bonds better than a very
dry grout. See Reference 66 for hot- and cold-weather
precautions.

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Compressive strength.
10000

Cylinders or cubes can be used to test the compressive strength of grout; however, 2-in. cubes (ASTM
C 109) are most common. Top-restrained cubes must
be used for nonshrink (expansive) grouts or for grouts
used in preplaced aggregate concrete (ASTM C 942).
The test method for strength of masonry grout is the
grout prism test (ASTM C 1019) which uses masonry
units for the mold.

psi
Mixture:

Cement and water grout (paste)

Specimens: 2 x 4-in. cylinders

Curing: Moist

9000

Volume Changes

0.25

0.35

045
Water-cement

0.55
ratio, by weight

Fig. 6. Relationship
between water-cement
compressive strength for grout. Reference 1.

0.65

ratio and

Compressive strength, percent

of 28.day moist-cured concrete

_-----_-----_

in okr after

3 day? ----------

r
/

/-

___----_--

In 01r enitre
time
---------

_----

The volume of hardened grout can vary significantly

from the original volume of the fresh unhardened
grout. The shrinkage of unhardened grout by settlement or bleeding was discussed earlier. A cement and
water paste first undergoes a very slight transient expansion that occurs at the end of the cement systems
dormant (nominally nonreactive) stage. This is followed by a small amount of contraction that occurs
before, during, and after hardening in isolated grout as
normal cement hydrates and consumes water. This
volume change has been referred to as chemical shrinkage, autogenous shrinkage, or absorption of water during hardening. Chemical shrinkage also refers to the
reduction of cement and water (reactants in the grout)
as opposed to the increase of hydrated cement (products in the grout). If water outside the paste is not
available (for example, sealed samples), cement hydration will cause internal drying (self-desiccation) and
slight shrinkage. This shrinkage can be offset by special
admixtures added to grout, use of proprietary nonshrink grouts, or by continuous future submersion in
water, causing expansion.
When the grout is kept saturated (exposed to water)
the grout volume increases as it consumes or absorbs
outside water. Reference 2 discusses an experiment in
which a sample of fresh unhardened paste was placed
in a graduated flask, with the space above the paste
filled with water. After 28 days the paste (250 g of
cement to 200 ml of water) absorbed 13.6 ml of the
water above the paste. The flask broke because of the
expansion of the hardened paste. The expansion of the
paste structure is caused by certain hydration reactions
that force cement particles apart. Most of the expansion and water absorption (or chemical shrinkage)
occurs within 1 day but does continue very slowly for
a month or more. Expansive cements expand for several days. References 2 and 49.
Reference 13, using a paste with a water-cement ratio
of 0.55,

28

90

I80

Age, days

Fig. 7. Relationship between compressive

strength, age,
and moist curing of concrete. A similar relationship exists
for grout. Strength increases with age as long as moisture
and a favorable temperature are present for hydration of
the cement. Adapted from Reference 30, Fig. 9.

discusses

a submerged

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grout

dilation

of 0.38%

after 23i/2 hours. Bleeding stopped at 1 hour 12 minutes

and expansion started at 1 hour 30 minutes. The dilation of different cements was reported to range from
0.09% to 2.1% at a water-cement ratio of 0.55.
Hardened grout changesvolume slightly with changes
in temperature, moisture content, and load. Chemical
effects such as carbonation cause shrinkage, and sulfate
attack and alkali-aggregate reactivity cause expansion.
Hardened grout expands slightly as temperature rises
and contracts as temperature falls, although it can
expand slightly as any free water present in the grout
freezes. Temperature changes are caused by environ-

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mental conditions or by temperature rise due to cement hydration.

Thermally induced volume changes vary with grout
ingredients and proportions, aggregate type (if used),
temperature range, grout age, ambient relative humidity, and other factors. Reference 14 reports that the
coefficient of thermal expansion is about 12 X 10-Cper
degree centigrade for saturated paste and about 25 X
low6per degreecentrigrade for partly dried paste. Grout
will also deform under instantaneous loads and longterm loads (creep) similar to concrete.
Hardened grout expands slightly with a gain in moisture and contracts with a loss in moisture as illustrated
in Fig. 8. The amount of moisture-related shrinkage of
grout is directly related to the fresh grouts water content and the amount of water that is lost from the
hardened grout. Therefore to keep shrinkage to a minimum, the water content of fresh, unhardened grout
and the moisture loss from recently hardened grout
should be kept to a minimum. This volume reduction
caused by water loss from hardened grout is called
drying shrinkage.
Aggregate, if present, helps restrain or resist volume
change of the paste; therefore the amount and size of
aggregate should be maximized to reduce shrinkage
(see References 10 and 66 for more information).
Shrinkage is not normally a problem when grouting in
continuously moist or wet environments. There are
occasions in which grout used for waterproofing or
filling voids may need to be the nonshrink or expansive
type. Nonshrink grouts (usually proprietary products)
are formulated to have no shrinkage in the fresh or
hardened moist state, although some slight expansion
is usually expected. Ideally, nonshrink grouts should
have no drying shrinkage; however, some nonshrinkage grouts can undergo significant shrinkage upon
drying (moisture loss). ASTM C 1090 and Corps of

Stored in water

Engineers CRD-C621 are used to test for hardened

volume change of moist specimens. ASTM C827 can
be used to test early (unhardened)1 volume change and
can be extended to analyze hardened volume change
with grout in both an evaporativ#e or nonevaporative
condition. Also see ASTM C 157, C 596, C 806, and
C 940 and Corps of Engineers CRID-C613.
Nonshrink grout should meet the requirements of
ASTM C 1107 or Corps of Engineers CRD-C621. According to CRD-C621, nonshrink grout should have a
volume at 28 days equal to or more than (up to 0.4%)
the volume at the time of placement (grout is maintained in a moist condition during test). ASTM C 1107
specifies three grades of nonshrink: grout, Grades A, B,
and C. Grade A is a prehardening, volume-adjusting
grout that controls grout volume by expansion before
hardening. Grade B grout controls volume by expansion after hardening. Grade C grout uses a combination of prehardening and posthardening volume control. ASTM C 1107has limits on early-age height change
and 28-day moist-cured hardened-grout height change.
After the moist cure test, ASTM C 1107specimens are
exposed to air for 28 days and tested for drying shrinkage. See Grouting Column Baseplates, Machine Bases, Anchors, and Precast-Panel Jo.ints for more information on nonshrink grout.

Temperature

Rise

Temperature rise can be a problem where thermal cracking of mass grouting is of concern. The amount of heat
generated in a cementitious grout depends upon the
fineness, amount, and type of cementitious material,
the placing temperature, available heat loss, and volume or thickness of grout. When thermal cracking is a
concern, the grout should be kept as cool as possible,
and a low cement content and low-heat-of-hydration
cement should be used. Low-heat-of-hydration pozzolans are also very helpful for mass grouting or pours
where temperature rise must be kept to a minimum.

Durability

[Specimen

Time

TT

Fig. 8. Schematic illustration of moisture movements in

hardened grout. If grout is kept continuously wet, a slight
expansion occurs. However, if drying occurs, the grout
shrinks. Further wetting and drying causes alternate swelling and shrinkage. References 10 and 66.

Durability refers to the ability of hardened grout to

withstand deterioration in its service environment.
Grout that is to be exposed to sulfate soils or waters
should use sulfate-resistant cements as recommended
in Table 2 and use a high cement content (low watercement ratio). If alkali-aggregate reactivity is a potential problem, low-alkali cement should be used and
pozzolans that reduce alkali-silica reactivity should be
considered. Air entrainment should be used for freezethaw environments. Freeze-thaw resistance can be
tested by ASTM C666. Resistance to deicers can be
tested by ASTM C 672.
Grout should be stable after hardening. Some grouts
contain materials that may allow the grout to expand

significantly after hardening. These should be avoided

in certain environments as excessive expansion may
occur, resulting

in cracking and (disintegration

of the

grout.
7

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Permeability
The permeability of hardened grout is reduced as the
amount of hydrated cementitious material increases,
moist curing continues, and the water-cement ratio
decreases(see Fig. 9).
As ingredient proportions and required grout properties depend on the grouting application, refer to the
grouting applications sections of this publication for
more information.

Coefficient

of permeobillty,

K, cm/sec.x

Bulking, percent by volume

30

Density, lb per tuft

10.

IOO-

80
0

4
Moisture

60

IO

in fine aggregate,

12
percent

I4

I6

18

20

by weight

Fig. 10. Relationship between bulk weight per cubic foot,

volume increase, and moisture content for a particular sand.
Reference: PCA Major Series 172.

0
0.2

0.3

0.4
Water-cement

05

0.6

07

ratio by weight

Fig. 9. Relationship
between water-cement
ratio and
permeability
of neat cement grout. A low water-cement
ratio results in low permeability. Reference 9.

MIXING AND PLACING GROUT

Measuring Grout Materials
Measurement of grout ingredients should be completed in a manner that will ensure the uniformity of mix

proportions, yield, and workability from batch to batch.

Material quantities are usually expressed by weight or
by loose (bulk) volume. For granular materials, loose
or bulk volume includes the volume the particle mass

occupies plus the air space between particles. Absolute

volume is the volume occupied only by particle mass.
Experience has shown that the amount of sand can
vary considerably due to moisture bulking when proportioning by bulk volume. Fig. 10 shows how loose
sand with varying amounts of moisture occupies different volumes. Loose, damp sand may consist of from

75 to 110pcf of sand itself, plus the weight of the water.

For rough computations, a cubic foot of loose, damp
sand is estimated to contain 80 lb of dry sand.
Ordinary sand will absorb water amounting to 0.2%
to 2.3% of the weight of the sand. In the field, damp
sand usually will have 3% to 8% moisture, so most of
the water is on the surface of the sand. Measuring
aggregateby weight and adjusting for moisture content
(as is done for ready mixed grout) is the most accurate
method of measuring grout ingredients.
Grout ingredients other than sand are often sold in
bags labeled only by weight. Since grout is sometimes
proportioned by loose volume, it is necessary to know
that one bag of portland cement has a powdered volume of 1 cu ft and a weight of 94 pcf, masonry cement
weighs about 70 pcf, hydrated lime weighs 40 pcf dry,
and hydrated lime putty weighs 80 pcf, water weighs

62.4 pcf, one gallon of water weighs 8.34 lb and has a

volume of 0.134 cu ft, and 1 cu ft of water is 7.48 U.S.
gallons. Aggregate bulk density can vary from 75 to 110
pcf for normal-weight aggregate.
Volume proportions are significantly different than
weight proportions. For example, a 1:4/4:1 (1 cu ft or
bag of cement:4/4 cu ft of aggregate:1 cu ft of water)
mix by volume would have weight proportions of
1:43/4:2/3(94 lb of cement:446 lb of aggregate:62 lb of
water), assuming the unit weight of the aggregate was
105 pcf. Absolute volume computations are given in
Reference 66 and Table 4 provides quick conversion

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Table 4. Water to Cement Ratio Relationships

i

Water to cement
ratlo by bulk
volume,water
volume:1 bag (1
cu ft)of powdered
cement,cu ft

Watertocement
ratio by weight,
water
werght:cement
weight, lb

Water to cement
ratio by absolute
volume,water
volume:cement
solids (particle)
volume,cu ft

0.3:1
0.4:1
0.51
0.6:1
0.7:1
0.8:1
0.9:1
1:l
2:l
3:l
4:l
5:l
6:l
7:l
8:l
9:l
1O:l
11:l
12:l
13:l
14:l
15:l
2O:l
3O:l

0.20:1
0.26:1
0.33:1
0.4O:l
0.46:1
0.53:1
0.6O:l
0.66:1
1.3:1
2.0:1
2.7:1
3.3:1
4.O:l
4.6:1
5.3:1
5.9:1
6.6:1
7.3:1
8.O:l
8.6:1
9.3:1
lO.O:l
13.3:1
19.9:1

0.63:1
0.84:1
1.04:1
1.25:1
1.46:1
1.67:1
1.88:1
2.1:1
4.2:1
6.3:1
8.4:1
10.5:1
12.5:l
14.6:1
16.7:1
18.8:1
20.9:1
23.0:1
25.1:1
27.2:1
29.3:1
31.4:1
41.8:1
62.7:1

Assumptions: Specific gravity of 1 for water and 3.15 for cement. Unit weight
of 62.4 pcf for water and 94 pcf for powdered cement. Density of 196.56 pcf
for cement particles.
To convert ratios not shown above, multiply the bulk volume water value
times (,)(s4)
62.4 or 0.664 to obtain weight ratios and multiply bulk water volume
\

by w

mixed thoroughly. With the possible exception of very

small jobs, grout should be machine mixed. Depending
on the grouting application, type of grout, and amount
required, grout can be ready mixed in a central mixing
plant or truck mixer (ASTM C94), mixed in a mobile
mixer (ASTM C685), mixed on site in a mortar mixer,
or mixed in a special grout mixer such as a high-shear,
colloidal mixer. For example, grout for column or
machine baseplates could be mixed in a mortar mixer
while ready-mixed grout would be more practical for
masonry grout. After all batched materials are together,
they should be mixed from 3 to 5 minutes with conventional equipment such as a mortar mixer. The grout
should be used within 1r/2 hours after mixing or within
its specified working time.

Handling Grout
Grout can be transported about the jobsite by pump,
wheelbarrow, bucket, or other method that does not
allow segregation of materials. The grout should be
placed at a rate that does not induce cold joints. Consolidation by vibration, rodding, or other methods
should be performed as necessary to remove voids.
Additional information in mixing and placing grout
can be found under individual grouting applications.

REINFORCED GROUTED MASONRY WALLS

or 2.091 to obtain absolute volume ratios.

As the values above are ratios, they are applicable to any weight, mass, or
volume unit. Cubic foot and pound units are common to U.S. grouting practice and are used here for illustration. Some European countries use cementwater ratios, which are merely the inverse of the above ratios. Bulk volume
and weight ratios are the most common.

Grout is an essential element of reinforced brick or

concrete masonry (block) construction (Fig. 11). The

For convertrng water values to gallons, note that 1 gallon of water werghs
6.34 lb and has a volume of 0 134 cu ft 1 cu ft of water IS 7 48 U S gallons

between volume and weight units. The absolute volume of grout ingredients reflects the volume of grout
produced (neglecting the air content).
The practice of measuring sand by the shovel for
job-mixed grout on small jobs can result in oversanding or undersanding the mix. For more positive control, the following method is suggested: Construct one
or two wooden boxes, 12 in. square and 6 in. deep, and
use them to measure the sand required in a batch. Add
the cementitious materials by the bag. Then add water,
measuring by the pail. When the desired consistency
of mix is attained, mark the level of the grout in the
mixing drum. Use that as the mark for later batches
when sand will be added by the shovelful to the water
and cement mixture.
Proprietary packaged grout is preproportioned and
therefore only water need be added. The manufacturers directions for mixing should be followed.
L

Mixing Grout
To obtain good workability, uniformity, and other desirable properties of grout, the ingredients must be

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Fig. 11. Reinforced

concrete

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masonry wall. Reference

73.

grout bonds the masonry units and steel reinforcement

so they act together to resist loads. Either core holes in
the masonry units or the space between wythes are
grouted. Reinforced masonry is essential in earthquake
zones.
Grouting of brick or block walls serves several purposes: (1) it increases the cross-sectional area of the
wall and aids in resisting vertical loads and lateral
shear loads, (2) it bonds the wythes together, and (3) it
transfers stress from the masonry to the reinforcing
steel when a wall is subjected to lateral forces due to
wind, earthquake, or earth pressure.
Grouted unreinforced masonry walls are similar to
reinforced masonry walls but do not contain reinforcement. Grout is sometimes used in load-bearing wall
construction to give added strength to hollow walls by
filling a portion or all of the cores. It is also used for
filling bond beams and occasionally the collar joint
(space between wythes) in two-wythe wall construction.

grout and aggregate size and gradation are defined in

ASTM C476 and ASTM C404. Building codes and
standards sometimes differ on specific values of maximum grout aggregate size versus clear opening, so the
governing document should be consulted.
For fine grout (grout without coarse aggregate), the
smallest space to be grouted should be at least 3/4in.
wide, as occurs in the collar joint of two-wythe wall
construction.
In high-lift grouting where the smallest horizontal
dimension of the space to be grouted is about 3 in., a
coarse grout with %-in. maximum-size coarse aggregate (or pea gravel) may be used. Some specifying
agencies stipulate that %-in. maximum-size coarse aggregate may be used when the grout space is 4 in. or
greater. The maximum size of the aggregate and consistency of the mix should be selected considering the
particular job conditions to ensure satisfactory placement of the grout and proper embedment of the reinforcement.

Grout Selection
Masonry grout is composed of a mixture of cementitious material and aggregate to which sufficient water
is added to cause the mixture to flow readily into the
masonry cores and cavities without segregation. Unless
otherwise specified, grout mix proportions conform to
the requirements of ASTM C476 (Table 5).
The fineness or coarseness of a grout is selected on
the basis of the size of the grout space to be filled as
well as the height grouted (seeTable 6). Fine and coarse
Table 5. Masonry Grout Proportions

Type
Fine grout

Parts by volume
of hydrated lime
or lime putty
0 to ho

0 to ho

Table 6. Maximum Pour Heights and Specified

with Respect to Grout Space
Maximum
grout pour
height, ft

Specified
g;!

and Codes

Grout for use in masonry walls should comply with

the requirements of ASTM C476 (see Table 5); Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures-ACIASCE 530; and Specifications for Masonry Structures-ACI-ASCE 530.1 (see References 33, 76, and
77).

The grout ingredients should meet the requirements

of ASTM C 150 and C595 for cement, C5 for quick-

by Volume (ASTM C 476)

Parts by volume
of portland
cement or
blended cement
1

Coarse grout

Specifications

Minimum
width of
grout space, in.**,?

Aggregate, measured in a damp

loose condition
Fine
2% to 3 times the sum
of the volumes of the
cementitious materials
2% to 3 times the sum
of the volumes of the
cementitious materials

Coarse

1 to 2 times the sum of

the volumes of the
cementitious materials

Grout Types

Minimum grout
space dimensions for
grouting cells of
hollow units, in.T,$

v4
1% by 2
1
Fine
2
2 by 3
5
Fine
2%
2% by 3
12
Fine
3
3 by3
24
Fine
1%
1% by 3
1
Coarse
2
2% by 3
5
Coarse
2%
3 by 3
12
Coarse
3
3 by 4
24
Coarse
*Fine and coarse grouts and aggregates are defined in ASTM C 476 and C 404.
**For grouting between wythes.
l-Grout space drmension equals grout space width minus horizontal reinforcing bar
diameter.
tArea of vertical reinforcement shall not exceed 6% of the area of the grout space,
Adapted from Reference 77

10

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lime, C207 for hydrated lime, and ASTM C404 for

aggregates. All of the materials included in ASTM
C476 are satisfactory for use in grout. Most projects
using large volumes of grout obtain the grout from a
ready mixed concrete producer; the use of lime then
becomes uneconomical because of the expense in handling. Grout manufacturers also have suggested specifications.
Practice has shown that a grouting-aid admixture
may be desirable when the concrete masonry units are
highly absorbent. The desired effect of the grouting aid
is to reduce early water loss to the masonry units, to
promote bonding of the grout to all interior surfaces of
the units, and to produce a slight expansion sufficient
to help ensure complete filling of the cavities.
Do not use chloride admixtures in grout because of
possible corrosion of reinforcement, metal ties, or anchors. The use of any admixture must be approved by
the project engineer.

Strength
As an alternate to ASTM C476 (Table 5) grout proportions, grout can be proportioned to have a compressive
strength (ASTM C 1019) equal to or exceeding the
specified compressive strength of the masonry, fm, but
not less than 2000 psi.
The mix proportions in Table 5 will produce grouts
with a compressive strength of 600 to 2500 psi at 28
days, depending on the amount of mixing water used,
when tested by conventional laboratory methods using
nonabsorbtive molds (as are used for sampling and
testing mortar and concrete). However, the actual inplace compressive strength of grout generally will exceed 2500 psi because,under ordinary conditions, some
of the mixing water will be absorbed by the masonry
during the time the grout is placed and prior to setting
and hardening. This absorption of moisture, in effect,
reduces the water-cement ratio of the in-place grout
and increases the compressive strength. The moisture
absorbed and held by the surrounding masonry during
the period immediately following placement of grout
helps to maintain the grout in the moist condition
needed for satisfactory cement hydration and strength
gain.

Consistency
All grout should be of a fluid consistency but only fluid
enough to pour or pump without segregation. It should
flow readily around the reinforcing steel and into all
joints of the masonry, leaving no voids. There should
be no bridging or honeycombing of the grout.
The consistency of the grout as measured using a
slump

test (ASTM

C 143) should

be based

on the rate

of absorption of the masonry units and on temperature

and humidity conditions. The slump should be between 8 and 11 inches. The slump should be about 8
in. for units with low absorption and about 10 in. for
units with high absorption (see Fig. 3).

Mixing
Whenever possible, grout should be batched, mixed,
and delivered in accordance with the requirements for
ready mixed concrete (ASTM C 94)..Becauseof its high
slump, ready mixed grout should be continuously agitated after mixing and until placement to prevent
segregation.
Mixing of masonry grout on the jobsite is usually
not recommended unless unusual conditions exist.
When a batch mixer is used on the jlobsite, all materials
should be mixed thoroughly for a minimum of 5 minutes. Grout not placed within 1l/2 hours after water is
first added to the batch should be discarded.

Placing
Even though masonry grout is quite fluid, it is a good
practice to consolidate the grout by rodding or vibration to ensure that it encompasses all the reinforcing
steel and completely fills the voids. Grout pours up to
12 in. high are consolidated by vibration or rodding
(puddling). Grout pours more than 12 in. high are
consolidated by vibration and reconsolidated after settlement and initial water loss occurs. Because grout
mix water is absorbed by the masonry units, there is a
slight volume reduction of the grout. Therefore, the
use of shrinkage-compensating admixtures or expansive cement is sometimes recommended on highlift
grouting construction. The expansion of this type of
grout counteracts the volume change due to loss of
water to the masonry units.
Masonry grout is usually delivered in a truck mixer
and pumps are used to place the grout in the walls. The
grout is placed in lifts up to 5 ft deep.

Curing
The high water content of maso:nry grout and the
partial absorption of this water by the masonry units
will generally provide adequate moisture within the
masonry for curing both the mortar and grout. In dry
areas where the masonry is subjected to high winds,
some moist curing (such as fogging or protection with
plastic sheeting) may be necessary. Grout placed during cold weather is particularly vulnerable to freezing
during the early period after grouting because of its
high water content. To offset cold temperature, grout
sand and water can be heated and heated enclosures or
covers can be used to protect masonry when temperatures are below 40F References 59, 66, 73, and 77
discuss methods of achieving good curing during hot
and cold weather.

Sampling and Testing

ASTM

standard

C 1019 can be used for quality

control

of uniformity of grout during construction or as an aid

in helping to select grout proportions. For making
compressive test specimens the standard uses molds
formed with masonry units having the same absorption characteristics and moisture content as the units
11

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used in the construction. This simulates in-the-structure

conditions, where water from the grout is freely absorbed by the units, thus reducing the water-cement
ratio of the grout and increasing its strength (see Fig.
12). Grout specimens for compressive tests should not
be cast in the usual cylinder molds used for concrete
samples because the high water content of the grout
would cause low strength results not indicative of actual in-the-wall strength. A minimum of l/2 cu ft of
grout should be sampled for slump and strength tests.
The grout sample should be obtained as the grout is
placed into the wall. The specimen should be a nominal 3 in. or larger square prism with a height of twice
the width. Three test prisms should represent one grout
sample.
When required, grout samples should be taken and
tested as per ASTM Cl019 for each 5000 sq ft of
masonry. Also, a sample should be taken whenever
there is any change in mix proportions, method of
mixing, or materials used.

Building Reinforced

Concrete Masonry Walls

For reinforced concrete masonry wall construction (Fig.

11) the procedures used in laying masonry units, placing reinforcing bars, and pouring grout vary with the
size of the job, the equipment available, and the preferences of the contractor. Therefore, this section covers
only the general requirements of common procedures.
Procedures Before Grouting. Solid or hollow concrete masonry units should be laid so that their alignment forms an unobstructed, continuous series of vertical cores within the wall framework. Spaces into
which reinforcement will be placed should be at least 2
in. wide. No grout space should be less than 3/4 in. or
more than 6 in. wide; if the grout space is wider than 6
in., the wall section should be designed as a reinforced
concrete member.
Two-core, plain-end units are preferable to threecore units because the larger cores allow easier placement of reinforcing bars and grout. Also, these units
are more easily aligned to create continuous vertical
core spaces. When open-end masonry units are used,
they are arranged so the closed ends are not abutting.
The mortar bed under the first course of block should
not fill the core area because the grout must come into
direct contact with the foundation. All head and bed
joints should be filled solidly with mortar for the full
thickness

of the face

shell.

With

plain-end

units,

how-

ever, it is not necessary to fill the head joint across the

full unit width. Also, when a wall is to be grouted
intermittently (for reinforcement 16, 24, 32, or 48 in.
on center), only the webs at the extremity of those
cores containing grout are mortared. When a wall is to
be solidly grouted, none of the crosswebs need be
mortared since it is desirable for the grout to flow
laterally and form the bed joints at all web openings.
Mortar protrusions that cause bridging and thus
restrict the flow of grout require an excessive amount
of vibration or puddling to assure complete filling of
the grout space. Hence, care is necessary that mortar

Cover units with

absorptive paper

wood pallet
(nonabsorptive)

Front block removed for clorlty

Mold with four 8 x 8 x 16-in. blocks

Fig. 12. ASTM Cl019 method of using masonry units to

form a prism for compression-testing
of masonry grout.

projecting more than W in. into the grout space be

removed and that excess mortar does not extrude and
fall into the grout space. The mason can prevent mortar from extruding into the grout space by placing the
mortar no closer than r/4to l/2 in. from the edge of the
grout space and troweling the mortar bed upward and
outward, away from the edge, thus forming a bevel.
Mortar droppings in the grout spaces of multiwythe
walls can be caught and removed by using a removable
wood strip.
Vertical reinforcement may be erected before or after
the masonry units are laid. When reinforcing bars are
placed before the units, the use of two-core, open-end,
A- or H-shape units becomes desirable in order for the
units to be threaded around the reinforcing steel. When
the bars are placed after the units, adequate positioning
devices are required to prevent displacement of the
bars during grouting. Both vertical and horizontal reinforcement should be accurately positioned and rigidly secured at intervals by wire ties or spacing devices
(Fig. 13). The distance between reinforcement and the
masonry unit face or formed surface must not be less
than 14in. for fine grout and 12 in. for coarse grout.
Horizontal reinforcement is placed as the wall rises.
The reinforcing bars are positioned in bond-beam,
lintel, or channel units, which are then solidly grouted
(Fig. 14). Where the wall itself is not to be solidly
grouted and cored bond-beam units are used, the grout
may be contained over open cores by placing metal
lath in the horizontal bed joint before the mortar bed
is spread for the bond-beam units. Paper or wood
should not be used as a grout barrier because of fireresistance requirements.
To ensure solid grouting of bond beams, it may be
necessary to fill those portions of the bond beams
between the vertically grouted cores as the bond-beam
courses are laid, especially if the spacing of vertically
grouted cores is greater than 4 ft. Otherwise, the grout
may not flow far enough horizontally from the cores
being grouted to completely fill the bond beams.

12

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Book Contents

Fig. 13. Spacing devices

masonry. Reference 73.

for positioning

reinforcement

in

Stop grout about

I in. from top.

Vertical steel: lop 30 bar

diometers at splices; hold
in position 01 intervals of
193 Aim~+~rc
,-&

Place metal lath underbond beam to confine

grout over open cores,

In low-lift grouting of a single-wythe wall, the wall is

built to a height not exceeding 5 ft before grout is
pumped or poured into the cores. This operation is
repeated by alternately laying units and grouting at
successive heights not exceeding 5 ft. In high-lift grouting, the wall is built to full story height first before
grouting the cores or cavities.
Typical reinforced, single-wythe, hollow masonry
construction using low-lift grouting is shown in Fig. 14.
Vertical cores to be filled should have an unobstructed
alignment. Refer to Table 6 for minimum grout space
dimensions. Also, the vertical reinforcing bars may be
relatively short in length because they need to extend
only above the top of the lift a moderate distance for
sufficient overlap with the reinforcing bars in the next
lift. The minimum lap length for bars in tension or
compression should be O.O02d& in inches, where db is
bar diameter and F, is allowable tensile or compressive

Place grout in
lifts not to exceed 5 ft.;puddle
or vibrate in
place.

yl,,,~~~I~

Cores containing
steel ore filled solidly
with grout; vertical
cores should provide
a continuous cavity
free of martar droppings.
that wili be grouted
(to prevent leakage).

Fig. 14. Low-lift grouting of a typical

forced masonry wall. Reference 73.

single-wythe

rein-

A concrete masonry wall should be grouted as soon

as possible to reduce shrinkage cracking of the joints.
However, placing grout before the mortar has been
allowed to cure and gain strength may cause shifting or
blowout of the masonry units during the grouting operations. Therefore, to fill the cavity in two-wythe
masonry or in large cavities of a masonry section
(made up of two or more units and containing vertical
joints, such as pilaster sections), grout should be poured
only after the mortar in the entire height of the wall
has been cured a minimum of 3 days during normal
weather or 5 days during cold weather. The hydrostatic
or fluid pressure exerted by freshly placed grout on the
masonry shell may be ignored when filling hollow-core
masonry units; thus it is not necessary to cure mortar
in hollow-unit masonry walls for longer than 24 hours
before grouting.
Low-Lift Grouting.
Of the two grouting procedures in
general use-low- and high-lift* grouting-low-lift
grouting is the simplest and most common. This procedure requires no special concrete masonry units or
equipment.

strength of reinforcement (Reference 76). Lap length

should never be less than 12 in. As an alternate choice,
vertical steel may extend to full wall height for onestory construction or to ceiling height (plus overlap for
splicing) for multistory construction. However, since
the long lengths of steel require the use of open-end
units, some masonry contractors prefer to splice the
steel just above each 5-ft lift.
Grout is handled from the mixer to the point of
deposit in the grout spacesas rapidly as practical (Figs.
15, 16, and 17). Pumping or other placing methods that
prevent segregation of the mix and1limit grout splatter
are used. On small projects, the grout is poured with
buckets having spouts or funnels to confine the grout
and prevent splashing or spilling onto the face or top
surface of the masonry. Grouting should be done from

*A lift is the layer of grout pumped or poured in a single continuous operation. A pour is considered to be the entire height of
grouting completed in one day; it may be composed of a number of
successively
placed grout lifts.

13

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Book Contents

Fig. 15. Ready mixed grout is delivered by truck mixer into

a pump hopper. Note the delivery hose extending to work
above. Reference 73.

Fig. 16. While helping to handle the grout hose, a laborer controls the pump shutoff with a hand button. Reference 73.

the inside face of the wall if the outside will be exposed:

dried grout can deface the exposed surface of a wall
and be detrimental to the mortar bond of the next
masonry course. On most projects, grout pumps are
recommended to save time and money.
Whenever work is stopped for one hour or longer, a
horizontal construction joint should be made by stopping the grout pour about 1 in. below the top of the
masonry unit to form a key with the next lift (Fig. 18).
During placement, grout should be rodded (usually
with a 1x2-in. wooden stick) or mechanically vibrated
to ensure complete filling of the grout space and solid
embedment of the reinforcement. It takes very little
effort to do this consolidation job properly because
of the fluid consistency of the grout. When highabsorption masonry units are used, it may be necessary
to rerod or revibrate the grout 15 to 20 minutes after
14

Publication List

Fig. 17. View of grout discharging

hose into a core. Reference 73.

from the pump delivery

Fig. 18. Grouting is stopped about 1 in. below the top of

the block to form a key with the next lift. Reference 73.

placement; this will overcome any separations of the

grout from the reinforcing steel and eliminate voids
caused by settlement of the grout and absorption of
water into the surrounding masonry. Overvibration,
however, must be carefully avoided at this stage; more
hazardous than during initial consolidation, it can
cause blowouts, broken ties, cracked masonry units, or
segregation of the grout.
In low-lift grouting of masonry with two or more
wythes, the exterior wythe is laid up a maximum of 18
in. above the interior wythe. After the interior wythe is
laid, the cavity between the wythes is grouted in lifts
not to exceed six times the width of the grout space,
with a maximum of 8 in. A minimum mortar-curing
period usually is not necessary before grouting. Grout
is poured into the grout space to within 1 in. of the top
of the interior wythe and then consolidated.
Where there are more than two wythes, the middle
wythe (usually of brick size) may be built by floating

Book Contents

the units in the grout space, that is, pushing the units
down into the grout so that a 3/4-in. depth of grout
surrounds the sides and ends of each unit. No units or
piece of a unit less than 10 cu in. in size should be
embedded in the grout by floating.
High-Lift
Grouting.
With this procedure, grouting is
delayed until the wall has been laid up to full story
height. High-lift grouting is intended for use on wall
construction where reinforcement, openings, or masonry unit arrangements do not prevent the free flow
of grout or inhibit the use of mechanical vibration to
consolidate the grout properly in all cores or horizontal
grout spaces. The vertical cores should have an unobstructed alignment, with a minimum dimension of 3
in. and a minimum area of 10 sq in. In two-wythe
masonry the minimum dimension of the grout space
(cavity) between wythes is 2 to 3 in., depending on the
governing code and pour height (Table 6), and the
maximum is 6 in.
Vertical bulkheads extending the entire height of the
wall should be provided at about 26 ft on center to
control the flow of the grout horizontally. In a hollowunit masonry wall, such barriers are made by placing
mortar on crosswebsand blocking the bond-beam units
with masonry bats set in mortar. In a multiwythe wall,
the barriers are laid into the grout spacesas the wall is
erected. In addition to confining grout to a manageable
area, these barriers may be used as stiffeners or points
to locate wall bracing.
Proper preparation of the grout space is one of the
most important features of high-lift grouting. It is
necessary, before grouting, to remove all mortar droppings and debris through cleanout openings. Not less
than 3 in. in size, a cleanout opening is located at the
bottom of every core in hollow-unit reinforced masonry containing dowels or vertical reinforcement and in
at least every other core that is grouted but has no
vertical bars. Cleanouts should be provided in solidly
grouted masonry at a maximum spacing of 32 in. on
center. In a two-wythe masonry wall, the cleanouts are
provided at the bottom of the wall by omitting alternate units in the first course of one wythe. The governing standard or building code should be consulted to
verify requirements for cleanout openings.
Cleanout openings in the face shells of units should
be made before the units are laid. A special scored unit
that permits easy removal of part of a face shell is
occasionally used. Also, an alternate cleanout design
makes use of header units, as shown in Fig. 19.
It is considered good practice to cover the bottom of
a grout space with a 2- to 3-in. layer of sand or a
polyethylene sheet to act as a bondbreaker for the
mortar droppings. The grout space is flushed at least
twice a day (at midday and quitting time) with a highpressure stream of water or, to keep the masonry from
being moistened unnecessarily, the mortar droppings
and

projections

are dislodged

with

a long

pole

or rod

as the work progresses. After the masonry units are

laid, the sand or polyethylene sheet is removed, compressed air is used to blow any remaining mortar out
of the grout space, and the space is checked for cleanliness and the reinforcement for position. A mirror is a

Vertical reinforcement

ull cut headers used in

9 come to form
ntinuous cleanout
lening

Note. Clean out mortar

droppings before closing
openings and grouting cares

Fig. 19. Alternate

cleanout

opening detail. Reference

73.

good inspection tool for looking up into the grout space

through a cleanout opening.
Before grouting, the cleanout openings are closed by
inserting masonry units or the face shells that were left
out, or by placing formwork over the opening to allow
grouting right up to the wall face. Grouting need not
be delayed until the face-shell plugs or cleanout closure
units are cured, but they should be adequately braced
to resist the grout pressure.
In high-lift grouting, intermediate horizontal construction joints are usually not permitted. Once the
grouting of a wall section is started, one pour of grout
to the top of the wall (generally in 5-ft maximum lifts)
should be planned for a workday. Should a blowout, an
equipment breakdown, or any other emergency stop
the grouting operation, a construction joint may be
used if approved by the inspector. The alternatives are
to wash out the fresh grout or else rebuild the wall.
For economical placement, a uniform 5-ft lift of
grout is generally pumped into place and immediately
(not more than 10 minutes later) vibrated. Each succeeding lift of grout is pumped and consolidated after
an appropriate lapse of time, a minimum of 30 and a
maximum 60 minutes (depending upon weather conditions and masonry absorption rates), to allow for
settlement shrinkage and the absorption of excesswater
by the masonry units. This waiting period also reduces
the hydrostatic pressure of the grout and thus the
possibility of blowout. In each lift, the top 12 to 18 in.
of grout is reconsolidated before or during placement
of the succeeding lift.
In multiwythe construction, the total length of a wall
that can be grouted in one pour is limited. It is determined by the number of sections (bounded by vertical
bulkheads) that can be grouted to maintain the onehour maximum interval between successive lifts in any
section.
The

maximum

height

of a pour

is limited

by Table

and by practical considerations such as segregation of

grout, the effect of dry grout deposits left on the masonry units and the reinforcing steel, and the ability to
consolidate the grout effectively. IJnder some circumstances, the maximum height of pour may be 12 ft for
15

Publication List

Book Contents

8-in., single-wythe, hollow-unit walls, 16 ft for walls

with a single curtain of reinforcing steel (walls less than
12 in. thick), and 20 ft for walls with two curtains of
reinforcement (walls 12 in. or more in thickness). On
the other hand, the height of pour may be governed by
story height, and thus 8-in., single-wythe walls may
have a 20-ft height of pour. When the grout pour
exceeds 8 ft in height, building codes sometimes require special inspection of the work.
Extreme care should be used to prevent grout from
staining any masonry wall that will be exposed to view.
If grout does contact the face of the masonry, it should
be removed immediately. Also, soon after the wall has
been fully grouted, all exposed faces showing grout
scum or stains (percolated through the masonry and
joints) should be washed down thoroughly with a highpressure stream of water. If necessary, further cleaning
may be done after curing and before final acceptance
by the architect.
The time- and money-saving advantages of high-lift
grouting on large projects are obvious. The vertical
steel can be placed after the wall is erected and, even
on a job of moderate size, the grout can be supplied by
a ready mixed concrete producer and pumped in a
continuous operation. The main disadvantages of highlift grouting may be the need for a grout pump or other
means of pouring grout rapidly and the requirement
for cleanout openings at the base of the wall. See
Reference 73 for more information on masonry construction.

dry weather, the concrete can be kept moist with a fine

fog spray.
The completed surface should be moist-cured by
keeping the area wet for 36 hours following the cleandown. When completely dry, the surface should have a
uniform color and texture.

CERAMIC TILE
Portland cement grout is the standard grout for ceramic tile, although noncementitious grouts are available
for special purposes (Fig. 20). Tile grout can be modified to provide extra whiteness, color, mildew resistance, hardness, flexibility, water retention, and other
properties. Both sanded and neat cement grouts are
used. The grouts use ASTM C 150 white or gray portland cement, a very fine aggregate, and applicable
admixtures. Grout ingredients must be measured accurately and the grout must be mixed thoroughly in a
slow-speed mixer to a uniform consistency. Specified
water-cement ratios must not be exceeded. Mixed grout
should be used within 1 hour after mixing. A brief
description of cementitious grouts for tile follows.

GROUT CLEANDOWN
A grout cleandown (sack-rubbed finish) can be used to
impart a uniform color and appearance to a smooth,
clean, formed surface of cast-in-place concrete. After
defects have been repaired, the surface should be saturated thoroughly with water and kept wet during grout
operations. A grout consisting of 1 part cement, 1l/2 to
2 parts of fine sand, and sufficient water for a thick,
creamy consistency should be applied uniformly by
brush, plasterers trowel, or rubber float to completely
fill air bubbles and holes.
The surface should be vigorously floated with a
wood, sponge-rubber, or cork float immediately after
applying the grout to fill any small air holes (bugholes)
that are left and to remove some excess grout. The
remaining excess grout should be scraped off with a
sponge-rubber float. If the float pulls grout from holes,
a sawing motion of the tool should correct the difficulty. The grout remaining on the surface should be allowed to stand undisturbed until it loses some of its
plasticity but not its damp appearance. Then the surface should be rubbed with clean, dry burlap to remove
all excessgrout. All air holes should remain filled, but
no visible film of grout should remain after the rubbing. Any section being cleaned with grout must be
completed in one day, since grout remaining on the
surface overnight is too difficult to remove.
If possible, work should be done in the shade and
preferably during cool, damp weather. During hot or
16

Publication List

Fig. 20. Portland

ceramic tile.

Commercial

cement

grout is the standard

grout for

Portland Cement Grout

Commercial portland cement grout is a factorypackaged mixture of portland cement, fine sand, and
other ingredients which when mixed with water produces a water resistant, dense, and uniformly colored
grout. The 28-day compressive strength, ASTM C 109,
should be at least 3500 psi. The grout must also meet
other applicable requirements such as tensile, shear,
and flexural strength as specified by ANSI A118.6 (Reference 47). Floor applications include ceramic mosaics, quarry, and paver tile.

Book Contents

Sand-Portland

Cement Grout

Grout Installation

Sand-Portland cement grout is a mixture of cement,

fine sand, and water proportioned and blended together at the jobsite. Grout proportions by volume with
respect to-joint width are as follows:
Joint width
Cement
1
l/8 in. and less
1
112 in. and less
1
More than 12 in. I

Sand
1
2
3

As with all grout installation, mortar beds must harden

sufficiently before grouting to hold the tile in place.
This usually requires a 48-hour cure. All joints must
be clean and spacers, strings, and pegs must be removed. The joints should be dampened, except for
some dry-set grout applications. However, there must
not be any puddles of water in the joints during grouting. Using a rubber float, grout is spread and pressed
into the joints until they are completely full. The grout
is finished to the depth of cushion on cushion-type tile
or finished flush with the surface on square-edged tile.
To prevent scratching the tile surface, a rubber-faced
trowel should be used with sanded grout when grouting
glazed tile. The mortar bed should not show through
and no voids or low spots should exist. The tile is then
wiped clean with a damp cloth or sponge to remove
excess grout from the tile joints and from the face of
the tiles. Commercial, sand-portland, or dry-set grout
is then moist-cured for 72 hours. Plastic sheet over
wetted tile is an effective damp-curing method.
Table 7 provides information as to where the above
grouts can be used. For more information on grout
materials, tests, properties, and installation, see References 17, 39, 46, 47 (ANSI standards A108.10 and
A118.6) 53, and 61.

Lime (optional)
15 or less
l/5 or less
l/5 or less

Sand-Portland cement grout is used with ceramic mosaic tile, paver tile, and quarry tile.

Dry-Set Grout
Dry-set grout is a proprietary grout (like commercial
grout) consisting of cement and an additive for extra
water retention for grouting walls and floors for ordinary use. Wall tile may not need to be soaked prior to
using dry set grout, as is needed for other cement
grouts, although very dry environments may require
dampening. The minimum 28-day compressive
strength, ASTM C 109,is 3000 psi. ANSI A118.6 should
be consulted for additional requirements, such as water
retentivity and additional strength requirements.

Latex-Portland

TOPPINGS AND UNDERLAYMENTS

FLOORS

Cement Grout

Latex portland cement grout is merely any portland

cement grout to which a latex admixture is added to
help cure the grout and make it less absorptive and
more stain and crack resistant. The latex also increases
bond strength and water resistance. Special cleaning
procedures and materials are usually recommended
for this grout however. Absorption of sanded grout is
about 10% to 20% whereas the absorption of latex
cement grout is about 3% to 5% (Reference 53). The
28-day compressive strength should be at least 3000
psi. ANSI A118.6 provides additional requirements.

Table 7. Tile Grout Application

Tile type

v
v

Ceramic mosaics
I

Grout type
DrySandportland
set
cement
WallWall-floor
floor
use
use

I/

Many proprietary thin toppings and underlayments

are available for floor applications. They are often
referred to as self-leveling (nontroweling) or trowelable
materials (see Fig. 21). These materials are primarily
used to provide a smooth, level floor surface as well as
repair floors that have deteriorated, sagged, scaled, or
became worn. These materials reduce sound and heat
transmission between slabs as well as provide additional fire resistance. The toppings provide the actual
wearing surface of a floor, whereas underlayments must

Guide

Commercial
portland
cement
Wall
Floor
use
use

Glazed wall tile

(more than 7% absorption)

FOR

Latex
portland
cement

I/

1/

I/

All of these grouts can be used in interior and exterior locations, dry and intermittently
wet areas, and areas subject to prolonged wetting. These grouts are also available in a
wide range of colors. For locations requiring extra resistance to stains, chemical attack,
cracking, or requiring other properties, consider using chemical grouts.
Adapted from Reference

61.

17

Publication List

Book Contents

Fig. 21. Self-leveling floor toppings and underlayments are

very fluid grouts that are easily placed by small-line pumps.

be covered with a floor covering material such as tile

or carpet. Particular underlayments or toppings are
formulated to be applied over old or new floors construtted of cast-in-place concrete, precast concrete,
wood, tile, and terrazzo, as well as floors with cut-back
adhesive residue present and floors exposed to moisture. Some can also be placed over radiant-heating
pipes. Indoor toppings are used for warehouse floors,
hallways, and indoor parking garages. Certain topping
materials can be used outdoors.

These materials weigh from 100 to 120 pcf dry and

have compressive strengths of 1000 to 7500 psi after
28 days. Cellular concrete has a minimum strength of
1000 psi for residential applications or 1500 psi or
more for commercial underlayments (strength can be
increased to 3000 psi or more by reducing air and sand
content). Cellular roof fill has a strength of around 160
psi and an air-dry density of 25 to 30 pcf. Many
noncellular underlayments range in strength from 3000
to 6000 psi. Topping mixes tend to have strengths
around 5000 to 7500 psi after 28 days. Topping and
underlayment working times vary from 10 to 60 minutes. They can be walked on in 2 to 24 hours and a
floor covering placed in 1% hours to 7 days or more
after placement, depending on the product.
The shrinkage characteristics of various topping and
underlayment products can vary considerably, therefore the manufacturer should be consulted as to crack
control and joint spacing. Depending on the floor size,
some underlayments require no joints whereas others
would. Joint spacings commonly range from 10 to 30
ft. Joints in the base slab must be reflected in toppings.
The minimum and maximum thicknesses depend
upon individual products and where or how they are
used. Thin underlayments (less than 1 in. deep) are
usually bonded. The range of allowable thicknesses
varies from i/s in. to 4 in. Thicknesses greater than V2
to 112 in. use added aggregate to reduce shrinkage.
Minimum thickness over wood may be more than over
concrete. The minimum for a cellular concrete fill is
about 1l/2 in. (3/4 in. bonded over precast concrete).
Cellular concrete is placed over bonded or unbonded
moisture barriers.

Composition
Toppings and underlayments are composed of a combination of cement, sand, air, water, admixture, and
sometimes coarse aggregate, polymer modifiers, or fibers. The dry materials are usually blended together
and packaged in bags for easy use on small projects.
Lightweight cellular concrete is an underlayment
material (floor fill) containing normal grout or concrete
ingredients along with a foaming agent that produces a
high air content. The high air content provides low
weight and added fire and sound resistance. It is usually centrally batched using normal bulk materials and
not bagged. Besides underlayment applications, cellular concrete is used to insulate roof decks. See Reference 66 for more information on lightweight concretes
for these and other applications.

Properties
Toppings and underlayments are formulated for minima1 shrinkage, rapid strength gain, and flowability
without segregation. However, these and other properties can be adversely affected by an excessive amount
of water. Too much water will cause dusting, low
strength, and shrinkage cracks. Self-leveling underlayments must be pumpable and be able to level off after
minor screeding. Trowelable mixes have a stiffer, lesswatery consistency.
18

Publication List

Application

and Installation

Before toppings or underlayments are placed, the

subfloor must be cleaned. Subfloors must be dust free,
solid, and free of coatings (paint, wax, etc.). ASTM
standards D4258, D4259, D4260, D4261, and D4262
can be helpful in preparing concrete subfloors. A primer
is then applied by roller, brush, sprayer, or squeegeeto
seal the subfloor and aid bond. For cellular concrete
underlayments, the floor need be only broom clean
with holes filled prior to applying an unbonded moisture barrier (such as kraft paper) or bonded moisture
barrier (such as liquid latex). Strip contraction joints
should be installed as needed.
The topping or underlayment mix is then mixed by
traditional or special mixing equipment, depending on
the product. Small quantities of certain products can
be mixed in a pail or drum with an electric drill and
paddle and poured directly onto the floor. Large jobs
use automatic equipment to mix and then pump the
grout to the desired location. A rake or squeegee is
used to spread the poured or pumped self-leveling
grout, after which most self-leveling materials need no
further finishing as they are self-smoothing. Perimeter
chalk lines and plastic guides on the subfloor help
control the grout depth. Some coating and concrete
resurfacing products are designed to be spray-applied.
Metal reinforcement is usually not used or needed.

Book Contents

--

The material must then be allowed to set and harden

before any further work can be done on the floor. See
the earlier discussion and consult the manufacturer as
to the time when the product can be walked on, construction continued, or a floor covering applied. As
moisture can interfere with the performance of many
floor coverings, before placing a floor covering, the
moisture condition of the slab should be tested or a
test installation should be made of the product to be
used. One moisture test is the plastic-sheet test (ASTM
D4263). If no moisture condenses under the sheet after
16 hours, the floor is dry enough for some floor coverings (also see References 42 and 66). Full-depth conCrete floors may require more than 2 months of drying
before floor coverings or even some underlayments can
be installed to avoid moisture-related problems. For
more information on these materials, see References
51, 58, 64, and 79.

BONDING GROUT AND REPAIR GROUT

./

W
1

rr-:-..,*(I*a-&*a,A**
(*
i

j *. I *

-j _.f

I
cI _

j .I
4.~
p
. ..e
.*I,..?::,%

Fig. 22. Application of a bonding grout a few feet ahead of

overlay concrete. The grout must not dry before the conCrete is placed.

Bonding Grout

\-

Bonding grout is used to glue fresh mortar or concrete to old concrete for thin-bonded overlays, patches,
and two-course floors. Bonding grout is commonly
used to bond concrete overlays onto bridge decks,
parking garage slabs, floors, and highway pavement.
The grout must be applied to a clean, roughened surface (to provide better mechanical bond). The surface
must be free of dirt, sand, oils, coatings. paints, and
deteriorated concrete. Good-quality concrete must be
exposed. The concrete surface can be cleaned and
unsound concrete removed by sandblasting, water
blasting, scarification, shotblasting, chipping, highpressure air (to remove loose debris), or other methods
(see ASTM D4258 and D4259). Cracks are sometimes
filled with a flowable epoxy to reduce reflective cracking in overlays.
Cement-and-water bonding grout or sanded bonding
grout is brushed onto a dry or damp (never wet) concrete surface immediately prior to placement of fresh
mortar, repair grout, or concrete (Fig. 22). The i/16-to
i/s-in.-thick layer of bonding grout must not be allowed
to dry before the overlay or patching mix is placed,
otherwise the dry grout may hinder proper bond and
result in delamination of the patch or overlay. A typical
sand-cement bonding grout consists of 1 part cement
to 1 part sand by volume and enough water to make a
paintlike consistency. For small jobs the grout can be
mixed in a pail or drum using an electric drill and
paddle.

Repair Grout
i

Repair grout is used to repair spalled or defective areas

of concrete that occur during or after construction.
These cementitious grouts vary in consistency from
very stiff mixtures to trowelable and sometimes flowable proprietary mixtures.

Publication List

Fig. 23. A mixture

to form a ball when
low-shrink mixture
mixture is referred

of cement, sand, and just enough water

compressed in the hand makes a good
to repair or fill voids in concrete. This
to as dry-pack mortar or dry-pack grout.

Dry-pack grout, also called dry-pack mortar, consists

of a stiff mixture of 1 part (by volume) cement, 2V2
parts sand (passing a No. 16 sieve), and only enough
water so that the mixture will form a ball when squeezed
gently in the hand (Fig. 23). A one- to two-hour prehydration period before using the grout is helpful in
reducing shrinkage.
Bolt holes, tierod holes, and other cavities that are
small in area but relatively deep can be filled with a
dry-pack grout. Honeycomb and other defects in concrete should be cut out to expose sound material before
repair. If defective concrete is left adjacent to a patch.

Book Contents

19

moisture may get into the voids; in time, weathering

action will cause the patch to spall. The edges of the
defective area should be cut or chipped straight and at
right angles to the surface-or slightly undercut-to
provide a key at the edge of the patch. Featheredges
should not be permitted. The patch geometry should
resemble a square or deep rectangle. The cavity should
be cleaned of oil and loose material and kept damp for
several hours. A bonding grout should be brushed onto
the void surfaces but not allowed to dry before the
repair grout is placed. The dry-pack grout should be
vigorously tamped into place in 3/s-in. to i/z-in. layers,
with each layer given a scratch finish to improve bond
with the subsequent layer. The final layer can be finished to match the surrounding concrete by floating,
rubbing, or tooling or on formed surfaces by pressing a
section of form material against the patch while still
plastic. Vigorous tamping and moist curing (3 to 7
days) will ensure good bond and minimum shrinkage
of the patch. Large patches and thin-bonded overlays
need concrete instead of grout for the repair material
for economic, shrinkage, and durability concerns?
Nonmoving cracks can also be routed out, cleaned, and
grouted. Moving cracks can be routed out, cleaned,
primed, and sealed with an elastomeric sealant. Several proprietary cementitious and noncementitious
(resin) grouts are available to fill cracks. Often routed
crack repairs look worse than the original crack.
Proprietary repair grouts, often nonshrink or
polymer-modified grouts, are also used in concrete
repair to patch or fill voids as described above. Some
polymer-modified grouts can be placed in thin applications and sometimes in near-featheredge areas. Packaged, dry, rapid-hardening grout for repairing concrete
should meet the requirements of ASTM C928. Proprietary grouts are usually applied by trowel, but some
are spray applied. A test patch should be placed in an
inconspicuous area to determine the suitability of the
repair grout and method.
Grout is also used to make slurry-infiltrated fibrous
concrete that can be used in repairs needing high
flexural strength (about 5000 psi), high compressive
strength (10,000 to 20,000 psi), high abrasion resistance, and a large amount of ductility. The patch area
is cleaned and prepared as described earlier. Fibers,
usually made of steel and about 1 in. long, are placed
into the void or patch area until the void is full. A lowviscosity slurry (grout), consisting of cement, water,
and admixtures such as fly ash and superplasticizer, is
poured into the bed of fibers. The grout-filled patch is
then textured as desired or an aggregatewearing course
can be added. The fiber volume in this product can
range from 6% to 18%.This technique can also be used
for constructing full-depth walls, slabs, and other concrete elements or products. For more information on
slurry-infiltrated fibrous concrete, contact the University of New Mexico Research Institute and the New
Mexico State Highway Department.
For more information on repair grout applications
see the sections in this book on Grout Cleandown,
Toppings and Underlayments for Floors, and
Preplaced-Aggregate Concrete. Also see References
66, 69, and 79.
20

Publication List

FLOWABLE FILL
Flowable fill, also called controlled-density fill or
controlled-low-strength material, is a fluid mixture of
cementitious materials, water, and aggregate used in
place of soil backfill. Flowable fill doesnt require the
labor-intensive compaction and hauling effort of soil
backfill; it eliminates or reduces settlement; it sets up
within a few hours; and it has a strength comparable to
or greater than compacted soils.
Flowable fill is used in backfilling foundations, retaining walls, trenches, bridge abutments, underground tanks, culverts, and utility cuts from sewer,
water, gas, and electric line repair (Fig. 24); as fill for
abandoned wells, tanks, sewers, and manholes; in temporary slabs; as subbase for pavements, slabs, and
foundations; and in pipe bedding. The strength is low
enough for easy future excavation with conventional
equipment but strong enough to support the loads
without settlement.
The mix proportions and strength are designed for
each particular application. The amount of materials
per cubic yard of flowable fill range from 50 to 200 lb
of cement, 2000 to 3000 lb of fine or fine and coarse
(l-in. maximum) aggregate, 350 to 800 lb of water, and
50 to 400 lb of fly ash or other pozzolan. The slump is
typically 6 in. to 8 in. A mix used by the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT Specification 957, Supplemental Specification for Flowable Mortar) for fill
over culverts and other projects consists of the follow*Thts concrete should have a low water-cement ratio. often wtth a
cement content equal to or greater than the concrete to be repatred.
Cement contents often range from 600 to 850 lb per cubic yard and
the water-cement ratto 1s usually 0.45 or less. The aggregate size
should be preferably no more than /I the patch or overlay thtckness
A %+tn. maxtmum-size coarse aggregate IS commonly used. The
sand proportton can be htgher than usual, often equal to the amount
of coarse aggregate, depending on the dewed properttes and applicanon.

Fig. 24. Flowable

a street.

fill used to backfill

Book Contents

a utility trench along

mg: 100 lb of ASTM C 150 Type I cement, 300 lb of

ASTM C618 Class C fly ash, 2600 lb ofaggregate (100%
passing the 3/4-in.sieve and 0% to 10%passing the No.
200 sieve), and about 585 lb of water, which, when
mixed together, produces a grout with a flow-cone time
of efflux (Corps of Engineers CRD-C611) of about 12
seconds (after the plus i/&in. aggregate is removed).
Flowable fill can be batched and mixed using ASTM
C94 procedures and equipment for ready mixed concrete or prepared in an ASTM C685 mobile mixer.
Typical compressive strength ranges from 50 to 200
psi, which is more than the strength of most natural
soils.
Flowable fill can be discharged directly from the
truck mixer or transported by pumps, buckets, or other
methods to the placement location. Due to its fluid
nature, no additional spreading, handling, or consolidation is usually needed.
Low-density cellular concrete with cement, water,
and about 80% air (produced by a foaming agent) is
also used as flowable fill for geotechnical applications.
Typical air-dry densities range from 15 to 75 pcf (20 to
80 pcf as cast) with compressive strengths of 10 to 300
psi. It is used as regular fill and for special locations
where a low density is required, such as over tanks,
tunnels, and belowground buildings. It is also of importance in placement locations needing extra sounddeadening and thermal-resistance properties.
Flowable fill generally performs better than compacted backfill, with no problems due to settlement,
frost action, or localized zones of stiffness. American
Concrete Institute Committee 229, Controlled-LowStrength Materials, is preparing a state-of-the-art report on this subject. For more information, see References 45, 50,66, and 74.

GROUTED POST-TENSIONING

DUCTS

Post-tensioned prestressed concrete uses either bonded

or unbonded tendons to prestress the concrete and
counteract tensile stress caused by service loads. Bonded tendons are placed in ducts or voids and stressed,
and then the ducts are grouted. The grout protects the
tendons from corrosion (by keeping out air, water, and
chlorides) and develops bond between the prestressing
steel, ducts, and surrounding concrete. Unbonded tendons are greased and plastic covered, allowing the
tendon to move free of the surrounding concrete, unlike bonded tendons. An advantage of unbonded tendons is the elimination of costly and time-consuming
grouting. Bonded tendons, on the other hand, have
structural advantages in primary structural elements,
such as beams, and are commonly used in bridges.
Unbonded tendons are commonly used in floors.
The ducts in bonded post-tensioning can be formed
by a ferrous metal sheath that will retain its shape
during concrete placement. The sheath must be able to
transfer bond stresses as required. Ducts can also be
cored; however, any debris from coring must be removed by pressurized air or water and the duct walls
moistened before grouting. The ducts must have grout

Publication List

openings at both ends and the duct area must be at

least twice the area of prestressing steel when several
bars, strands, or wires make up the tendon or at least
i/4 in. larger than the diameter of a single wire, bar, or
strand tendon. Ducts must also be checked for blockage
(with forced air for example) before grouting. Damaged
ducts must be repaired before grouting.
Grout injection points must be provided in the end
anchorage and sometimes at high points along the
duct. Vents must be provided at 50-ft spacing, at all
high points in the duct length, or at any points where
changes in duct cross section occur and air may become trapped. Drain holes may be provided at low
points to prevent the accumulation of water that may
freeze and cause damage. The injection and outlet
points and vents must be inspected before grouting to
ensure that they are clear of obstruction and can be
properly closed.
Grout used in post-tensioning ducts consists of portland cement, water, and admixtures. Admixtures are
used to reduce water content and bleeding, increase
flowability, or cause expansion. Aluminum powder or
other expansive admixture can be used to achieve 5%
to 10% expansion in the unrestrained grout. Sand is
not used in practice but it may be of benefit in tendons
with large void areas. Pozzolans such as fly ash are
sometimes used. Silica fume or latex modifiers can
be used to drastically reduce grout permeability for
chloride-laden locations. Steps to reduce bleeding, such
as use of bleed-reducing (water-retention) admixtures
to make thixotropic grouts, are especially important to
eliminate voids (Fig. 25). Water retentivity or bleeding
under pressure can be tested by a method in Reference
21. Bleeding as tested by the method in Reference 48
should not exceed 2% of grout volume 3 hours after
mixing. Bleeding is significantly reduced with use of
thixotropic grouts. The maximum water-cement ratio
should be 0.45 (preferably less) with ASTM C 150 Type
I or II cement, which should result in a cube compressive strength of about 4000 psi at 28 days.
The grout should be proportioned to provide a fluid
consistency with a flow-cone efflux time of 11 seconds

Bleed-water

void

Fig. 25. Grout for post-tensioning

ducts should completely
embed the tendons and fill the duct as shown at the right.
Grout with little to no bleeding should be used to prevent
formation of voids (left) that can expose the tendon to future corrosion problems. When a duct is curved, all the
strands are packed together on the inside of the curvature.

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21

or more (ASTM C939 or Corps of Engineers CRDC611). A modified flow-cone test or other test should
be used for thixotropic grouts using water-retentive
admixtures.
Grout should be mixed in a high-speed, high-shear
colloidal mixer for 1112 to 3 minutes to blend the
ingredients uniformly. Disk shear mixers operating
around 1750 rpm are most effective with thixotropic
grout. After the grout is batched and mixed, additional
water should not be added to restore any loss in flowability (discard the grout). Grout should be agitated
until pumped.
The pump, positive displacement type, should be
able to produce an outlet pressure of at least 150 psig
but not more than 250 psig at the tendon inlet; the
pump should be able to grout an entire duct within 20
minutes. If blockage occurs or grouting is significantly
interrupted, all grout must be flushed from the duct
and the duct must be regrouted. A screened pump
influent is used to remove particles larger than 0.125
in. from the grout. The grout hopper should be kept
full to keep out air bubbles. Grout should be pumped
continuously through the duct until no water or air
bubbles appear in the grout leaving the duct.
In grouting vertical or near-vertical ducts, particular
care is needed to prevent any tendency for the grout to
bleed, which would result in water pockets. At these
points there would be no protection to the cable or
bond transference. Grout stability necessitates the use
of admixtures to reduce bleeding when grouting vertical ducts.
Grouting of ducts requires close attention and supervision considering that it is the stage that determines
the durability of the prestressing tendons in posttensioned cast-in-place concrete. The mere observation of grout being introduced at one end of a duct and
seen emerging from the other end is certainly not
complete assurance that the duct is completely and
properly filled.
Although the aim in grouting ducts is to completely
fill the duct with grout, some voids will usually be
present. The goal in grouting ducts should be to minimize voids by using the best grout and the best grouting practices. This should result in adequate tendon
protection. For additional information on grouting of
post-tensioning ducts, seeReferences 19,20, 21, 24, 34,
and 48.

Column Bases
Steel baseplates placed on top of concrete piers or
foundations and to which structural steel columns are
fastened vary considerably in area, thickness, and
weight. Smaller baseplates can simply be set on the
freshly placed concrete after subsidence has taken place
but before the concrete has hardened thoroughly. The
plate is then leveled and lightly tamped into place to
proper elevation. Larger and heavier baseplates cannot
be handled in this manner and a more exacting procedure is necessary to assure accurate placement and
uniform distribution of the greater load involved. In
most casesthe concrete is finished some distance below
the bottom of the baseplate, which is then set in position and the space between the concrete and baseplate
is filled with nonshrink cement grout (Fig. 26).
The space between the top of a foundation and the
baseplate varies from about 1 in. to 3 in. The greater
depth is used with the larger bases and, being easier to
fill, is preferred by some contractors. However, shrinkage and settlement, which are to be avoided, increase
with the thickness of the layer of grout unless stiffer,
leaner mixes are used for deep beds.
Baseplates are generally set on steel shims or wood
wedges at the proper elevation over the concrete foundation. Occasionally three threaded holes are provided
in the plate into which leveling screws are inserted,
thus avoiding the use of shims or wedges. These are
used only with very large, heavy plates. A steel bearing
plate about 4x4 in. is placed under each screw. In thick
bases the top part of the hole may be made larger than
the screw to reduce the amount of threading. Another
method is to weld a nut on the underside of the plate
at each hole, thus avoiding the necessity for threading
the holes in the plate. Shims, wedges, or screws are
usually removed after the grout has hardened.
Grout consistencies vary from fluid mixtures that
flow into place to stiff mixtures of damp-earth consistency that must be tamped into place. The shrinkage
and strength of the grout are influenced by the amount

r-7

Steel column

GROUTING COLUMN BASEPLATES,

MACHINE BASES, ANCHORS, AND
PRECAST-PANEL JOINTS
There is no standard practice for fastening and bedding
either column bases or machine basesto their concrete
foundations. Many methods are used that give satisfactory results. Some of the more common practices
are discussed here and certain recommendations are
made based on the general principles of grouting and
concreting.

Grou

Fig. 26. Grouted column baseplate with grouted anchor

bolts. A grout face sloped 45 from the plate is used to
prevent cracking. Anchors embedded in original concrete
are also used.

22

Publication List

Book Contents

of water used. As the amount of water is increased,

j shrinkage increases and strength of the grout decreases.
The amount of water, therefore, should be kept to a
minimum and should be as carefully controlled as are
the other materials.
The top of the hardened concrete pier or foundation
should be cleaned of laitance and dirt before setting
the baseplate and should be well saturated with water
before grouting. A form may be built around the baseplate, or sand dikes may be used to confine the grout.
The top of the form should extend above the bottom
of the baseplate.
Fluid grout mixtures are placed from one side of the
baseplate or through one or more holes near the center
of the plate. Placing should be continued at the one
location until the spaceis entirely filled, the grout flows
from under all edgesof the plate, and the level of grout
is higher than the bottom of the plate. A stiff wire
moved back and forth in the grout will help to release
entrapped air, distribute the grout and assure more
complete contact with the bottom of the plate. When
grouting is done through a hole in the plate, a funnel or
pipe fitted into the hole will provide pressure to force
the grout into place.
Stiffer mixtures can be placed from the edges of the
baseplate and tamped into position with a board, steel
bar, or other tool. In this case, the mixture should be
of such consistency that when a sample is squeezed in
the hand only enough water will come to the surface to
moisten the hand. Tamping should not be so hard as
to raise or otherwise displace the plate.

ing is often done from the edge and is generally as

satisfactory as placing through holes. Forms for retaining the grout are usually built of wood. Formwork for
fluid or flowable grout placed from one side should be
2 to 4 in. from the edges of the bedplate receiving and
expelling grout. The form should be up to 1 in. from
the plate on the sides parallel to grout flow. All forms
slhould extend at least 1 in. above the highest grout
level under the baseplate. When placing is done by
pumping through holes, the forms are usually built 4
to 6 in. outside the bedplate as, shown in Fig. 27a.
Again, forms must be built to a level of at least 1 in.
above the bottom of the plate or highest grout level.
Excessgrout can be cut away when it has stiffened but
before it has thoroughly hardened, and the exposed
surface outside the bedplate can be finished to desired
texture.
When placing is to be done from the side of the
baseplate and grout is to be placed to a higher level
than the lower edge of the plate, it is necessary to
provide a vent in each recess so that air can escape. If

rForm
Tl!zr
5,:

for retolning grout

y-, /I

<--

., )\ x_-;

Brace between form and machine basv

<,-,j=,-,
-,.,
; _, ,_T,, -,,:,,-,A

Machine Baseplates
Grouting of machine and other equipment bases is
done for a number of reasons: (1) to take up irregularities in the foundation and bedplate to assure that the
machine rests firmly and properly aligned on the foundation, (2) to properly transfer loads to the foundation,
(3) to prevent lateral shifting of the machine, and (4)
in some casesto increase the mass of the bedplate for
the purpose of reducing vibration. Anchor bolts are
used to hold the machine down, but any lateral thrust
should be resisted by the grout against which the ribs
of the bedplate bear. Bolts should be tightened only
enough to hold the machine snugly against the foundation and prevent vibration. Bolts may fail when, in
addition to high initial load, they are subjected to
repeated stressesdue to operation of the machine. An
insufficient height of grout inside the machine base is
sometimes the cause of such failures. The procedures
used for setting machine bedplates are similar to those
used for column bases.
Where there is a possibility of oil or water flowing
under the bedplate, the grout should not extend up
around the outside of the bedplate but should be cut
off flush

with

the

side

faces

or sloped

away

from

,-fbent

pipe

the

lower edge. There is also the possibility that grout on

the outside may crack and break off due to lateral
movement of the bedplate.
Large bedplates may be provided with several holes
through which the grout can be placed, although plac-

(b)
Fig. 27. (a) Machine base with wood form in position for
grouting. Observe locations of air vents and grout holes.
(b) Machine base showing alternate method of venting
pockets.

23

Publication List

Book Contents

Many types of anchor bolts are used. In general, they

can be broadly classified as removable and nonremovable, or fixed. Removable bolts are usually provided
for very large machines because of the difficulty of
lowering the machine onto rigidly fixed bolts. Removable bolts must be provided with sleeves the full length
of the bolts. Such bolts are fastened at the lower end by
an anchor plate and nut or cotter. The anchor plate
may be simply a flat steel plate, an ordinary cast-iron
building washer, or a cast-iron plate with lugs on the
bottom, or one of several proprietary designs. To gain
accessto the lower ends of bolts, pockets or handholes
are cast in the sides of the concrete foundations. In
very large foundations, tunnels to the interior of the
foundation are often provided, with pockets in the
sides of the tunnel for accessto the bolts. The diameter
or side dimension of cast-iron plates and washers is
usually from four to six times the diameter of the bolts,
the smaller multiple being used with large bolts. Steel
plates are usually square and somewhat larger, the side
dimension being about eight times the diameter of the
bolt. Holes in the plates are usually 3/sin. larger than
the bolt diameter.
Nonremovable or fixed bolts are cast into the fresh

age. U-bolts and plates or pieces of angle iron to which

two or more bolts are attached are sometimes used.
If some adjustment of the bolt is considered necessary, sleeves for the upper part of small bolts and for
the full length of bolts over 1VI in. diameter may be
provided and these sleeves later filled with grout. Partial sleeves vary in length from 4 in. up, but in general
should be from 10 to 15 bolt-diameters to provide
sufficient lateral adjustment of the top of the bolt.
Drilled holes in bedplates are usually 1sin. larger than
the bolt for bolts up to % in., 14 in. for l-in. to 2%-in.
bolts, and 3/sin. for larger bolts. Cored holes in concrete
are */4in. larger or more than corresponding drilled
holes. Because of these small clearances, fixed bolts
must be placed very accurately.
Sleeves may be of thin sheet metal, pipe, plastic, or
other material. They vary in size but it is desirable to
make the sleeve diameter about twice the bolt diameter, with a minimum radial clearance of not less than
Y2 in. around the bolt. Sleeves that are to be grouted
usually extend 12 in. above the level of concrete in the
foundation. A board holding them in position at the
top will prevent concrete from entering the sleeves. A
washer may be used at the lower end of full-length
sleeves to prevent concrete entering at that end.
A number of proprietary anchor-bolt sleeves are
made of heavy one-piece plastic construction. The
anchor bolt is inserted into a hole in the bottom of the
sleeve and threaded through a hole in the top to the
required projection. The assembly is bolted to a template in proper position before concrete is cast. After
the concrete has hardened, the template is removed
and the top portion of the sleeve is cut out with a knife.
The anchor bolt can be adjusted for accurate alignment
before grouting the pocket formed by the sleeve.
Templets that have been carefully designed and constructed are required to hold bolts and sleeves within
the necessary tolerance while placing concrete in foundations. They are usually made of wood but sometimes
steel sections or plates are used. Reasonably skilled
workmen should be able to set anchor bolts to a tolerance of i/4 in. using a wood templet. If closer tolerance
is required as in some of the larger foundations, a steel
templet is recommended. A steel plate l/s or l/4 in.
thick, held in place by wood framing, may be used, and
occasionally the baseplate itself can be used as a templet. Spotting and drilling the holes in the templet after
all the forms and templets have been positioned generally give the best results. Templets are usually at-

concrete.

tached

not provided by the manufacturer, small holes of *h-in.

to %-in. diameter may be drilled in the bedplate for
this purpose. Instead of vent holes, U-shape*pieces of
%-in. or %-in. pipe may be used under the lower edge
of the bedplate with the ends extending above the level
to be grouted, as illustrated in Fig. 27b. In some cases
the air is exhausted by connecting a hose from the pipe
to the intake of a compressor or to an ejector. A short
length of gageglass can be inserted in the hose to guard
against drawing grout into the compressor. The compressor intake is throttled to regulate the pressure.
To bring the machine to proper level, wedges and
shims are usually provided to each anchor bolt. After
the machine has been leveled and aligned, the nuts on
the anchor bolts are tightened to bind the machine
firmly into place against the wedges. Wedgesmay be of
steel or hardwood, but wood wedges are suitable only
for small machines. Wood wedges should be removed.
Removal of steel wedges is left to the discretion of the
contractor. If they are to be removed, however, care
should be taken to see that all are removed, as a single
wedge left in place may cause damage.

Anchor Bolts

Standard

machine

bolts

are

often

used

for

the smaller machines. A straight headless bolt will

develop sufficient bond with concrete-enough to equal
the tensile strength of the bolt-if it is embedded in
the concrete to a sufficient depth. That depth will
depend on factors such as the strength of the concrete,
the tensile strength of the steel used in the bolt, and
the roughness of the bolt shaft (for example, a threaded
bolt will bond better to concrete than a smooth bolt).
The head on a bolt provides additional anchorage.
Small bolts, 1G-in. diameter and less, are often hooked
at the lower end and larger sizes may be provided with
a nut and washer or plate to secure mechanical anchor-

to the foundation

forms,

24

Publication List

but if there

is likely

to

be any movement of the forms it is better to support

the templet entirely independently of the forms so the
movement will not affect alignment of the bolts. In any
event, the templet must be rigid enough so that bolts
are not disturbed by workmen bumping the templet or
standing on it while placing concrete.
To keep the bolts accurately aligned during concrete
placement, it is necessary to provide some means for
holding them other than merely allowing them to hang
from the templets. Nuts and washers, drawn up tight,
on the underside as well as on the topside of the
templet, are helpful. Diagonal braces, spotwelded or

Book Contents

wired to the bolts, are sometimes used to keep the

lower ends of bolts from getting out of line.
When placing concrete in the foundation, care should
be taken to puddle or vibrate the concrete around the
bolts without disturbing their position. After the concrete has been placed but before it has hardened, it is
advisable to check the position of bolts and to be sure
that they stand vertically.
When bolts are to be placed in hardened concrete it
is necessary to drill holes larger than the bolt, then
fasten the bolt in the hole. The holes are often made
with star drills. Electric rotating drills have been used
for smaller holes up to about ?4in., and core drills are
used for holes larger than about 3-in. diameter. Attempts are sometimes made to make the hole larger at
the bottom than at the top. One method when using a
star drill is to drill the hole vertically a few inches, then
tilt and rotate the top of the drill to form a tapered
hole. Another method is to drill the hole vertically the
full depth; then a smaller drill held at an angle is used
to taper the bottom of the hole.
While various materials have been used to fill the
annular space around anchor bolts set in drilled holes,
nonshrink cement grout is widely used because it has
proved very effective in bonding the bolt securely in
place. A minimum clearance of l/4 in. around the bolt
is desirable for grouting, although clearances of % to l/2
in. are better. Bolts fitted with washers are used in
some casesto increase anchorage, but of course larger
diameter holes are then necessary.
When the hole is ready to be grouted it should be
free of water, particles of concrete, and other materials.
Bolts free to move can be moved up and down a few
times to free the grout of air and obtain consolidation.
When the bolt is fixed, care should be taken in placing
the grout to entrap as little air as possible; a small rod
or stiff wire can be used to puddle the grout.
As in all other work in which portland cement is
used, grout used in setting column or machine bases
and anchor bolts should be protected from rapid drying.
Exposed surfaces of freshly placed grout should be
protected for a few days by covering with burlap that is
kept wet or protected by other means. This precaution
will prevent crazing and cracking that accompany rapid drying. It also produces a stronger grout having a
higher bond value.
There is a wide array of proprietary concrete anchors
for fastening objects to concrete. This discussion has
been primarily concerned with cast-in-place anchor
bolts and bolts set into drilled holes using cementitious
grouts. For more information, see Fastening to Concrete, Concrete Technology Today, PL831 B, Portland
Cement Association, March 1983, and A Guide to
Concrete Anchors, by Paul Hollenbach, The Journal
ofLight Construction, Vol. 7, No. 6, March 1989, Richmond, Vermont, pages 39-45.

Grout
Proprietary preblended nonshrink grout, meeting
ASTM C 1107or Corps of Engineers specification CRDC621 is usually used for grouting machine bases, col-

ulmn baseplates, anchors, and joints in precast panel

construction. Preblended nonshrink grout, usually
packaged in bags, contains cement, dry sand, waterretentive admixtures, and expansive admixtures or
ingredients to which only water is added at the jobsite.
Unlike plain grout, nonshrink grout is usually chosen
because it is formulated to have no shrinkage in the
moist state and have little to no bleeding; it usually
expands slightly to squeeze out excesswater and holds
firmly against the item grouted. If grout shrinks or
bleed water collects at the surface, a steel plate, for
example, will not be bonded to the grout and will not
be properly supported. If grout expands in the unhardened state and shrinks after hardening, a void can also
develop. Excessive expansion of grout after hardening
can move the grouted item and severely crack the
grout. Field-proportioned nonshrink grout, with 1 part
cement to 1.5 to 2.5 parts sand by weight plus special
admixtures, is usually used only on very large projects.
All grouts should be tested for specification compliance. Also seethe section on Volume Changes under
Grout Properties for more information on nonshrink grout.
Shrinkage or expansion properties can be tested
using the procedures in Corps of Engineers CRD-C621,
ASTM C 1090, or ASTM C 827. CRD-C621 and ASTM
C 1090 measure hardened, nonevaporative volume
change from the time placed after unhardened grout is
restrained. ASTM C 827 measures volume change in
the unhardened state (evaporable or nonevaporable
condition) but does not restrain the unhardened grout.
Compressive-strength test cubes (ASTM C 109) must
be restrained from all sides to simulate the confined
conditions common to these grouting applications.
Clompressive strength is generally 5000 to 8000 psi.
Csonsistency tests, such aasthe flow-cone test (ASTM
C 939) or flow-table test (see ASTM C 230 and C 827)
camgive an indication of the worlkability, placeability,
and working life and can be used as a quality-control
measure. Working life is around 10 to 45 minutes. Too
short a working time (rapid stiffening) can result in
ineffective placement and consolidation, voids, loss of
contact area with the grouted element, cold joints,
blockage, and other problems if grouting is not performed in a very timely manner. Excessively long
working time can allow bleeding and water pockets.
T.he working time should be sufficient to pump, plunge
(tamp), or vibrate the grout in a comfortable time
period.
Metallic and nonmetallic nonshrink grouts are
available. Both contain cement, mineral aggregate,and
admixtures, but metallic grout also has a metallic aggregate. Older catalyzed metallic grouts relied on oxidation of metallic particles for expansion whereas
modern metallic grouts usually have expansion systems (often with air- or gas-forming materials) like
nonmetallic grout.
If nonshrink grout is not available, a regular stiff (dry
pack) sand-cement grout can be used, but with great
caution (see Fig. 23). Dry-pack grout has about 2.5 to
3 parts sand to 1 part cement by weight. Settlement or
shrinkage of the grout can be reduced to a minimum
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by delaying its placing. The grout should be mixed,

then allowed to stand in a mortar box or other container for about 1 to 2 hours to allow prehydration, then be
remixed thoroughly without adding water. It is desirable to keep the mortar box covered to prevent evaporation. Dry-pack grout must be rammed or tamped
into place and therefore is difficult to use. Tests should
be run to make sure this grout and procedure are
acceptable for particular projects.

Preparation

for Grouting

Concrete surfaces to be grouted must be clean and free

of curing compounds, oil, coatings, and dirt. The surface should be roughened to a depth of r/4 in. by
sandblasting, waterblasting, lightweight chipping, or
other methods to provide a better mechanical bond
(see ASTM D4258 and D4259). The surface can be
roughened before the concrete is hardened. The metal
surfaces to be grouted, such as machine bases, and
column baseplates, should be thoroughly cleaned to
expose bare metal just before grouting to provide
maximum bond between the grout and metal. Holes
for anchors should be cored or drilled and must be
clean and free of water, dust, and debris. Water can be
blown out of grout holes with oil-free compressed air.
Machine or structural elements that must not be
bonded to the grout should be covered with plastic
sheeting or a debonding agent. Concrete surfaces should
be moistened for about 24 hours before grouting to
prevent moisture loss from the grout to the concrete;
however, no free-standing water should be present while
grouting.
Foundation plates should be leveled and set to the
desired location by shimming or adjusting the leveling
and locking nuts. The minimum clearance between the
plate and base concrete should be 1 in. plus (1) l/2 in.
for each foot of flow length over 1 ft for flowable grout,
(2) 1 in. for plastic grout, and (3) i/4 in. for fluid grout.
Pumped grout need not have extra clearance. Drypack-grout clearance should be 1 to 2 in. (dry-packing
should be limited to about 112 ft in any one direction).
Spaces greater than 3 in. deep can be grouted with a
pea-gravel grout to reduce temperature rise and volume change. If pea gravel is not available, I- to 3-in.
lifts of nonshrink grout can be used. Equipment anchors should be a significant distance away from the
edge of the grout face to avoid cracking. Expansion
joints every 3 to 4 ft and uniformly spaced reinforcing
steel should be considered for very long grout placements to minimize cracking. To avoid rapid setting of
the grout, do not let the steel plates get excessively hot
in the sun; also, do not let them get so cold that
hardening of the grout may be retarded or the grout
may freeze.
Forms, if needed, should be properly secured and
form-release agents applied. The grout space should be
designed to avoid air entrapment. In large baseplates,
use air relief holes at each point where air may be
trapped and use grouting holes to provide grouting
access(Fig. 27). Grout holes should be spaced no more
than 4 ft apart and they should be 3/4in. to 2 in. in

diameter for pressure grouting and 3 in. to 6 in. for

free-pouring grout.
A 2-in.-diameter hole in the concrete should be used
for anchors an inch or less in diameter. Larger anchors
should have a hole diameter of twice the bolt diameter.
Often the hole can be filled with grout first and then
the anchor inserted into the hole and vibrated. Drilling
anchor holes after a machine is in place is an efficient
and accurate method that avoids the chance that preset
anchors may need to be moved due to placing inaccuracies or machine changes.

Mixing and Placing Grout

Grout for baseplates, anchors, and precast-panel joints
should be mixed to a uniform condition in a horizontal
shaft, mortar mixer. Only the specified amount of
water should be added so as not to exceed the required
water-cement ratio. The water is added to the mixer
followed by the dry ingredients. The grout should be
mixed for 3 to 5 minutes or as specified by the product
manufacturer. The water content and consistency of
the grout depend upon the grouting application and
grout product. Small placements with easy access can
use a dry-pack or stiff plastic grout with a nonsag
consistency that does not need forming (see Fig. 23).
Dry-pack grout should be compacted in layers of about
Y2 in., with the layer interface slightly roughened. Stiff
plastic grout is used for small baseplates, filling joints
between cast-in-place concrete and precast panels, and
grouting short anchors. A flowable grout is thinner
than a stiff plastic grout but thicker than a fluid grout.
Flowable grout needs a form for placement and is used
for grouting moderate-size plates, joints between precast concrete elements, and long anchors. Vibration,
pumping, air holes, and grout holes can be used to
assist in placing flowable grout in difficult locations
such as those with large plates, shear keys, skirt plates,
and waffle plates. A fluid grout with a self-leveling
consistency and flow-cone time of 10to 30 seconds can
be used with watertight forms for tight clearances. In
any case, it is usually best to use the stiffest grout that
can be placed for the application to minimize both
shrinkage and the formation of voids at the surface.
Retempering (adding water and remixing to regain
original consistency) should not be allowed as it can
result in excessive shrinkage and reduced strength.
Also see the section Consistency under Grout
Properties.
After mixing, grout must be placed within its working time. Grout must be placed in a continuous monolithic manner to avoid cold joints and to completely
fill the grout space and produce intimate contact with
the grouted item. The grout should be placed in one
direction from one side to the other to monitor grout
movement properly and to avoid air entrapment. Stiffplastic, plastic, and flowable grout can be plunged and
vibrated into place. Steel straps, moved back and forth,
can facilitate placement. Vibration of fluid mixes should
be avoided as vibration may cause bleeding and air
entrapment.
Pumping is very useful to transport grout long distances, to grout several small or large locations, to

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grout difficult installations with many obstructions,

and to grout long vertical and horizontal anchors. The
pumpline nozzle should remain in the grout during
grouting to avoid air entrapment and the placement
should move from the back of the plate to the front.
Before pumping, the pump, line, and nozzle should be
flushed with water and a cleansing plug sent through
the hose to check for blockage and to wet the line.
Grouting should continue until the grout in the form is
either (1) higher than the bottom of the baseplate or
(2) higher than the highest required grout level.
After placement but before final set, the forms can
be removed, the grout cut back at a 45-degree angle
down from the baseplate to the concrete base, finished
with a wood float or brush finish, and cured at 40 to 90
degrees F with wet burlap or plastic sheet for 7 days or
as specified. To avoid edge-cracking and spalling, a 45degree grout face is recommended (see Fig. 26), although a vertical, flush grout face is also satisfactory.
Inadequate curing, early wetting and drying, or excessive finishing can cause hairline cracks. Machinery can
be put into service immediately following the grout
curing period. References 7,43, 63,65 and 71.

PREPLACED-AGGREGATE

tact of the coarse aggregate, its drying shrinkage is

reduced 50% or more. The low drying shrinkage (along
with thermal and strength properties similar to normal
concrete) makes preplaced-aggregate concrete an excellent repair material as few stresses would exist at the
old and new concrete interface. This method of placing
concrete has been used in the construction of bridge
piers, atomic reactor shielding, heavyweight concrete
placement, reactor vessels, and architectural concrete.
It has also been used to form plugs for outlet works in
dams and tunnels, for embedment of penstock and
turbine scroll cases,and for a variety of repair work.
While general contractors can train their crews to do
this work, it usually is subcontracted to a specialty
contractor with the necessary equipment and an experienced crew.

Materials and Proportioning

Grout for preplaced aggregateconcrete usually consists
of (1) cement (ASTM C 150 or C 595), (2) pozzolan
(ASTM C 618) (3) fine aggregate meeting the grading
in Table 8 and requirements other than grading of
ASTM C 33, and (4) admixtures (ASTM C 494), particularly grout fluidifiers (ASTM C 937) to reduce
bleeding, water content, cement content, and watercement ratio. Retarding admixtures (ASTM C 494)
also are used to keep the grout plastic for long placing
times and to allow insert pipes to remain in the grout
for long periods. Air-entraining admixtures (ASTM
C 260) can be added to improve freeze-thaw resistance.
The preplaced coarse aggregate (not in the grout)
must be clean and meet the grading requirements in
Table 7 and the requirements other than grading in
ASTM C 33. The aggregateis usually graded to exclude
sizes under Y2 in. and to have a void content of 35% to
as high as 50%. One cubic yard of preplaced-aggregate
concrete uses 27 cu ft of coarse aggregate by bulk
volume, due to the point-to-point aggregatecontact.

CONCRETE

Concrete can be made by injecting a cement-sand grout

into a mass of preplaced coarse aggregate.This method
of placing concrete is especially adaptable to underwater construction because of the ability of the grout
to effectively displace water surrounding the aggregate.
It is adaptable to repair work and in general to new
structures where placement by conventional means
may be difficult because of the extreme congestion of
reinforcement or embedded items.
Where concrete of low volume change is required,
preplaced-aggregate concrete has a marked advantage
over normal concrete; because of point-to-point con-

Table 8. Gradation Limits for Coarse and Fine Aggregates

Preplaced-Agwegate
Concrete

Sieve size
Coarse aggregate
1% in.
1 in.
V4in.
% in.
3/8in.

Grading 1
For % in.
minimum size
coarse aggregate,
percent passing
95-100
40-80
20-45
o-1 0
o-2

Grading 2
For 3/4 in.
minimum size
coarse aggregate,
percent passing
O-10
;I:

Fine ;gzr;gate
No.

NO. 16
No. 30
No. 50
No. 100
No. 200
Fineness modulus
Adapted from Reference 40

100
95-l 00
55-80
30-55
1 O-30
O-10
1.30-2.10

loo
95-100
55-80
30-55
1 O-30
O-10
1.30-2.10

for

Grading 3
For 1%~in.
minimum size
coarse aggregate,
percent passing
13.5
.I 00
90-l 00
80-90
55-70
26-50
5-30
O-10
1.6%2.25

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The water to cement plus pozzolan ratio usually

ranges between 0.4 and 0.5 by weight and the ratio of
cement to pozzolan is around 3 to 1 by weight for
normal strength (3000 to 5000 psi) concrete. The
amount and size of fine aggregate used in the grout
depends on the strength, pumpability, and voidpenetrability requirements. A ratio of 1 part cementitious material to 1 part sand by weight is common for
structural applications. Massive applications will use a
ratio of up to 1 to 3 with grading 3 aggregate. An
example of a 3000 psi and 4000 psi mix (at 28 days)
would be a 2:1:3 mix and 3:1:4 mix (cement:fly
ash:sand). Coarse aggregate content of the final concrete product is more than is used in conventional
concrete.
The consistency of the grout when tested in the
ASTM C 939 flow cone should have efflux times (flow
times) of about 22 seconds for walls and repair work,
18 to 26 seconds for underwater and mass concrete
placements, and 35 to 40 seconds for high-strength and
special applications. The composition and consistency
of the grout is related to the coarse-aggregate size,
mixer-charging sequence, mixing time, and injection
procedure. The grout must be proportioned in the
laboratory according to ASTM C 938. The following
tests are used to establish grout mix proportions and
properties: flow-ASTM C 939; expansion and bleeding of freshly mixed grout-ASTM C 940; water retentivity-ASTM
C 941; and compressive strengthASTM C 942. The compressive strength and density
of preplaced-aggregate concrete can be determined by
ASTM C 943 cast cylinders or by core testing.

Preparation

and Placement

Conventional forms may be used for preplacedaggregate concrete but they must be properly aligned,
rigidly supported, and sufficiently watertight. If the
forms are not watertight the grout may leak through.
Certain nonhardening joint sealants should not be
used to seal forms as the sealer may yield under the
grout pressure. The forms must resist the fluid pressure
of grout normally weighing 125 to 130 pcf
For repair work, deteriorated concrete must be removed to expose clean, sound concrete before placing
forms, which should be at least 3 in. from the exposed
concrete surface.

Delivery, Insert, and Vent Pipes

A single-line pipe system is preferred over manifold
systems to properly distribute the grout within the
aggregate. The line should be of a size able to deliver
grout at a velocity of 2 to 4 ft per second. Too slow a
velocity can cause segregation and line blockage. An
excessively rapid flow can cause grout to flow over
adjacent grout (producing air pockets) rather than permeate through the aggregateupward from the bottom.
The grout delivery hose, rated at 400 psi or more,
should have a diameter of 114 to 1l/2 in. for 500-ft
lengths and 2 in. for IOOO-ftlengths. Insert pipes of 3/4
in. to 1*/2in. diameter spaced 4 to 12 ft apart are used

to inject the grout into the mass of preplaced aggregate.

Schedule 40 pipe is used for depths of up to 50 ft.
Greater depths may require Schedule 120 or other
stronger pipe. The pipe should be placed vertically
within 6 in. of the bottom or placed horizontally at
various locations. Valves should be rapidly responsive
and of the plug or ball type. As a rule of thumb, the
grout will form a 1:4 (vertical to horizontal) slope in
air and a 1:6 slope underwater. Vent pipes should be
placed through blockouts or other obstructions to remove entrapped air or water and to allow grouting to
proceed. Grout should come through the vent pipe
upon filling the grout space.

Placing Coarse Aggregate

After forms are in place and loose fine material is
removed from the foundation or placement area, the
washed and screened coarse aggregate can be placed
into the forms. The aggregate should not be flushed
with water after its in place to avoid stirring up fines
that could coat the lower aggregate and interfere with
bond to the grout or cause honeycomb. For underwater
placements with fine materials present, the aggregate
should be lowered in a manner that will minimize
disturbance of any fine sediment. For dry placements,
water can be slowly placed in the form through the
grouting pipes to wet the aggregate for grouting and
minimize disturbance of fines. The water level should
be above the coarse-aggregate or grout level to maintain the aggregate in a saturated state. The saturated
aggregateprevents water loss from the grout and grout
thickening. The water is usually left in the form during
grouting but it can be drained away just prior to grouting as long as the aggregate stays wet.
Coarse aggregate can be placed with buckets and
flexible elephant trunks to prevent segregation, placed
underwater through pipes to control the placing rate
and minimize stirring up fines, or placed by bottom
dump barges or self-unloading ships. Consolidation of
the aggregate by vibration or rodding is usually not
needed; however, rodding and air lancing can be helpful in areas with large amounts of reinforcement or
with overhead repairs. Grouting should be done shortly after placing the aggregate in water to avoid fines
from settling on the aggregate, especially in highly
organic or sludge-laden waters.

Grouting
The grout can be mixed in a (1) vertical-spindle paddletype double-tub mixer (most common), (2) horizontalshaft mixer for large jobs, (3) pan or turbine mixer, (4)
revolving-drum concrete mixer, or (5) colloidal (shear)
mixer that mixes cement and water at a high speed
first, followed by mixing with sand in an open impeller
pump. The grout is then transported with a positive
displacement-type pump to the injection point. A gage
on the pump assists in monitoring the grout placement.
Both the horizontal-layer and advancing-slope injection techniques start grouting at the lowest location in

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the forms or placement. The horizontal-layer method

completes one layer of grout before the next layer is
started; however, vertical insert pipes must remain
embedded at least 1 ft in grout as they are withdrawn
with each injection or layer. With horizontal insert
pipes, grouting continues until grout flows through the
next-higher insert or port. The next lift is injected
through the insert above the completed layer. This
continues until the formation of several layers fills the
form.
The advancing-slope injection technique is used
for wide (not deep) applications not suited for the
horizontal-layer method. With advancing slope, the
first set of inserts at the narrow portion of the form is
grouted until the grout surfaces. The grout slope, usually 1:5 to 1:10 (vertical to horizontal), is advanced
across the placement with continued pumping until
the form is filled.
Injection rates vary from about 1 to 4 cu ft per
minute depending on the pumping equipment,
aggregate void content, grout fluidity, and type of
placement. The grouts surface should be monitored
constantly to control the placement. The grout surface
can be observed through the horizontal inserts or, in
vertical placements, can be observed by checking the
grout depths in a 2-in.-diameter pipe with */l-in. slots.
An underwater 1-in.-diameter float, resting on top of
the grout, helps make the depth determination. The
grout depth-check pipes are left in place and not removed after grouting. Electronic depth-detection systems are also available.

POSTPLACED-AGGREGATE

CONCRETE

Postplaced-aggregate concrete is an alternate procedure to preplaced-aggregate concrete. With postplacedaggregate concrete, the grout is placed in the form or
cavity first, followed by placement of the aggregate.
The grout mixtures can be proportioned with a lower
water content since pumping through injection pipes
is not necessary. The grout level must be kept above
the aggregate. This method of placing concrete can be
quick and economical. Much of the discussion on
aipplication and materials for preplaced-aggregate concrete also applies here. However., preplaced-aggregate
concrete would be expected to have less shrinkage than
postplaced-aggregate concrete because of the better
point-to-point contact betweeen aggregate particles.
R.eference35.

RESTORING OLD STONE MASONRY BY

PRESSURE GROUTING
This discussion is confined largely to pressure grouting
old stone masonry structures of two types: (1) those
with earth on the far side, suclh as retaining walls,
abutments, and solid spandrel arches; (2) those not
backed by earth, such as piers and open spandrel
arches.

Grout
Joints and Finishing
If grouting is delayed beyond the time the grout stays
plastic, a cold joint can be allowed to form by pulling
insert pipes out to a level just above the grout. Grouting is later continued by bringing the insert pipes near
the hardened grout surface and slowly pumping grout
to embed the ends of the pipes again. Bond strength
across the joint is usually adequate as the coarse aggregate particles protrude from the previous grout layer
into the new grout layer. Construction joints are formed
like cold joints except the grout layer should be about
12 in. below the coarse-aggregatesurface. If the grout
is brought to the surface, the smooth surface must
be abraded by chipping or sandblasting to resume
construction.
The last layer or surface grout must be placed slowly
enough to avoid displacing the aggregate.A removable
wire screen can help hold surface aggregate in place.
Although internal vibration should be avoided, external form vibration can help smooth the surface at the
form.
Horizontal

surfaces

can be screeded

or troweled

by

flooding the aggregate with grout, working pea gravel

into the surface and finishing as per conventional castin-place concrete. The concrete is then cured like conventional concrete. See References 40, 44, 66, and 81
for further information.

The size of the particles in the grout and the consistency of the grout must be suited to the passagewaysit
must follow. Neat grout will not flow freely into spaces
smaller than about three times the largest cement particle, which, based on the 0.002!8-in. opening in the
200-mesh sieve, would be 0.0084 in. These limitations
also apply to other finely pulverized materials and
s.and.
Except in large cavities where thick mortar or concrete can be placed, sand should all pass the 30-mesh
sieve and have a large portion passing the 50- and the
loo-mesh sieves. Coarser particles will settle out of
suspension and lose their coating of cement paste.
Mortar sand is usually satisfactory.
The proportions of portland cement to sand will
depend upon the size of spaces to be filled and will
vary from a neat grout to about a 1:l cement to sand
mix.
Mixing is best done mechanically. It is best to put
50% or more of the mixing water into the mixer before
the dry ingredients and then the remaining water. A
continuous supply of grout is preferable to an intermittent one, especially for the larger job and where each
h[ole requires

a large

volume

of grout.

In determining the consistency to use, it is desirable

to start with a definite volume of mixing water and 1
bag of portland cement. For grouting old masonry it
should seldom be necessary to use more than 10 to.12
g,allons of water per bag of cement. If this first mixture
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is taken readily, then, with the same amount of water

and more cement, repeat the trials until the consistency is satisfactory. Grouts with as little as 4/2 gallons of
water per bag of cement have been handled.

Where the mixer and pump are combined in one

unit, the dry material should be screened before mixing. If the mixer and pump are in separate units, the
grout should pass through a screen before it enters the
pump.

Holes

Discharge Lines

In general, a suitable size for the hole is 1l/2 in. in

diameter, and the number of holes provided should be
liberal. Holes are usually drilled perpendicular to the
face; although, for grouting footings, holes may be
drilled at 45 degrees or other convenient angles.
Where it is desired to form a blanket of grout at the
back of a wall or arch, the holes should be drilled
entirely through the wall. When grouting in such holes,
the contractor should be on the alert to detect the
escapeof wasteful quantities of grout.
In some cases, holes drilled vertically from top to
bottom of a wall or pier, even penetrating the foundation, are advisable. With this method, pipe smaller
than the drilled holes and having a short section of
flexible hose (packers) near their ends, are inserted
nearly to the bottom of the holes. Progressively the
pipe with the packers are pulled up as grouting is
completed at various levels. The grout pressure causes
the packer to swell and confines the grout flow to the
lower layers.

The grout pump should be placed near the point of

delivery. In some cases it is desirable to insert short
(8-in.-long) pipe nipples into the drilled holes. These
nipples are threaded to receive a pipe coupling from
the delivery line. In many cases if the delivery pipe
has a rubber-hose terminal, the pressure of the grout
will hold it tightly enough in the hole without other
provision.
Where a single line is used for grout delivery, a
blowoff near the discharge end of the line is useful to
prevent plugging, to release air pressure and to clean
out the line. This may be easily arranged by supplying
a tee just back of the end plug cock and attaching a
l-in. plug cock and pipe to the side outlet of the tee.

Pressure
It is rarely necessary to use pressures in excess of 100
psi and pressures greater than 25 to 50 psi are seldom
needed. Pressure should be steady to ensure a continuous flow of grout. If pneumatic equipment is used, it
is important to cut the supply of air as soon as grout
flow ceases. Where the grouting equipment is located
above the point of application, gravity without the
assistance of a grout pump will often be sufficient.

Mixing Equipment
It is important that the grout supply be continuous
to keep the grout pumps working effectively. Five bags
of cement, 5 cu ft of sand, and enough water to give
the desired consistency can be mixed with hand tools
in a wood box 16 ft long, 2 ft wide, and 1 ft deep,
Smaller mixing boxes are used where less grout is to be
handled.
Power-driven grout mixers are preferable to hand
mixing, although a small concrete mixer with the clearances in back of the mixer blades closed and splash
plates fixed at the discharge chute may be used. It is
desirable that the mixer discharge through a screen
into a tank or a sump equipped with an agitator.
Paddle blades on a shaft mounted in a horizontal
cylindrical tank turned by motor are also satisfactory.
The agitator tank serves as an air chamber from which
the grout may be discharged into the delivery line.
A small mud jack has also been satisfactorily
employed.

Grouting Procedure
Where the objective is to solidify the interior of old
stone masonry, grout holes should be drilled to within
a short distance of the opposite face. The sealing or
pointing of joints should be deferred until after pressure grouting so that they may serve as vents for the
water and air displaced as grouting progresses.
The order of grouting of holes-whether from top to
bottom, or vice versa-is usually immaterial if the air
and water are allowed to escape. Grouting should be
continued at any one hole until refusal. Should the
grout escape from an adjacent nipple or hole it should
be plugged or capped and any seams, cracks, or joints
through which grout escapes should be talked with
paper or burlap as soon as thick grout appears. Grouting should progress around a structure until all holes
at any one level have been completely grouted.
The choice of grout consistency is made by trial as
already described. It is frequently advisable to pump
clear water into the holes at the start of operations
in order to wash out dirt and other fine material, as
well as to establish a guide for the proper consistency
of the grout. After the completion of each grouting
operation or temporary shutdown, it is advisable to
force clear water through the pump until the discharge
line

flows

clear,

after

which

cover

should

be

ROCK GROUTING
Portland cement grout placed under pressure is used
to seal fissures, cracks, and bedding planes in limestone, sandstone, shale, and other rock formations.
This makes rock foundations under dams structurally
adequate (by improving bearing capacity of unstable

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Publication List

the pump

removed and the valve chambers thoroughly cleaned.

Reference 8.

Book Contents

or heavily fractured rock) or watertight (by using grout

curtains-Fig. 28). Concrete tunnel linings are often
grouted to seal the spacebetween the concrete and rock
or soil. The grouting of tunnels also strengthens and
waterproofs these underground excavations. Although
the following discussion is aimed at grouting rock
foundations under dams, it is also applicable to grouting for other related purposes.

TypIcal vertical

grout curtain

Range of grout-curtain

Extent and Location of Grout

Surface geology, cores from drill holes, and results from
water pressure tests are important guides in planning
a grouting program. In addition, refined pressure testing, the electric resistivity log, the borehole camera,
and case histories should be used to evaluate the grouting and estimate length of grout holes and quantities
of materials required. The natural groundwater table
is a useful indicator of subsurface conditions.
The foundation of a high dam must be grouted more
carefully and to a greater depth than is necessary for a
low dam because of the higher pressure that forces
water through seams and cracks. A section of the
foundation along the upstream edge of the dam must
be made impervious to form a watertight curtain. This
curtain need not be thick, but it must withstand the
water pressure and must extend beyond the ends of the
dam and to a depth that will prevent water from going
around it. It must reach and make watertight any
stratum of broken or seamy rock exposed to the surface
in the reservoir area in the vicinity of the dam even if
this stratum is below an impervious stratum at the
damsite.
Grout curtains are made up of one or more lines of
grout holes placed roughly perpendicular to the
groundwater flow lines to cut off or reduce water flow.
The depth increases with anticipated hydrostatic head.
A rough rule of thumb is to place the grout curtain to
a depth of two-thirds the dams hydraulic height.
Area grouting (consolidation grouting) uses a regular
pattern of closely spaced holes in shallow zones to
increase bearing capacity and reduce groundwater flow
and piping of dam materials. Cavity filling uses a sandy
grout to fill voids.
Rarely is it necessary to grout rock with a permeability of less than 10-j cm/set. (1 Lugeon permeability
unit); cement grout can be used to grout rock with
permeabilities greater than this. Normal cement grout
can be used in fissures as small as about 0.1 mm (0.004
in.) although successful cement grout permeation is
often limited to 0.5-mm (0.02-in.) fissures and larger.
Ultrafine cement can be used for smaller fissures. See
References 15, 25, 35, and 36 (pages 129-151) for
further information.

Grouting Methods

(a) Earth-core

Typical grout-curtam

gravity

Fig. 28. Examples

Range of grout-curtoln

position
positions

dam

of grout-curtain

locations for dams.

alpart. After the primary holes are grouted, secondary

hfoles are drilled between primary holes and grouted.
Additional holes are drilled and grouted if necessary to
split the spacing of the previous holes. This technique
is used in conjunction with some of the following
grouting methods.
Ascending-stage grouting, also called stop grouting,
piacker grouting, and upstaging, is a preferred method
in which the grout hole is drilled to its full depth. The
holes are washed and pressure te:sted with water for 5
minutes. Packers (devices inserted in holes to localize
grouting) are set and zones or stages are grouted at
successive stops from the bottom to the top of the
grout hole. The packers or expanding plugs are set at
successively higher positions in the hole with each
stage until the top is reached.
Descending-stage grouting, also called successivestage grouting and simply stage grouting, consists of
drilling the first-stage hole, washing and pressure testing it, grouting the hole, and then washing the grout
out of the hole. After 24 hours, the next stage hole is
drilled and the above procedure repeated for this and
subsequent holes until the specified depth is achieved.
Grouting

A brief discussion of common grouting methods follows. A combination of more than one method at a
time is commonly used.
The split-spaced method is performed by drilling
and grouting primary holes first, usually 10 to 40 ft

dam

L
(b) Concrete

pasltlons

pressure

increases

with

each downward

stage.

Series grouting is similar to descending-stage grouting, except that the grout hardens in the hole (is not
washed out) and therefore the hole for the next stage
must be drilled through the previous stage along with
the rock below.
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In single-stage grouting, the full depth of the hole is

drilled; the hole is washed and pressure tested and then
grouted in one stage. It is used in grouting shallow
holes, about 20 ft deep, in relatively sound rock containing only small cracks and joints.
In multiple-hole or manifold grouting several holes
are grouted simultaneously from one pump. Only one
hole is grouted at a time with traditional methods.
Multiple-hole grouting uses a manifold to control grout
distribution (flow) and pressure. The grouting equipment is highly instrumented to monitor and control
the grouting operation accurately. See Reference 32,
pages 792-808.
Circuit grouting uses an in-flow and out-flow grouting line. Grout is circulated in and out of the hole if
the grout does not infiltrate the zone being grouted.
The hole may be entirely or partially grouted at one
time.
In gravity grouting, also called tremie grouting, grout
is pumped into an open hole. When grout flows from
the borehole, pumping continues and the tremie pipe
is slowly raised. Gravity grouting is commonly used
for borehole backfilling and cavity filling.

Grout Mixtures
Grout for sealing rock foundations to make them watertight or for increasing bearing capacity should consist of portland cement and water. The water-cement
ratio by bulk volume* normally ranges from 0.6:1 to
6: 1; however, mixtures used may vary from thick grout,
with a water-cement ratio of 0.5: 1 to l:l, to very thin
grout with a water-cement ratio of 6: 1 to 30: 1 depending on conditions or technique. The general approach
of thickening the grout as grouting progresses has been
very successful. The goal of thickening is to use the
thickest practical grout that can be placed without
affecting reasonable penetration. Initial grouting with
thick grouts can lead to bulking and inadequate filling
of fine voids. Continued use of unnecessarily thin grout
leads to formation of bleed-water pockets. Thin grout
is also less durable than thick grout in the presence of
percolating groundwater.
Thick grout is used when openings are large and it is
necessary to plug them quickly to prevent useless
grouting of large areas or waste of grout that escapesto
the surface. However, thin grout can be forced into
small openings at lower pressure than thick grout.
When grout escapes to the surface, or an excessive
amount is taken by a single hole (more than 20 cu ft in
a 15-minute run for 50-ft stages),grout is being wasted
and the hole should be grouted with thicker grout.
Experience and judgment are needed to determine best
consistency.
A water-cement ratio of 2: 1 by volume is considered
an optimum and very successful basic mix. A ratio of
3: 1 is often used and suggested for the starting mix for
fine cracks (0.75 mm) and a ratio of 1:1 for wide cracks
(1.25 to 2.5 mm). Grouts with water-cement ratios
greater (thinner) than 5:l have been known to be
nondurable under certain circumstances. This is due
to their being leached away by water seepageover time

and incomplete grout filling caused by bleed pockets.

Also, overly thin grouts can be washed away with
seepage during grouting. The thickest grout that will
penetrate the rock should be used to maximize durability of the grout. In light of this, the practice of
thickening the grout as grouting progresses is very
beneficial. For example, the starting grout may have a
water-cement ratio by volume of 5:l to 2:l and as
grouting progresses, the grout water-cement ratio is
reduced to a point that does not adversely affect the
grouting. Suggested thickening steps are 3:1, 2:1, l:l,
0.8:1, 0.6:1, and 0.5:1 (Reference 32, pages 317-331,
and Reference 57). The time at which a grout is thickened depends on the grout take. Generally the steps
are taken after a certain minimum period of time for
the quantity of grout take to allow grouting of the finest
voids. Grouting continues in stages until refusal. Too
thick a grout chokes off the hole. Some engineers desire
the minimum grout strength to be 700 to 1400 psi
(Reference 32, page 291).
Depending on the availability of the right type of
cement, a fine-grained cement is preferred because
larger cement grains tend to form a bridge that
prevents further grouting of a fissure. Cement for crack
and joint grouting should be sufficiently fine to permeate very thin openings and be slow setting to prevent partial set and plugging of the grout system before
the spaces are completely filled. Generally an airseparated cement with 100% passing a No. loo-mesh
sieve (150-micron sieve) will be satisfactory. Fly ash,
clay, or other pozzolans and very fine sand can also be
used in some instances. Most regular portland cement
particles are less than 75 microns (0.003 in.).
Very fine rock fissures, less than about 0.1 mm to 0.5
mm, are not always possible to grout with normal
portland cement grouts because the cement particles
are too large. Extra-fine-ground portland cement or
microfine (ultrafine) cement with particles less than
about 10 microns can be used in neat grout to grout
voids that are too small for normal cement (see References 32, pages 77-91, and 37, pages 129-151).
Grout is mixed in paddle-type mixers powered by
air motors or high-speed colloidal impeller mixers
(necessary for mixes with bentonite). Vertical paddletype agitators keep cement in suspension after mixing
and maintain the grout supply for the pump. Colloidal
mixers produce grout of greater uniformity, pumpability, and permeation than regular mechanical mixers.

Pressures
The grouting pressure used depends on rock and fissure characteristics and the objective of the grouting.
The U.S. rule of thumb for maximum pressure is 1 psi
per foot of rock cover plus 0.5 psi per foot of soil
overburden. European practice uses higher pressures,
up to 4.4 psi per foot to betterpenetrateand dilate the
fissures. Some specifications permit grouting at pressures equivalent to the hydrostatic head of water to be

*Powdered loose volume of cement.

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resisted plus 40% or 50%. Others require pressures of

two or three times the hydrostatic head. Pressures used
on different projects have ranged from 0 to 1000 psi.
Care must be taken to prevent displacing rock by
building up static pressure in horizontal seams. A
lower grouting pressure can be safely used; however, it
requires more holes than would otherwise be necessary.
It is often advantageous to cover the foundation with
a layer of concrete several feet thick before grouting,
especially where rock is badly broken. This permits
higher initial pressures than would be safe without it.
Grouting may be done through this concrete or from a
gallery in the dam a few feet above the rock.
While the U.S. rule of thumb may allow 1 psi per
foot of depth, the pressure to be used in grouting is not
defined by any theory that can tell exactly what pressure to use. It depends on what pressure a given rock
can withstand without fracturing or lifting, and this
can be determined only from a field test.
It is of most importance to have experienced jobsite
grouting supervision. The success and safety of the
grouting program ultimately lie in the judgment of the
field supervisor in adjusting and tailoring grouting
techniques to the conditions encountered in each grout
hole.
Grout pumps are available for low- to high-pressure
grouting. Variable speed is desirable and the pressure
and injection rate must be controllable. The helical
screw-rotor-type pump and duplex-piston-type pump
are most common.

Grout Holes
Each grout hole should be properly located with respect
to other grout holes and geological conditions. The
hole should be angled to intercept the largest practicable number of joints and fractures, and the walls of the
holes should be as clean as possible. Hole spacing starts
with primary holes about 10 to 40 ft (typically 20 to 25
ft) apart; the holes are then grouted. Next secondary
holes are drilled and grouted at regular intervals between the holes previously drilled. Curtain hole spacing as close as 2 to 10 ft may be required. Only in-place
tests can show the effectiveness of grouting treatment
with the final spacing defined by the results achieved.
Grout holes, about 1l/2 in. to 3 in. in diameter, should
be drilled so that the least number of lineal feet of hole
will effectively reach all areas to be grouted. In general,
this will be accomplished by drilling holes in a plane
parallel to the upstream face of the dam. In that plane,
holes should be sloped so that each will cut the largest
number of joints or bedding planes. Care must be
taken to prevent holes from diverging widely and leaving ungrouted areas.
The most effective grout hole is drilled by equipment
that does not plug the seams with sludge. A diamond
rotary drill is the standard and preferred drill. Satisfactory results can be obtained with percussion drills on
shallow holes where cuttings can be easily removed.
However, percussion-type drilled grout holes using air
to remove cuttings typically receive only 30% as much
grout as diamond-rotary-drilled holes (Reference 27).

After drilling, holes are washed and water-pressure

tested.
Grout pipes should be fastened in the holes just deep
enough to stand the pressure without blowing out.
Some attempts have been made to clean out disintegrated and loose material from joints and bedding
planes by drilling a series of holes and forcing water,
compressed air, or a mixture of water and air from one
hole to the next. It is neither possible nor necessary to
wash out the soft material. Usually this process opens
a channel in a seam from one hole to another, providing a means of escape for the grout.

Grouting Procedure
A pattern of primary and secondary holes is usually
followed. Depending on the condition of the rock,
grouting is carried out in ascending (bottom to top) or
descending (top to bottom) stages.The ascending procedure will be followed wherever possible as it is more
economical.
For the ascending procedure, a row of primary holes,
typically 20 to 25 ft apart, is drilled into the rock along
the line to be grouted to form a grout curtain. A pipe is
sealed into the top of each hole or a packer is set to
desired depth. The grout machine is connected to one
of the pipes and grout is forced in. The first batch is
usually made very thin and will usually be taken at low
pressure. If the hole continues to take thin grout at low
pressure, it is evident that the grout is flowing outside
the area where it is needed. The grout is then thickened
as,specified or until refusal at the highest safe pressure.
Typical refusal criteria is about 1 cu ft of grout in 20
minutes at 50 psi, 1 cu ft in 15 minutes at 50 to 100 psi,
and 1 cu ft in 5 minutes at pressures greater than 100
psi. The machine is then disconnected and moved to
the next hole where the operation is repeated. When a
section has been grouted to refusal at the specified
pressure through the first shallow, widely spaced holes,
a second row of holes (spaced evenly between the first)
is drilled to the same depth and grouted in the same
way. Drilling and grouting of holes is continued until
the last holes take only enough grout to fill them and
no more grout can be forced into the rock at the
pressure used. The rock along the grouting line is thus
consolidated so that it will resist displacement and
water as a unit. See References 4, 16, 25, 27, 32, 35, 36,
37, 56, and 57 for more information.

GROUND ANCHORS
Ground anchors are employed in construction whenever load on a structure or structural component may
cause it to move upward or away from its foundation.
Common applications for anchors are in ski jumps,
lighthouses, towers, masts, chimneys, tall buildings, oil
platforms, stabilizing dams and cliffs, weirs, retaining
walls, mines, tunnels, pipelines, water tanks, coffer
dams, roofs, and load tests.
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The use of ground anchors is increasing dramatically

as new uses for them are found and better anchoring
techniques are developed. Anchors wholly in rock are
easily protected against corrosion and can develop
very great capabilities. Permanent rock anchors are
constructed by established, time-proven methods and
have an excellent record of performance.
Anchors in soils such as clay, silt, sand, or gravel are
more complex in every respect. Because of the problems relating to drilling anchor holes in soils, removing
the drilling debris, soil contamination of the grout, and
waterproofing of the drill hole, permanent ground
anchors in soil have rarely been used. Temporary anchors in soil, however, have become widely employed
in basement or retaining-wall applications during
construction.
A ground anchor with a mechanical friction-type
lower anchorage is known as a rock bolt and is widely
used in tunneling and mining for rock support. Portland cement grout provides adhesion between the rock
and bolt and it protects the bolt against corrosion. One
type of rock bolt uses a perforated sleeve and a stiff
sand-cement grout. A grout filler sleeve is inserted into
the drilled hole. When the bolt or ribbed bar is pushed
into the sleeve through the grout, the grout is pushed
through the perforation to tightly fill the space between
the hole and bolt (Reference 26).

Geological

Review

The first and perhaps most important step is to review

the geological environment in which the anchors are to
be set. This review will indicate the feasibility of ground
anchors as well as determine the design of the anchor.
Both lateral and horizontal variations in the ground
must be reviewed and the distance between investigation locations will vary with the ground structure.
Accordingly, soil investigation should occur at least
every 20 yards. Of equal importance is knowing the
total area or dimensions where the anchors will potentially be used, to avoid placing anchors in unexplored
soil (Fig. 29). A knowledge of the ground conditions
cannot be overemphasized as minor variations can
significantly affect the operation of an anchor system.
Thin layers of silt, sand, or clay can have a significant
effect on the shear and softening characteristics of the
soil. In some cases, air or water flushing of the bore
hole can erode sand or silt-filled fissures. As a result,
this can severely reduce or limit the amount of load
that can be carried by anchors in clay or silt. With rock,
any discontinuities, the orientation of the rock, and
joint continuity, are all vital. Soil samples should be
well documented and examined from each stratum and
at maximum intervals of 5 ft in thick strata, along with
intermediate samples for soil-classification analysis. If
the strata is extremely variable, continuous sampling
and analysis may be required especially in and around
the area where the anchor will be located. In the area
where the anchor will be located, soil analysis tests
should be made at least every 3 ft in the bore hole. A
continuous core should be recovered from rock strata,
with core diameters of not less than 3 inches. Double-

PlOll

Fig. 29. Plan of excavation for retaining wall illustrates the

complexity of ground anchoring systems and the need to
study the full site to avoid anchor installation in unexplored
ground. Adapted from Reference 29.

or triple-core barrels should be used when sampling

difficult or weak rock. The density and stress-strain
characteristics are also helpful. Long-term groundwater studies are also essential to the design of the
project and the anchor system.
Classic soil properties should be studied. For example, the grading and permeability of the soil can influence the distance the grout will permeate. Plasticity
indices in cohesive soils can dictate the type of anchor
and drilling method. The shear strength of the soil
should be determined as well as the effect the load will
have on the soil characteristics. Data such as compressibility characteristics will indicate the possibility of
any loss of prestressing. Uniaxial strength and sometimes tensile strength are determined on rock test
cylinders.

Grout Mixture
Ordinary hydraulic cements, including class G oil-well
cements, are used, with consideration given to any
special property such as sulfate resistance. Admixtures, if used, should be intended to increase workability, reduce bleeding, or slightly expand the grout. Admixtures should not have more than 0.1% chlorides,
sulfates, or nitrates, and the use of calcium chloride
admixture is usually forbidden. Many think the grout
should have a minimum 28-day strength of about 5800
psi. The grout should bleed no more than 1% by grout
volume. Water-cement ratio generally ranges from 0.35
to 0.5 by weight.

Drilling
Drilling methods used include rotary, percussion or
rotary-percussion mechanisms, and sometimes vibra-

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SectIon AA

Book Contents

tory driving methods. Diamond core drilling is rarely

used for anchor holes because of high cost and possible
bond reduction due to the smoothness of the bore.
Ideally, the drilling method should cause a minimal
amount of disturbance of the surrounding soil. Care
must also be given to hole stability to ensure that
drilling or flushing does not lose soil. After the holes
are drilled, they should be tested for watertightness by
measuring the rate of water loss or gain in the drill
hole. This will be useful in analyzing the amount of
possible grout loss. If the water loss is greater than
three liters per minute per atmosphere measured over
10 minutes, pregrouting should be performed.

Grouting

The purpose of the grout in a ground anchor is to fix

the anchor so that the applied loads are transferred
from the tendon to the surrounding ground. The grout
also protects the tendon against corrosion and fills
voids or fissures in the ground prior to the installation
of the tendons. Mixing is usually done with high shear
action mixers to obtain a uniform grout. Grouting
should be performed in a continuous operation; if a
delay lasts longer than the setting period of the grout,
the tendon should be removed and the grout flushed
out. After the grout has achieved the specified strength,
the tendon should be stressed to the required force and
monitored to compare it with the behavior of other
control anchors. The tendons should not be stressed
more than 80% of their characteristic strength. After
completion of the construction, the anchors should be
proof loaded to 1.25 to 1.5 times the working load for
temporary and permanent anchors, respectively. Proof
loading will confirm the anchorage design and quickly
pinpoint any major errors in the design or construction. This way the safety and performance of the anchor is ensured up to the proof load. Refer to References 29 and 78 for more information.

done with pneumatically operated rotary percussion

drills.
The mixer should be capable of thorough, homogeneous mixing and should be the positive shear type for
thorough mixing. Some contractors use a high-speed
colloidal mixer operating in the range of 800 to 2000
revolutions per minute. This creates a true colloidal
mix that will keep the solids in suspension and resist
dilution by the free water being displaced from under
the pavement. For small jobs (for example, patio lifting), a mortar mixer is adequate.
The grout pump should be capable of applying 50to 400-psi pressure at the outlet end of the discharge
hose and a pumping rate as low as 0.1 cu ft per minute.
The pump should be of the positive displacement type
and should be equipped with horizontal mixing paddles. The agitation from such mixing maintains a uniform consistency and assists in feeding the grout to the
pumps suction unit.
Grout packers are used to prevent the extrusion of
grout from the injection holes. They are inserted in the
holes and expand under the pressure of pumping.
Hoses carry the grout to the injection holes, bypass
lines ensure continuous circulation, and valve manifolds and pressure gages control pump pressure and
volume. Wooden plugs are driven into the filled holes
as pumping is completed to keep the grout from extruding. Stringline and blocks are used to check vertical alignment during slabjacking operations.

Drilling
Grout holes drilled through a slab are 1VI in. to 2/2 in.
in diameter and are spaced about 5 to 8 ft apart and
1l/2 to 21/2 ft from joints and edges. Holes should be
vertical and carefully drilled so that they are circular
and wood plugs will fit tightly to completely stop grout
extrusion when adjacent areas are grouted.
High-speed drills mounted on large rubber-tire tractors are frequently used for pavements (Fig. 30). The

SLABJACKING
Slabjacking is pressure grouting used to raise a depressed section of pavement or other concrete element
by forcing a flowable grout under it. A slab can be
restored to its original intended appearance and integrity. It is especially helpful in areas where subbases
have been washed away or settlement has occured.
Slabjacking can be used to raise and level walkways,
patios, depressed or sunken floors, tennis courts, or
pavement. When correctly done, slabjacking can be
much more economical than slab replacement, it can
be performed in a short period of time with minimal
disruption to traffic and use of the slab.

Equipment
L

Grout holes can be made with any type of drill that

will produce a clean hole with no surface spalling or
breakouts on the underside of the slab. Most drilling is

Publication List

Fig. 30. (a) Hole drilled through slab for pressure grouting.
(b) Tractor-mounted
drill and attached air compressor. Reference 31.

Book Contents

35

drill frame is sometimes weighted to increase drill

pressure. Units with a hammer weight of 45 lb are
satisfactory; drills of greater weight and greater downward pressure can result in cone-breakout damage
to the underside of the slab and subsequent radial
cracking.
Depth of the grout holes will vary with underlying
materials and construction. In general, drilling should
be through both slab and subbase, as experience has
shown that voids are often found just under the subbase. The exit hole of the grout-injection packer, however, should not be any lower than the bottom of the
concrete slab to allow grout to fill all voids below the
concrete. Where grout flow is difficult to get started,
washing or blowing out a small cavity at the bottom of
the grout hole will furnish a supply of grout to help
initiate its Ilow to surrounding voids.

Grout Mix
Materials for slabjacking grout must yield a mix that
remains insoluble, incompressible, and nonerodable
after it is put in place and has hardened. The grout
must be flowable so that it can move through small
openings to fill existing voids. At the same time the
grout must have sufficient body to be able to displace
free water from under the slab and must have adequate
strength and durability. Sand-cement grout and neat
grout are both used. Finely divided minerals or pozzolans are also often used. Sand-cement grouts typically
contain 25% to 30% cement by volume and enough
water to produce a flow time of about 20 seconds
(ASTM C 939 or Corps of Engineers CRD-C611).
Sand specifications are normally adjusted to meet
local availability. The typical angular shape of most
sands that tends to limit pumpability and flowability
can be improved by the addition of bentonite to hold
the sand in suspension. However, the strength of the
grout is reduced by this addition. Lime and various
types of pozzolans have been used where sufficient
fines are not available.
Other admixtures used in slabjacking grouts have
included (1) expanding material to offset shrinkage, (2)
friction reducers or pumping aids to increase flow and
aid in cleanup, (3) wetting and dispersing agents to
give a more uniform mixture, (4) water-reducing agents
to lower the required water content, and (5) accelerators. Type III cement, or special cements, can be used
to develop early strength to restore traffic or use as
soon ag possible.
Cement and lime-dust grout with a cement-lime
ratio of about 1:4 by volume is used by some state
highway departments. A typical cement-pozzolan grout
has 1 part cement to 3 parts pozzolan (usually fly ash)
by volume. For small voids and locations needing
regrouting, a neat grout, 1:1 to 1:6 cement-water ratio
by volume, is used.
Permeable grout is used in special situations under
pavement where the water table is high and drainage is
necessary. In one project, 1 part cement and 0.7 parts
water plus foam and calcium chloride was used to
make a permeable grout with a coefficient of permea-

bility of 6.1x10-5 cm/set. and an average compressive

strength at 7 days of 520 psi (Reference 32, pages
849-858).
Grout consistency varies with the projects needs.
Very thick grout can be used to lift a slab to the desired
location and thinner grouts can fill any remaining
voids. Thick grouts are also used near slab edges to
prevent leakage.

Pumping and Lifting Techniques

Hole patterns for slabjacking must be determined in
the field, usually by the jacking-crew superintendent,
who must take into consideration (1) size or length of
the slab area to be raised, (2) elevation difference, (3)
subgrade and drainage conditions, (4) location ofjoints
and cracks, (5) cause of settlement, (6) slab thickness,
and similar local circumstances. Four-foot-wide sidewalk panels can be lifted with 1 or 2 holes, whereas,
larger and thicker panels require at least 3 uniformly
distributed holes (3 to 8 ft apart or more and at least
112ft from the edge).
Lifting should be done in increments of about i/4 in.
with frequent changes in injection locations to keep
slab stressesto a minimum to avoid cracking. The rate
of grout injection should be uniform and as slow as
possible consistent with economy, usually a minimum
of i/4 cu ft per minute to a maximum of 1l/2 to 2 cu ft
per minute. Initial pumping is usually at the slower
rate and is increased as lifting progresses. As the desired elevation is approached, the lifting rate should be
reduced.
Regrouting in new drill holes and further slabjacking
is necessary when grout extrudes from joints, cracks,
or the pavement edge before the target elevation is
reached. Gage pressures for slabjacking are usually
under 200 psi, with an occasional need for additional
pressure to 1000 psi to initiate lifting. Typical lifting
pressures at the injection point are often less than 25
psi. Gages must be continually monitored for sudden
pressure changes. A rapid increase could signal a grout
stoppage that could be followed by a buildup of pressure and an excessive lift and cracking if pumping were
to continue. A sudden reduction in pressure could
indicate a loss of lift from subsurface leakage, escaping
grout at slab edges,and grout migration into new voids.
In conducting slabjacking operations, the ambient
temperature is important. When raising individual
slabs to correct faulted joints or other elevation differences, if the prevailing temperature is high, the concrete may be in compression and the slab ends may
not be free to move. Joints may need to be sawed free
in order to complete the lifting process. This type of
correction might be more successful in cooler weather
with the concrete in tension and the joint more open.
On the other hand, when correcting a profile deficiency of greater length involving several slabs or
panels, the work will more likely be successful when
the slabs are in compression and the joints tight so that
an entire run of depressed pavementsan be lifted
uniformly. This must be done in increments by raising
all slabs a small amount. Excessive lifting of any one

36

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k-l

slab may result in cracking. The work should progress

toward the low point in the depression or outward
from it.

Slab-Elevation

slabjacking, see Reference 23 and PCAs Cement-Grout

Subsealing and Slabjacking of Concrete Pavement,
IS212P (Reference 31).

Control During Jacking

In slabjacking, an arrangement of stringlines and blocks

is generally used to determine when the desired elevation has been reached and pumping can be discontinued. The stringline is usually positioned about 1 in.
above the desired grade. Gage blocks placed on the
slab indicate the progress of lifting. As the blocks
approach the stringline, the rate of lifting is slowed;
pumping is stopped completely when the blocks touch
the line (Fig. 31).
Where the section of pavement being jacked is on a
vertical curve, the offset distances must be calculated
and applied to the gage-block heights to align the slab
surface properly.
Elevation control is also possible with conventional
surveying equipment. By whatever means of control
available, the experienced, modern slabjacking crew
can raise virtually any slab to within l/s in. of plan
grade without creating undue cracking or other defects
in the slab.

SUBSEALING (UNDERSEALING)
Cement-grout subsealing, also called undersealing or
highway grouting, is a void-filling corrective process
(Fig. 32). It consists of pumping a cement-grout mixture under pressure through holes drilled in a slab to
fill voids and depressions under the slab and reduce
damage caused by excessive pavement deflections. The
purpose of subsealing is to stablize a slab without
raising the slab. The voids under pavements are usually near cracks, joints, or pavement edges. The voids
are caused by (1) pumping, the expulsion of water and
soil through an open joint or shoulder as traffic drives
over the joint, (2) consolidation, the compaction of
base material beneath the slab caused by repeated
heavy truck traffic, (3) subgrade failure caused by
overloading of the subgrade near joints or loss of loadbearing capacity due to oversaturation of the subgrade,
and (4) bridge approach failure caused by consolidation and washout of fill material. Subsealing grout fills
these voids and keeps water from collecting under
joints and edges, provides support. and therefore prevents deterioration of pavement due to foundation or
support problems. Subsealing procedures and equipment are similar to those used in slabjacking (see
previous topic, Slabjacking).

Grout Injection
hole /

,Jolnt

,Povement

\ Subbase

Fig. 31. Bridge approach

is raised
slabjacking project. Observe stringline
control final elevation of slab.

in. in typical
and block used to

5V2

Plugging and Cleanup

After slabjacking has been completed in a hole and the
discharge pipe removed, the hole should be plugged
immediately. Temporary plugs are of wood tapered to
fit in the hole to retain the pressure of the grout and
stop any return flow of the mixture. When all voids
have been filled or when slabjacking to the desired
elevation has been accomplished, the temporary plugs
are removed and the holes filled with a stiff one-tothree cement-sand grout or an approved concrete mixture. These areas are then finished to match the pavement texture and elevation. For more information on

Publication List

Fig. 32. Typical void under pavement near a joint caused

by subgrade failure, subbase washout, subbase consolidation, or pumping action. As tires roll over the slab, the
pavement deflects resulting in a pumping action under
the slab that washes the soil away. Grout holes on both
sides of the joint will be used to fill the void by subsealing
techniques.

Void Detection
Several methods of void detection are in use. Perhaps
the simplest is a visual inspection of the pavement to
locate areas of distress. The presence of holes or depressions in the shoulder edge adjacent to the mainline
pavement or stains on the shoulder indicates either

Book Contents

37

pumping or blowing; ejected fines or granular material

at these locations is almost certain evidence of voids
under the slab. Indications of excessive vertical movement of the pavement at joints or cracks usually suggests the presence of an open space between slab and
subbase or subgrade that permits such movement to
occur. Likewise, faulting of joints or cracks is evidence
that openings under the slab have allowed water movement, migration of material, and buildup of fines.
Another method of void detection is proofrolling the
pavement with heavily loaded rubber-tire equipment.
The application of heavy proofrolling loads causes
deflection or pumping, signaling the presence of voids
and the need for subsealing. Mississippi requires a
single axle to be loaded to a gross weight equal to or
greater than the maximum legal tandem-axle load allowed on the class of highway being restored, with a
maximum of 25 tons. Proofrolling is done at very slow
speed, about two miles per hour. Inspectors watch for
areas that deflect above a specified minimum, and
these areas are marked for subsequent subsealing. To
avoid binding at the joints, proofrolling should be done
in cool weather when the pavement is contracted.
Deflection of the pavement during proofrolling
cannot always be detected by normal visual checks.
Benkelman or other beams equipped with sensitive
dial gages to be read visually or recorded electrically
can be used.
Under heavy wheel loads, the magnitude of deflection, when sufficiently large, indicates the presence of
a void. These deflection measurements reveal points
of inadequate support, difference in deflection across
joints, and effectiveness of load transfer at the joint.
Usually, a movement greater than 0.02 in. is considered excessive, but this limit may vary with the type of
subbase and subgrade in the supporting layers.
Other methods for measuring deflection and thus
determining location of voids under pavements include nondestructive testing equipment such as the
Dynaflect, Road Rater, Thumper, and Falling-Weight
Deflectometer. These measure the deflection response
of a pavement under a dynamic load. Other nondestructive testing equipment, such as ground-penetrating
radar, infrared analysis, themography, and radioactive
tracers, in conjunction with visual observation will
normally yield adequate information on the presence
and extent of voids to be filled.
Since pumping and erosion are most likely to occur
at joints and cracks in the pavement, these locations
are also where voids are usually found. Recent experimental grout subsealing has concentrated void-filling
efforts only at joints and major transverse cracks.

Hole Patterns
Hole patterns for effective distribution of grout under
the pavement are not easily determined in advance.
Some preliminary testing is often necessary to locate
holes in a way that will ensure good grout distribution.
Where a hole pattern is selected for repetition in each
panel, it should provide sufficient holes to permit grout

to reach all voids existing beneath the pavement.

Hole patterns will vary with the concrete pavement
design, that is, whether jointed plain, jointed with
mesh reinforcement, or continuously reinforced. Each
design varies in panel length, performance characteristics, and distress patterns, and subsealing techniques
must be adjusted accordingly.
The use of a predetermined hole pattern and a fixed
numer of holes often results in forcing grout into areas
under slabs where no voids exist and where subsealing
is not required. A more efficient and economical approach is to determine void locations and areas needing subsealing beforehand, as discussed in the section
Void Detection. Ideally the hole location should intercept a void at its farthest distance from the joint or
crack. This allows the grout to flow farther laterally
and more completely fill the void before exiting through
the joint. Usually the voids are under joints and therefore about two grout holes are placed on each side of
the joint at a distance of 12 to 24 in. from the joint.
In France, the old method of filling cavities under
the pavement was similar to that used for slabjacking,
namely, drilling four or five holes at locations throughout the slab and injecting grout at alternate holes under
high pressures. This practice is costly and slow and has
largely been discontinued.
A new French technique is to limit the injection of
grout to the location where it is most needed in a plain
jointed design-the voids on each side of transverse
joints. Two grouting holes of 1?&in. diameter are drilled
in each IZft-lane width directly through each transverse joint, about 1.5 ft from the longitudinal joint and
the same distance from the outer edge of the slab. The
holes are blown out with compressed air. Grouting is
then initiated by gravity or under low pressures (60 to
70 psi maximum) and continued until the grout flows
from the joints or until refusal is indicated. French
engineers have concluded that the new pattern is superior in several ways:
1. It distributes the grout better in relation to the
problem to be treated.
2. Less grout, about 50%, is used with the new pattern.
3. The new pattern is more effective in reducing deflections at joints.
4. The new pattern is just as, or more effective in
overall restoration of the pavement as the old.
Experiments using the two-hole-per-lane technique
have been conducted in the United States by the American Concrete Pavement Association and are currently
under observation.
Holes for subsealing should be 1 to 1.5 in. in diameter and drilled with pneumatic, hydraulic, or diamond
core drills. Only a small amount of down pressure
should be applied on the drill to prevent cratering
(breakout) at the bottom of the hole. Drilling is stopped

assoonasthe drill bit cutsthroughthe concrete.

Grout

The grout for subsealing is thinner than grout used for

slabjacking because the grout must be able to permeate

38

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Book Contents

L-l

,-

into voids as thin as i/16in. The grout usually consists

of about 1 part cement to 3 parts fly ash by dry powder
volume to 1.5 to 3 parts water to produce a flow-cone
time of 9 to 20 seconds (ASTM C939 or Corps of
Engineers CRD-C611). Fluidifiers, superplasticizers,
retarders, and accelerators can also be helpful on some
projects. The 7-day compressive strength (ASTM C 109)
should be at least 600 psi and the ultimate strength
under the slab should be about 1500 to 4500 psi. After
injection, the grout should become thixotropic within
1 to 10 minutes and initial set should occur between 1
and 6 hours.
Permeable grout with foam can be used for special
locations with a high water table (see grout discussion
under Slabjacking and Reference 32, pages 849-858).

Grouting Equipment

f-

Special grouting plants (trucks) with bulk or bagged

material storage, a high-speed colloidal mixer to wet
cementitious particles rapidly, and an injection pump,
are commonly used for highway applications to minimize labor and material handling costs. High-pressure
and high-velocity centrifugal pumps and paddle-bladetype mixers are the most common types used. Subsealing grout should not be mixed in mortar mixers or
ready mixed concrete trucks to avoid higher water
demand and balling up (clumping) of grout.
Both piston pumps and nonpulsing-progressivecavity pumps are used; however, the pulsing action of
the piston pump may prematurely press water out of
the grout. Pump pressures of 75 to 200 psi are used,
but low pressures and low pumping rates are preferred
to better control the placement and avoid overstressing
or lifting the slab.
Either drive packers or expanding rubber packers
(mechanical packers) are used to seal the grout hole for
injection. The packers are merely injection pipes with
valves. The grout hose is connected to the top of the
packer and the bottom end of the packer is inserted
into the grout hole. Drive packers are usually used with
I-in.-diameter holes and are tapped into place with
hammers. Expanding rubber packers, used for holes
1.5 in. or more in diameter, have a steel outer sleeve
with a short rubber sleeve at the bottom, all placed
over an inner pipe. After this packer is placed in the
hole, the steel sleeve pushes on the rubber sleeve causing the rubber to expand within the hole and seal it.
Ames dials and uplift beams are used to monitor the
slab for movement. As the purpose of subsealing is
only to fill voids beneath the slab and not to raise the
slab, grouting must be stopped when any uplifting is
detected. No more than 0.05 in. of uplifting should be
allowed. The uplift detection beam is supported at
stationary points off the slab or at a distance away from
the grouting area that will not be affected during the
injection. The monitoring point is over the injection
area.
The hose between the pump and packer should be 1
to 1.5 in. in diameter. After injection is completed, the
holes must be plugged to prevent the grout from leaking out before it has set.

Grouting Procedures
After the voids are located and the holes drilled, the
packer is usually first placed in the hole closest to the
center line. The grout is pumped at a low rate and low
pressure until the slab begins to raise or the grout
comes through an adjacent hole, joint, or crack. The
packer is then inserted in the next hole and the process
repeated. Grouted holes are appropriately plugged.
Grouting holes near the centerline first followed by
those near the shoulder drives trapped water to the
outside of the slab. Additional holes can be drilled as
needed to fill the voids.
At least 24 hours after subsealing, the pavement can
be tested again by proofrolling to check the stability of
the grouted pavement. Regrouting can be performed as
required until all voids are filled and the pavement is
sufficiently stable.
Subsealing is an effective, nondestructive, and
inexpensive way to maintain a pavement and avoid
deterioration by treating slab foundation problems.
Subsealing is also used before patching and overlay
work to assure the quality of the subbase. For more
information on subsealing, see PCAs Cement-Grout
Subsealing and Slabjacking of Concrete Pavements,
IS212P (Reference 31) and Reference 41.

FOUNDATION JACKING (LIFTING AND

LEVELING STRUCTURES)
Buildings and heavy structures that have unevenly
settled, due to soil subsidence or washout of soil under
a foundation, can be lifted and leveled with pressure
grouting in a manner similar to slabjacking of pavement. Two techniques can be used-permeation grouting and compaction grouting.
Permeation grouting, also called penetration or conventional grouting, uses a thin grout to fill voids or
pores between the soil particles, resulting in a distribution of grout throughout the soil. First, the soil
characteristics and grout plan are established. A vertical grout curtain is sometimes placed around or adjacent to the grouting area to contain the grout, by
preventing or limiting lateral movement. The grout is
slowly pumped through a series of pipes into weak
layers of soil some distance below the foundation.
Grouting continues until the structure is lifted to the
designed level. Several days of grouting in stages are
often necessary to lift the structure properly. The grout
must be designed for the particular application and
soil. Both neat cement and sand-cement grout are used.
A mix used for permeation grouting on one project
consisted of cement-94 lb; fly ash-70 lb; water-14
gallons; and a grout fluidifier. Grouting may start with
a thin grout and progress to a thicker grout to increase
lifting pressure. Pressures commonly range from 75 to
300 psi. Adjacent structures must be cut free of the
structure to be lifted and an engineer must determine
if the structures base can withstand the lifting forces.
If needed, the base can be enlarged. Some structures
that have been successfully lifted and leveled include
39

Publication List

Book Contents

grain elevators, silos, a mine-hoist headframe, and

buildings.
Compaction grouting, unlike permeation grouting,
uses a stiff grout to displace the soil. The grout forms a
bulblike mass of grout in the soil that does not permeate into the soil. The grout is injected into a layer of
soil beneath the foundation. As the grout mass grows,
it compacts the soil and develops uplift forces after a
certain amount of grout is injected. This force lifts the
structure.
Compaction grouting is especially useful in soils
finer than medium sand and can be used in many
clays. For lifting and stabilizing, the best compactiongrouting procedure is to start immediately below the
foundation and work downward to a firm bearing.
After the first-stage grout is placed and set, it is drilled
through, and the next grout mass is placed. This continues until firm material is found, the layer depth is
fully grouted, or sufficient lift is achieved. The slump
of the grout should not exceed 2 in.
In the lifting of a particular masonry building that
had settled, a sand-cement compaction grout was
pumped at pressures between 50 and 800 psi to depths
of 15 to 30 ft. The soil was a silty to clayey sand fill
over a sandstone bedrock. Grout holes, 2 in. diameter,
were spaced 6 ft apart. The foundation was lifted about
3 in. Most of the lifting occured after the grout stages
reached bedrock. Each of the last 2 or 3 stages (bulbs
of grout mass) lifted the building 112 to 1 in. Cracks in
the buildings masonry, caused by the original settlement, were observed to close, at which time grouting
was discontinued to avoid damaging the structure.
Lifting was avoided in the early stages and each grout
stage used about 2 cu yd of grout, which was allowed
to set overnight. That stage was then drilled through to
continue downward grouting to form the next stage.
Settlement after compaction grouting was negligible.
Some minor settlement is expected due to a delayed
redistribution of soil pore pressure or possible grout
shrinkage. Between 150 to 175 cu yd of grout were
used. The pumping rate was about 2.5 cu ft per minute.
See the next section and Reference 32, pages 923-937,
for more information.

SOIL GROUTING
Soil is grouted to increase its bearing capacity, reduce
or halt settlement, increase shear resistance to stabilize
it against lateral movement, reduce water flow (permeability), or increase the cohesive strength of friable
ground prior to excavation. Soil grouting can be performed (1) to increase soil bearing capacity before a
structure is built, (2) to reduce expected settlement due
to new loads on an existing structure, (3) to stop
unexpected settlement of a foundation in place, (4) to
reduce water flow to an existing or future inground
structure such as the waterproofing of a basement, (5)
to reduce the flow of liquids through dams and embankments made of granular materials, and (6) to
stabilize and contain soil contaminated with hazard-

ous chemicals. Walls of grout can also retain soil and

water during foundation excavation. Soils that can be
grouted range from coarse gravels and sands to silty
and clayey materials.
Neat cement grouts and special grouts such as ultrafine (microfine) cement grout, with particles less than
about 10 microns, are used in pressure grouting to
permeate and stabilize soil. Compaction grouting uses
a stiff low-slump grout to densify or consolidate soil.
Jet grouting is a technique that uses grout under high
pressure to form concretelike columns to serve as a
seepagebarrier, improve soil strength, or support foundations without prior excavation. The following discussion will present information on these and related soil
grouting methods. Rock grouting was discussed earlier.

Permeation Grouting
Permeation grouting, also called penetration or conventional grouting, consists of using a thin grout to
permeate the soil and fill pores and voids between soil
particles (Fig. 33). The grout hardens and provides
added strength and water tightness to the soil. Each
type of soil can be identified by its index properties
such as particle-size distribution and void content.*
When the size of spaces between particles of soil is
smaller than the size of Type I or II portland cement
grains, which are primarily less than 75 microns, then
a regular cement grout will not satisfactorily stabilize
the soil. Type III portland cement is preferred over
Type I or II for its finer grind. The grind can be adjusted
so that about 100% of the cement particles are smaller
than 45 microns. Ultrafine (microfine) cement with
particles less than about 7 to 10 microns and an average
particle size of 3 to 4 microns is used to grout soils
with fine pore spaces, such as fine sand with a coefficient of permeability of 10-3 to 10-4 cm/set. Regular
cement grout can permeate granular soils with a
permeability above about 0.5 cm/set. Ultrafine cement
has a permeation ability similar to chemical grouts,
but without toxic concerns (see Reference 32, pages
77-91, and Reference 52).
Regular neat portland cement grout has been used
to permeate gravel and coarse sand. Bentonite and fly
ash are used on some projects with cement. Ultrafine
cement is used in grouting sands and even some silts.
Bentonite (2% to 5% by weight of water) is used in
some grouts to reduce bleeding by suspending cement
particles. In gravels with large connected voids (about
i/4 in. or more), a cement and sand grout can be used
for stabilization.
The pore size of the sand primarily dictates what
grouting materials are used. References 15(pages l-32)
27, and 52 present information on the groutability of
various grouting materials with respect to the pore size
and grain size of available soils. Treatment of the pores
of fine soils is not always possible using portland
cement. The very small spaces between soil particles

*For more information on soils, see ASTM D 2487 and D 2488 and
PCAs PCA Soil Primer, EB007S.

40

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Book Contents

L.-l

Grout
type

1Gravell

Sand

Portland
cement
Bentonlte
Scdfum
silicate
Ultrafine
Celllet
Lignin
Resin
Acrylate
1.0

0.1
Grain size, mm

/--

(W

Cumulative mass, percent

Equivalentspherical diameter, pm
(4

Fig. 33. (a) Permeation grouting forces the grout into pores
and voids in the soil without displacing the soil. The grout
and soil combination become a hardened mass. (b) Permeation limits for grouts with respect to soil grain size and
ASTM D 2487 soil descriptions. (c) Particle size distribution
curve for ASTM Cl50 Type I or II cements.

will be bridged by the larger cement particles; this

arching action and infilling of the smaller voids leads
to a filtering out of the cement, leaving undergrouted
areas. For very fine soils such as silts, the use of a
chemical fluid or ultrafine cement is recommended

(see Fig. 33b). Many chemical grouts are available only

as proprietary products. The toxic effects of chemical
grouts should be evaluated before they are used. If a
neat portland cement is grouted into a material it
cannot permeate, such as clay with very fine pores, the
grout will displace the soil and form grout bulbs or
follow planes of weakness. Sands with a grain size of
more than 0.8 mm can be grouted with a portland
cement grout. Soils, such as fine sand or some silts,
with a grain size greater than 0.05 mm, can be grouted
with ultrafine cement. As a rule ofthumb the pore size
of the soil should be at least three times the maximum
grain size of the cement. The grout particles should be
less than i/lo the size of the soil particles for single-size
homogenous soils. The permeability of the soil should
not be less than 0.5 cm/set. for portland cement grout
or less than about lop4 cm/set. for ultrafine cement
grout. These criteria are only rough guidelines as each
grouting situation is different.
The grout ingredient proportions vary with the purpose of the grouting and the properties of the soil to be
grouted. Neat cement grouts have proportions similar
to those used in rock grouting but will vary considerably depending on site conditions. The water-cement
ratio by bulk (loose) volume can range from 0.5:1 to
2O:l with most mixes under 10:1. A wide range of
amounts of clay, fine sand, silt, and fly ash have also
been used.
Grouting pipes, 1 to 2 in. diameter, are often inserted about 2 to 10 ft apart. Grout pressures up to 200 psi
or more can be used, although pressures are usually
under 50 psi. Ultrafine cement, used to strengthen
foundations of poorly graded fine to medium sand, has
been grouted at 25 to 40 psi through 2-in. holes with
pumping beginning at the bottom of the hole (Reference 52). The equipment and grouting procedures for
permeation grouting are similar to those of the Rock
Grouting discussion earlier. Grout mixers for example are often the paddle-type or colloidal high-speed
impeller mixers.
Permeation grouting, using neat portland cement
grout with or without mineral fillers or admixtures,
has primarily been used (1) for grout curtains, consisting of one to three rows of grout holes,. to reduce
seepageof water under dams, (2) to stabilize foundations under commerical and industrial buildings as
well as dams to limit settlement, and (3) to control
water seepage into basements, to name just a few
applications. Ultrafine cement has been used (1) to
grout unconsolidated angular gravel tuff for a dam, (2)
to grout fine to medium sand for a tunnel, (3) to
strengthen foundations, and (4) to contain and stabilize hazardous waste in soils. Permeabilities as low as
lo-9 cm/set. have been observed in soils after grouting
with ultrafine cement.

Deep-Soil Mixing
A related alternate to permeation grouting is deep-soil
mixing. With this method an auger mixer attached to
a crane or backhoe blends the soil and an injected
grout together-essentially
making soil-cement in
41

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place. A much broader range of grouts and materials

can be used, regular cement grout, for example, and
there is no concern about particle size. An overlapping
of auger-mixing injection points assures a uniform and
consistent grouting operation. Depths up to 120 feet
can be stabilized (grouted) with this technique. Deepsoil mixing is used to stabilize hazardous chemicals in
soil and to increase a soils bearing capacity. See the
cover for a photograph of deep-soil mixing equipment.

Compaction

Grouting

Compaction grouting consists of pressure grouting a

stiff low-slump sand-and-cement grout through predrilled holes into soil to consolidate it by compaction
(Fig. 34). The stiff grout does not permeate the soil but
maintains a grouted mass by displacing the soil and
forming a bulblike or columnlike form. The grout mass
can be 3 ft or more in diameter. Compaction grouting
can be used in almost any type of granular material
including fine-to-medium sands and even clays with
adequate drainage. Soil is significantly densified at a
radial distance of 1 to 6 ft or more from the soil-grout
interface.
Compaction grouting has been used to stop settlement of structures by grouting some distance beneath
the structure. Pile friction has been increased by compaction grouting a short distance adjacent to and along
both sides of a pile. Pile end bearing capacity has been
increased by grouting on both sides of a pile, but only
near the bottom of the pile. Culverts and pipe have
been stabilized by compaction grouting the soil on
both sides of the culvert or pipe. Grouting 6 to 8 ft
above a tunnel roof to compensate for lost ground
during soft-tunneling operations has been used to eliminate surface settlement. Compaction grouting has also
been used to reduce the earthquake-liquification potential of some soils.
The grout used for compaction grouting should have
a slump consistency (ASTM C 143) of less than 1 in.;

however, slumps up to 2 in. have been used. Higher

slumps make grouting difficult to control as the grout
tends to fracture the soil, cause surface lifting and
leakage problems, and reduce effective compaction. A
cement content of about 12% provides a compressive
strength of greater than 400 psi. The sand should pass
a No. 8 sieve and no more than 20% of the sand
particles should be less than 50 microns. Coarse sands
result in blockage under the high pressures as segregation occurs. Admixtures are generally not used. The
grout cannot be mixed with the same equipment used
for flowable grout but should be mixed in a horizontal
batch mixer with blades using a chopping action. Continuous pugmill and auger-type mixers are also used.
The grout pump should be capable of achieving pressures of 600 to 1000 psi in a 2-in. line.
Grout injection holes, about 2 in. in diameter and
spaced 8 to 12 ft apart, are drilled with rotary drilling
equipment at carefully engineered locations. The first
4 ft or so of the hole has a steel casing cemented into
it. Future drilling and grouting are performed through
the casing.
Grouting is performed in vertical stages where only
5 to 8 ft of a hole is grouted at one time. Grouting is
usually performed from the top to the bottom to densify the soil more effectively. After the first stage is
grouted and has hardened, the hole is extended by
drilling through the first stage to the bottom of the
second stage. The sequence is repeated throughout the
specified depth. Usually primary holes are grouted
first, followed by the secondary holes located between
the primary holes. Each hole is grouted at a rate of 0.1
to 2 cu ft per minute, usually with a piston-type pump
until uplift of the soil is sensed, sufficient resistance to
grouting occurs, or the specified amount of grout per
stage is placed. The base of the grout column should
rest or be partially grouted into a firm soil layer or
rock. Grouting can also be performed from the bottom
up. SeeReferences 22 and 32 (pages 694-707) for more
information.

Jet Grouting
Jet grouting uses a cement-and-water grout under very
high pressure to form a concretelike column. Jet grouting is used in soft soils such as clay (1) to underpin
structures to stop settlement, (2) to construct loadbearing members without prior excavation, (3) to control water flow (seepage cutoff walls), (4) to control
subsidence

Fig. 34.
grouting.
meating
soil in all

-1 -1

I, ,I# _)

Bulblike mass of grout formed by compaction

The grout displaces the soil (rather than perit), thereby consolidating
and strengthening
the
directions from the grout mass.

over

tunnel

excavations,

42

Publication List

and

(5)

to

con-

struct cofferdams. Jet grouting has the advantage of

use in clay, whereas other methods have limited use in
clays. Both penetration and excavation techniques of
jet grouting are used.
Jet grouting by penetration consists of first drilling
the grout hole and placing a jetting pipe into the hole
with the jetting nozzle at the bottom. The end of the
pipe will be the base of the soilcrete column. The
grout, with a water-to-cement ratio of about 1:1, is
pressurized to 4000 to 6000 psi and jetted horizontally
into the soil through jet ports at the bottom of the pipe.
The pipe is slowly rotated and lifted at about 1 ft per

Book Contents

minute. The high-velocity grout impinges and shatters

the soil, penetrating it for several inches. This results
in a blended mixture of cement grout and soil forming
columns with diameters of 2 to 2V2 ft (Fig. 35a).
In an alternate method, jet grouting by excavation,
the soil is excavated with high-pressure water (a washing-away action) and replaced with cement grout to
form a grout column. The soil slurry is discharged to
the surface as it is replaced by the grout. Six-footdiameter cement-grout columns (piles) can be made
by using a 4-in. diameter injection pipe (Fig. 35b).
Some jet-grouting methods also use pressurized air
with the grout or water jet.
Cutoff walls for seepagecontrol use interconnected
columns, side by side, grouted down to an impervious
layer. Interconnected rows are also used for retaining
walls during excavation. Staggered separate columns
are used to improve the bearing capacity of soils for
new or existing structures. Single columns are drilled
through foundations to underpin footings. Horizontally or vertically interconnected grout columns are used
to provide support over tunnels during excavation. See
References 32 (pages 680-693), 55, and 68 for more
information.

(0) Jet grouting

by so11penetration

(bl Jet grouting

by solI excavotlon

Fig. 35. Jet grouting methods (a) by soil penetration that

intimately mixes grout and native soil to form a column and
(b) by soil excavation that removes soil in a slurry form and
replaces it with grout. In the latter method two or three lines
in the injection pipe independently
transport the grout,
water, air, or slurry.

OIL-WELL GROUTING
Oil-well

grouting,

often

called

oil-well

cementing,

re-

fers to the practice of pumping of a cement-and-water

grout through the steel casing to critical locations in
the well. The grout is placed in the annulus around the
casing (between the casing and the open hole) or in the
hole below the casing, to restrict movement of water,

oil, or gas between soil or rock formations and to bond

and support the casing. The grout also protects the
casing from corrosion, prevents blowouts, and seals off
voids in the ground.
The grout or cement slurry consists of cement, water,
and often a cementing additive (admixture). The
American Petroleum Institutes API Specification 10,
Specifications for Materials and Testing for Well Cements (Reference 75), lists nine classes of oil-well
cement-Classes A through H and J. Each class is
applicable to particular well depths, temperatures,
pressures, and sulfate environments. The classes are
available in one or more of three types: Type Oordinary, Type MSR-moderate sulfate resistant, and
Type HSR-high sulfate resistant. The cements are
chemically similar to portland cement (essentially hydraulic calcium silicates). Only classesA, B, C, G, and
H are available in the United States. A brief description
of where the API cements are used follows:
Class A-for 0- to 6000-ft depth; available in ordinary Type 0 only. Similar to ASTM C 150 Type I
cement.
Class B-for 0- to 6000-ft depth and moderate-tohigh sulfate resistance; available as Types MSR
and HSR.
Class C-for 0- to 6000-ft depth and high early
strength; available as Types 0, MSR, and HSR.
Class D-for 6000- to lO,OOO-ftdepth and moderately high temperatures and pressures; available as
Types MSR and HSR.
Class E-for lO,OOO-to 14,000-ft depth and high
temperatures and pressures; available as Types
MSR and HSR.
Class F-for lO,OOO-to 16,000-ft depth and extremely high temperatures and pressures; available as
Types MSR and HSR.
Glass G-for 0- to 8000-ft depth as manufactured,
or with accelerators and retarders to cover a wide
range of depths and temperatures; available as
Types MSR and HSR.
Class H-for 0- to 8000-ft depth as manufactured,
or with accelerators and retarders to cover a wide
range of depths and temperatures; available as
Type MSR and HSR.
Class J-for 12,000- to 16,000-ft depth as manufactured for extremely high temperatures and pressures, or with accelerators and retarders for a wide
range of depths and temperatures. API is considering removing Class J from its specification.
Other cements used in oil-well grouting include
portland cement with cement-modifying admixtures,
Portland-pozzolan cements, and expansive cements
(ASTM C 845, Types K, S, and M).
Oil-well grouts are used in a wide range of temperatures and pressures. Temperatures range from below
freezing in permafrost to 2000F and pressure varies
from

atmospheric

to 30,000

psi.

With

cementing

ad-

ditives, cementitious grouts can be adjusted to accommodate

the various conditions encountered. Cement
additives are usually powders that are dry blended with
the cement, although many can be added to the mixing
water at the jobsite. Additives can be used to vary the
43

Publication List

Book Contents

compressive strength of grouts from 200 PSI to 20,000

psi, vary density from 6 to 21 lb per gallon, accelerate
or retard set time, cause expansion, reduce heat of
hydration, adjust flow and filtration properties, and
influence other properties.
Oil-well grout design is based on well depth, temperature and pressure, pumping time, required strength
to support the casing, permeability requirements, and
other factors. Grout mixers, pumps, packers, and other
grouting equipment similar to that used for soil and
rock grouting are used for cementing oil wells. Reference 60 provides excellent information on grout design
and placement.

SLURRY-TRENCH CUTOFF WALLS

A slurry-trench cutoff wall is a nonstructural underground wall that serves as a barrier to the horizontal
flow of water and other fluids. It is constructed with
the aid of a viscous stabilizing liquid known as slurry
(Fig. 36). The two most common types of slurry trenches are referred to as soil-bentonite (S-B) and cementbentonite (C-B). In the S-B method, a bentonite-water
slurry, is introduced into the trench during excavation
to provide sidewall support. After the trench is excavated to its required depth, a mixture of soil, bentonite, and water is placed into the trench displacing the
bentonite-water slurry. Generally the excavated soil is
used in the backfilling operation; however, if it contains an excessive amount of contaminated or undesirable material such as cobbles or clay lumps, a selected
backfill material may be required.
In the C-B method, cement is added to the bentonitewater slurry just prior to its introduction into the
trench. In addition to serving as a stabilizing fluid
to maintain an open trench during excavation, the
cement-bentonite slurry remains to harden and form
the permanent cutoff wall. Although in most cases
either method can be used, a C-B slurry trench offers

many advantages over the S-B method, such as ( 1) not

being dependent on the availability or quality of the
backfill material, (2) being more suitable in weak soils
where trench stability may be a concern, (3) providing
a cleaner operation, and (4) reducing the trench width
since the S-B method requires a minimum width to
permit free flow of the backfill material.
Unlike a concrete diaphragm wall that serves as a
structural foundation wall, the slurry-trench cutoff walls
have been used to (1) dewater areas prior to excavation,
(2) control groundwater infiltration from waste disposal sites (Fig. 37) (3) control water seepage for dams;
dikes, cofferdams, and lakes, and (4) help collect hazardous liquid chemicals. Slurry trenches have many
advantages over other seepagecontrol techniques such
as grouting, sheetpiling, and well-pumping systems.
Slurry trenches provide a continuous uniform seepage
barrier. For dewatering applications, only the water
level within the confines of the slurry trench is affected.
With a pumped dewatering system, however, drawdown of the water table may extend well beyond the
limits of excavation and cause problems, especially in
environmentally sensitive areas.

, Slurry trench

-JL

Samtory

slurry-trench

construction.

Ref-

Publication List

lmpervlous

landfill

layer

Fig. 37. Example of a slurry-trench cutoff wall used to stop

water infiltration from a sanitary landfill.

Excavating

Fig. 36. Cement-bentonite

erence 38.

Water table

Techniques

The excavating methods for slurrv trenches depend

upon the required depths, design widths, and subsurface materials. Principal types of excavating equipment include the backhoe and the clamshell. Standard
backhoes have depth limitations of about 40 ft; however, some slurry-trench contractors have modified
standard backhoes to excavate effectively to depths of
more than 70 ft. Minimum trench widths are controlled by the thickness of the boom, dipper stick, and
bucket. For shallow trenches using small backhoes, this
width may be as little as 1 ft. Deeper trenches require
wider booms resulting in trench widths between 2 to 3
ft. For depths beyond the reach of a backhoe, hydraulic
or mechanically operated clamshells used in combination with a backhoe are the most efficient and economical method of excavation. Originally developed for
structural diaphragm wall construction, these specially
designed clamshells have excavated to 250-ft depths.

Book Contents

An alternating-panel method is employed. A series

of primary panels are initially excavated. Following
completion of at least two adjacent primary panels,
excavation of the secondary panels can begin. Secondary panels are narrower to allow a minimum overlap
into the primary panels and assure continuity of the
trench.

Design
The parameters usually considered when designing a
C-B slurry trench are permeability, strength, and deformability. Other factors of importance may be durability and permanence or, in the case of waste containment, the compatibility of the slurry trench to the
waste.
Permeability is the most important factor. Both laboratory and field tests indicate permeabilities of C-B
slurry trenches range from 1 to 0.1 ft/per year (lo-6 to
lo- cm/set.)
Since a C-B slurry trench is not intended to resist
bending moments or significant shear stresses, structural strength usually is not a primary consideration.
The trench is generally designed to achieve a strength
equivalent to that of the surrounding soil. However, on
projects where slurry trenches are constructed through
unstable material such as peats and mine spoils, trench
stability, especially during excavation, is a critical consideration. The water-cement ratio has a significant
effect on the strength and strain (deformability) of the
C-B slurry trench. Also, as with concrete, strength
increases with age. Typically a water-cement ratio by
weight of 7: 1 to 3: 1 will provide a compressive strength
in the range of 5 to 50 psi and a strain at failure of 25%
to 15%,respectively.
The deformability or compressibility of a slurry
trench is important when considering its application
beneath large dams in seismic areas where displacements may occur. The slurry trench must be able to
accommodate the displacements without cracking. A
major factor that affects the deformability of a C-B
slurry trench is its strength. Laboratory tests indicate
that higher strength results in a stiffer, less-deformable
wall.
Slurry trenches may or may not be permanent applications. When used as a temporary dewatering method
in lieu of a wellpoint or deep-well system, the slurry
trench may be needed for only a short time. On the
other hand, a slurry trench constructed as a cutoff or
seepagebarrier beneath a dam must perform for the
life of the structure. For applications that involve contaminated water or exposure to pollutants, it is important to check the effect the liquid has on the slurry
trench and use appropriate design precautions.
Slurry mix designs will vary depending upon the
type of application, materials used, and mixing and
construction techniques. Occasionally a mix design
established in the laboratory may require modification
in the field to improve workability and facilitate construction. A typical mix consists of 3 bags (282 lb) of
portland cement and one bag (100 lb) of bentonite per
cubic yard of water (1685 lb). This results in a watercement ratio by weight of about 6:l. Admixtures are

also used as needed to control slurry properties. The

Marsh funnel (Reference 80) is often used to monitor
consistency.

Mixing Methods
Cement-bentonite slurry is prepared in a two-step process. First, bentonite is mixed with water to form a
bentonite-water slurry. A standard practice is to mix
and store the bentonite-water slurry in a cement-free
environment until the bentonite platelets have fully
hydrated. The bentonite-water slurry is then transferred into a mixing chamber where cement is added
and homogeneous cement-bentonite slurry is obtained.
The three basic types of mixers generally used in
slurry-trench construction, either alone or in combination, are
1. Venturi or flash mixer
2. Colloidal mixer
3. Paddle mixer
The venturi or flash mixer is used in preparing the
bentonite-water slurry. Water is pumped under high
pressure through a venturi system, which causes a
pressure drop. The pressure drop creates a suction
action that draws the bentonite powder into the venturi. The bentonite is metered so its flow is proportioned properly for the volume of water. The resultant
mix is then stored in ponds or tanks until hydration is
complete, generally overnight. After the bentonite has
fully hydrated, the bentonite-water slurry may be
transferred into a paddle mixer where cement is added.
Paddle mixers are generally low-shear mixers that
may be used to prepare the bentonite-water slurry or
simply to mix the cement into an already hydrated
bentonite-water slurry. The mixing time required to
fully hydrate the bentonite depends upon the type and
grade of bentonite and type of paddle mixer. It usually
takes longer than a colloidal mixer; therefore, its use is
generally confined to smaller slurry-trench sites or in
combination with the venturi mixing method.
Colloidal mixers are high-shear mixers. Water is
metered into a mixing chamber and recirculated by
means of a high-speed/high-shear centrifugal pump.
The mixing chamber may also be equipped with rotary
propellers to assist in the mixing. Bentonite, which is
slowly added to the circulating water, disperses and
hydrates quickly under the high-shearing action. Once
hydrated, cement is then added. The bentonite-water
slurry may also be pumped to a storage tank or transferred to an adjacent mixer where cement is added.
Additives such as dispersing agents, if used, are introduced into the hydrated bentonite-water slurry just
before cement is added. Many colloidal mixers are
capable of mixing slurry continuously as well as in
individual batches.
More information, including specifications, on slurry trenches can be found in PCAs Cement-Bentonite
Slurry Trench CutoR Walls, IS227W, Reference 38.

GROUTING BALLAST FOR TRACK BASES

The ballast of railroad track can be grouted to improve
track support and improve railroad crossings. Per45

Publication List

Book Contents

meating a layer of stone with portland cement grout is

simply another method for building a concrete slab,
and the resulting characteristics of the concrete are due
in large part to the net water-cement ratio of the grout
as it is left to harden (see Preplaced-Aggregate Concrete). This net water-cement ratio is usually considerably lower than that of the grout in the mixer. The
grout mixture used is chosen for its penetrating ability.
After it is discharged onto the ballast, the grout progressesthrough the stone and along the subgrade, losing some free water through absorption to any dry
surfaces contacted. Even more free water is lost upon
bleeding.
Grouting of ballast allows for practically no interruption to traffic either during construction or after the
work is completed. In many cases, it is necessary to
replace the old ballast with new material before grouting. The new ballast should be compacted sufficiently
so that the track maintains rigidity under train movement. After placing the new ballast it may be used
under traffic for a while to compact it. If any settlement
occurs, the track should be lifted and ballast retamped.
This operation should be repeated until there is no
settlement; then it is ready for grouting. On some jobs
a locomotive has been run over the track to secure
more rapid compaction than would occur under normal traffic.

Aggregate
Ballast stone ranging between 1 in. and 2 in. or 1l/2 in.
and 21/2 in. is recommended. Not more than 5% should
pass the +&in. sieve.
During transporting or in stockpiling, the finer sizes
and dust tend to work to the bottom of the stone.
Hence, even though the stone supplied meets the specifications, the method of distributing it on the subgrade
should ensure against concentrations of small sizes.
Do not use ordinary concrete sand for the grout. It is
almost always too coarse. The sand should never be
coarser than the No. 16 sieve for all sizes of stone. Sand
having the maximum amount of fine particles within
the limits of the specifications in the No. 100-50 sieve
sizes and with rounded grains is preferred. There are
basic reasons for using fine sand. A uniform, smoothflowing grout is the objective. Large particles not only
tend to choke the passagesthrough the stone but tend
to settle at the least hesitation in flow and more easily
lose their coating of cement.

197.4 lb saI&.XI&e water for the mix then will be

or 1.1gallon per bag of cement.
reduced by 8.34
A flow-curve plotting time of flow versus water content can be a big help in maintaining the grout at uniform fluidity (Fig. 38). The grouts studied should range
from those too thick to those greatly overwatered,
A flow of 20 to 25 seconds and corresponding water
content is commonly used. Too much water washes the
sand grains clean and results in plugging as indicated
by the quick turnup of the curves in Fig. 38. Too little
water produces a flow too sluggish for permeation. A
flow curve will demonstrate that the flow is quite
sensitive to the amount of water.
By catching a bucket of grout from the discharge
pipe during grouting and comparing its flow through
the flow cone with the job flow curve, an accurate
checkup may be obtained at any time. The flow curve
also indicates the correction that should be made in
the quantity of water if the flow is not at the rate
desired.
The effectiveness of the penetration may be observed
either by digging occasional craters in the stone (Fig.
39), or setting wire mesh baskets, or punching bars
into the stone ahead of the grout. When the subgrade
or stone is excessively dry, it should be well sprinkled
ahead of grouting. Laborers should be on the alert to
prevent the escape of grout under or through joints in
the forms with earth, burlap, or other materials. After
grouting, all of the ballast aggregate should be submerged in grout and the grout finished as desired.

Fluidities for proper penetration

Time of flow, seconds

36
34

Mix 12 by weight

32~

Grout
Materials for the grout can be proportioned by volume
or preferably by weight. Unless job tests indicate differently, a grout composed of 94 lb (one bag) of portland
cement to 188 lb of surface-dried, but saturated, sand
is recommended. The free-moisture content of the
sand should be determined. The sand weight is adjusted and the amount of free moisture is deducted from
the total quantity of water to maintain the desired mix.
Thus if the free moisture in the sand is 5%, a 1:2 mix
by weight will be 94 lb of cement to 188 lb x 1.05, or

66I

rIO

12

13

Total mixing water, gallons per bag of cement

Fig. 38. Typical flow curves for grouts made of fine, mediurn, and coarse sands. Solid lines show suitable flow range.
Fig. 1 illustrates the flow cone. Different sands and cements will produce different flow curves. Reference 5.

46

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,
I I

Book Contents

STABILIZING RAILROAD TRACK BY

PRESSURE GROUTING

Fig. 39. A hole in the ballast gives assurance that grout is

penetrating voids in the stone completely. Reference 5.

Unstable roadbed conditions due to poor drainage.

yielding soil, or development of water pockets and soft
spots can be treated by pressure grouting with portland
cement grout (Figs. 41 and 42). Small jobs can be
carried on as routine maintenance with regular local
track labor and equipment, and extensive roadbed
stabilization can be done with extra crews using appropriate equipment.
Successful results have been obtained with equipment and accessories improvised from material and
parts found at railroad shops or those regularly carried
in stock. Thus little new mechanical equipment is
required, although several good commercially manufactured grouting units of both pneumatic and hydraulic types are available.

Grout may be mixed in concrete mixers. truck mixers, or special grout mixers. Ample mixing capacity
should be provided to prevent the grouting operation
from becoming the bottleneck of the construction.
Delivery to the stone may be made down chutes or
through a hose.
A trough placed across the rails and into which the
grout can be chuted is a convenient device for spreading the grout uniformly across the width of the track.
The trough, illustrated in Fig. 40, has its bottom perforated with l-in. holes. The trough is moved ahead as
the ballast stone becomes completely filled with grout.
As in other concrete work, grouted ballast should be
kept moist for about 7 days after the grout hardens or
a curing compound should be applied. Where a pavement is to be used over the grouted ballast, for example
at crossings, it is often placed the next day. In cases
where there is delay in paving, the grouted ballast
should be sprinkled to keep it moist. Reference 5.
Fig. 41. Unstable railway roadbed can be treated by pressure grouting.

Fig. 40. Grout is deposited into the stone ballast by use of

a trough that is moved forward as voids in the ballast become filled with grout. Reference 5.

Publication List

Fig. 42. The bulges on the fill slope of this railway roadbed
show presence of water pockets. Reference 12.

Book Contents

47

Track Conditions
Grouting

Suited for Pressure

Cement 0s percentage of total

dry materials by weight

Grout is most easily injected into porous ballast or

where water passagesare fairly well defined or where
cleavage planes exist. Grout will not penetrate clay or
ballast so permeated with clay as to be practically
embedded. Between relatively clean ballast and complete embedment are all degrees of clay content. The
amount and distribution of clay will determine the
technique to be used and the degree of successful
penetration.
Grout can be received only as air, water, or other
existing material is displaced. If this material is liquid,
as in a water pocket, it may be driven to new locations,
escape though vents, or force confining barriers to
yield. Injecting water just prior to grout injection will
wash out clay and other solid materials and by erosion
will open up passages for the entrance and uniform
distribution of the grout.

Grout
Grout must penetrate the material sufficiently to
prevent the accumulation or passage of water and to
consolidate the mass enough to restore the load-carrying
capacity of the subgrade. The grout must be uniformly
smooth and cohesive enough to retain its original
consistency while being injected and must contain
particles small enough to penetrate voids and passages
in the subgrade. Just what proportions of cement,
sand, and water to use will depend on the physical
conditions of the material to be grouted. An excess of
water may result in washing sand grains clean or in
separating the water and cement from the mix when
under pressure. It is well to remember that while lowcost grout is desirable, an apparent saving in the cost
of materials may be more than offset by increased cost
of injection and less effectiveness in reducing maintenance cost (Fig. 43).
Choice of grout proportions and consistency should
usually be made by trial, since the requirements vary
with the subgrade conditions encountered. Start with
water. If water is refused at the maximum pressure
available-at least 100 psi-it will be futile to attempt
to inject grout at that level. Trials should be repeated
at other depths.
After water has been accepted, further trials may be
made with neat grouts beginning with 10 gallons of
water per bag of portland cement. If this is taken freely,
reduce the amount of water and add some sand-for
example, 50 lb per bag of cement.
If the flow indicates that a still thicker grout will be
received, increase the amount of sand until the desired
consistency is secured up to a maximum of about 400
lb of sand per bag of cement. Little economy is gained
in first cost by using leaner mixes since delays in
operation due to line plugs and other problems offset
any saving in cement. Experience also indicates that
greater savings in annual maintenance have been obtained when rich mixes have been used.
DO not attempt to use sand unless 100% of it will
pass a NO. 16 sieve and preferably a No. 30 sieve. Even

Dry Max proportions

Fig. 43. The chart shows the ratio of cement to total dry
materials in grouts of different proportions. It is apparent
that only slight savings in cement volume and costs can be
realized by using lean grout. Grouts leaner than 1:6 are
seldom used because the slight saving in cement cost may
be more than offset by the cost of line stoppages caused
by overly lean grouts. Reference 12.

finer sand is better. The dry materials should be passed

through a coarse sieve (i/&in. mesh) just before the
mixing operation to remove lumps of sand or cement
and foreign material. If the sand is lacking in very fine
particles, a small amount of clay or fly ash (10% to 15%
by volume of sand) can be added to the grout to
provide these fines and help prevent segregation.
It is impossible to estimate accurately the quantity
of grout required for any particular project. Normally,
the volume of grout accepted varies from 12 to 10 cu ft
per track foot, but on some large-fill grouting projects
100 cu ft or more per foot of track has been used. In
planning a grouting program, enough materials should
be provided to keep a crew supplied without interrupting operations. An average grouting crew operating a
single grouter will use from 100 to 150 cu ft of grout
per day. At least one days supply of materials should
be kept ahead of work.

Equipment
Mixing equipment and grout-injecting equipment
should be of liberal size (6-cu ft minimum capacity) so
that it will not restrict grouting operations. Essential
spare parts should be kept on hand to prevent shutdowns.
All grout materials should be thoroughly and uniformly mixed to prevent segregation and clogging of
the grout lines and injection points. Mixing may be
done a number of ways: in a combined mixer and
pressure tank by a bladed shaft driven by an air or

48

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cement: sand by volume

Book Contents

gasoline motor; with paddles in a tub; or by other

grout-mixing equipment.
Grout is mixed by adding the water first, followed by
the cement and sand. The grout should have a soupy
consistency, generally from 3 to 5 gallons of water
being used for each 1 cu ft of dry materials. Once
mixing operations have started they should be continued until all of the grout in the tank is injected. Grout
should not be allowed to remain in the injector for
more than about 5 minutes since settlement may occur
that will clog the equipment. No grout should be permitted to stand in the discharge lines. The lines should
be blown out occasionally to prevent plugs. All operations should be controlled carefully so that a continuous supply of grout is provided to prevent interruptions in the work.
Effective grouting can be done with pneumatic or
hydraulic pressure. Pneumatic equipment should be
simple and portable. The pressure tank should have an
airtight charging door and should have appropriate
connections for controlling the air supply and discharging the grout. There are commercially built pneumatic
grouters on the market that combine in a single unit
the functions of mechanically mixing and injecting the
grout.
Pneumatic equipment should be able to provide at
least 100 psi, but best results are generally obtained
with pressures of 40 to 60 psi at the injection point. If
too high a pressure is maintained in the tank, segregation of the ingredients of the grout may occur with
resultant line plugs, or the grout as deposited in the
subgrade may be of nonuniform quality.
It is important that all grouting equipment and particularly the pressure tank and connections be kept
clean and free from accumulation of hardened grout.
All parts of the equipment should be readily accessible
for cleaning and the tank should be constructed to
encourage uniform agitation and have no dead zones
where grout can deposit and harden.
Hydraulic equipment also should be simple and
portable. Hydraulic pressure builds up gradually until
grout is accepted and somewhat higher hydraulic pressures can be used than are generally satisfactory with
pneumatic equipment. After the initial resistance has
been overcome and water or grout starts flowing, the
pressure needed for continued flow usually drops off
considerably. Distribution of grout proceeds steadily
as governed by local resistance. When grout breaks
through weak places or finds a vent, hydraulic pressure
is immediately reduced.

The usual track, carpenters and plumbers tools, pipelines and connections, water barrels, blocking, and
other miscellaneous items available to track crews are
necessary. A small hand- or gas-driven pump may be

line and permit easy cleaning. A 1%-in. or Ii&in.diameter rubber hose discharge line has been found
satisfactory. The hose should not be too long because
the tendency to plug and the difficulty of cleaning
increase with length.
Discharge lines composed of 50-ft-long sections and
ranging in length from 50 to 400 ft have been used. For
pneumatic machines, experience has shown that lengths
of 50 ft to 150 ft are most effective and permit best
coordination between the workers at the injection
points and the grout machine. Longer lines are more
subject to plugging, but if they can be used they will
permit a longer length of track to be treated from each
setup. Longer discharge lines can be used with the
hydraulic-type grouter, with lengths frequently ranging
from 250 to 400 ft.
Grout flow usually is regulated by a valve at the
pressure tank. Air pressure entering the tank is controlled by another valve. A blowoff valve permits releasing the pressure in the tank in the event of a line
plug. It has been found helpful to equip the grout tank
with an air-pressure-reducing valve to regulate maximum air pressure in the tank. The reducer can be set
for any desired tank pressure.
Occasionally grout flow is controlled by a valve on
the discharge line at the injection point. Every effort
should be made to eliminate valves and fittings on the
discharge line; the tank-valve method for controlling
the flow of grout is preferred.
Usually all necessary control may be accomplished
by providing a quick-acting coupling at the injection
point. The connection of the discharge line to the grout
point should be simple and permit rapid coupling and
uncoupling. A standard air-hose coupling or a standard
threaded pipe union is satisfactory for the purpose.
Provision should be made to relieve stoppages in the
discharge line quickly. It is effective to uncouple the
grout line at the injection point and blow the stoppage
out by means of a blowoff valve connected to an air
bypass line on the grout tank or by connecting the line
directly to the air compressor. The grout is permitted
to blow until flow is established. Grout is wasted in a
ditch or caught in a bucket.
Injection points must withstand severe treatment in
driving and pulling. Large pipes offer too much resistance to driving; small pipes and pipes with thin walls
are too flexible. Standard double-strength 1%-in.diameter iron pipe has commonly been used and is
usually available at railway shops. If l-in. pipe is used,
an appropriate bushing will be needed to connect to
the 1i/&in. discharge line. For the average track job, 25
to 50 injection points will be needed. The injection
points are left open at the tip and threaded at the top
to receive a standard coupling or a threaded driving
cap.
Where ballast permits easy driving, the tip of the
pipe may have a loose-fitting metal pilot plug (usually

needed

an old

Auxiliary Equipment

if water

is obtained

from

a stream

or ditch.

The grout discharge line should be as straight and

have as few fittings and valves as possible. All parts
should be designed to discourage line plugs. Connections should be of a type quickly broken and blowoffs
or bypasses should be provided to quickly clear the

bolt

head

or rivet

head).

A cleaning

rod-l-in.

diameter and 6 to 8 ft long-with a loop handle at one

end is used to drive the plug out and free the tip.
Another type of point is made from 1%-in. outsidediameter seamless steel tubing that has been fitted at
the upper end with a driving head and a short length
49

Publication List

Book Contents

of hose with a glad hand coupling. Grout leaves the

point through two %-in. diameter holes located on
opposite sides of the pipe near the hardened-steel bullet-nosed tip.
Points for track grouting are generally made in 6and lo-ft lengths. Several threaded nipples with couplings ranging in length from 18 in. to about 4 ft should
be available to accommodate the few places where
greater depths must be reached. For unstable fills and
cuts, grout points of 12- to 20-ft lengths may be required.
In long-seasoned roadbed, the ballast usually offers
high resistance to driving the injection points. Sometimes under such conditions a solid-steel spud bar of
slightly larger size than the injection point is first
driven to the desired depth and then withdrawn, leaving a hole to receive the injection point. As the spud
bar is driven it should be kept loose by twisting with
large Stillson wrenches or other effective means. The
injection points are then set in the holes thus formed
and easily driven to any depth desired. Usually no
pilot plugs are needed in these injection points, as any
material that plugs them may be pushed out with the
cleaning rod.
Both spuds and injection points may be driven either
by hand or power. The heads of spuds will withstand
the abuse of driving without much damage. Driving
heads are needed for driving injection points. For light
driving, pipe couplings are adequate and can be reused
a number of times. Where heavy resistance is encountered, special heavy threaded metal caps are needed.
Driving by hand may be accomplished with 12-lb to
18-lb sledges, weighted pipe sleeves (40 to 50 lb), or
weighted rods worked inside the pipe through a drilled
hole in the driving head. When air is available an
airhammer may be used. Specially made drophammers are advantageous when using long injection
points.
The driving head should be designed to protect the
threaded ends of injection points during driving. It can
be made to bear against a collar welded to the point
just below the threads. A better design is one in which
a driving head, with the shaft machined down to provide a shoulder, bears against a standard pipe coupling
screwed on the upper end of the injection point. The
driving head should be designed to fit into or to be
fastened snugly around the barrel of the airhammer so
the hammer will not jump off the driving head while
in use and injure someone.
The pulling of spuds and injection points is another
methods
and tools
will
operation in which suitable
expedite the job. Pulling may be done with large Stillson pipe wrenches or a chain and claw bar. In more
stubborn roadbed, jacks reacting against thick iron
plates with holes to slip over the points may be effective. A steel pinch plate about s/4in. thick having a hole
slightly larger than the point is a useful device. With
the point passing through it, the pinch plate is placed
on the ground. With the tie plate for a fulcrum and a
claw bar for a lever, an effective uplift is obtained, and
by pumping the claw bar up and down, a rapid ratchet
action may be produced. Several efficient commercially built pipe pullers are available.

Summary of Equipment and Accessories

Air compressor (portable preferred), capacity 75 to 100
cu ft per minute at pressure up to 100 psi
Grout mixer, type determined by local conditions, as
discussed
50 to 400 ft of rubber discharge hose, 1%-in. or 1%-in.
diameter, with fittings to connect to grouter and
injection points
25 to 50 injection points, in desired lengths and with
necessary accessories such as extension pipe, nipples, couplings, and metal plugs
i/&in. screen to remove foreign material and lumps
from sand, cement, and the grout
2 solid steel spud bars, 1%in. diameter or 13/s-in.
square and 5 to 6 ft long
1 point puller
Small water pump if water is to be obtained from
streams or ditches
Water storage tanks as determined by job conditions
Air tools, to include one or more air hammers or
equivalent with air lines to operate them
4 driving caps to fit injection points
lY+in. rock drill bit if unusually hard ballast is
anticipated
Carpenter, plumbing, and track tools and equipment
usually assigned to track crews using air equipment
Timber blocking
Spare fittings, gaskets, and minor critical parts subject
to quick wear or breakage
Fuel and oil
Platform 3 to 5 ft high
Ramrod for ramming out plugs
500 to 1000 ft of water hose or pipe

Procedure
Occasionally test pits or cross trenches, to determine
the nature of the material under the track at the more
troublesome spots, are desirable. A practical advantage
of the pressure grouting method is that varying undertrack conditions are accurately sensed by the resistance
encountered as the points are being driven. Usually
the top

portion

of the

ballast

50

Publication List

is compact

making

the

early resistance hard. Then the point passesthrough a

zone of less resistance until the clay line in the bottom
of the water pocket is reached; and as the point enters
the clay, resistance again changes. Since grout cannot
be forced into clay, driving should stop at this clay line.
If driven deeper, the point should be pulled back free
of the clay before grouting is begun (Fig. 44).
In case the injection point is too short to reach the
clay line, it may be lengthened by adding a nipple and
driven deeper. This lengthening is seldom necessary
in grouting soft spots and water pockets because the
pocket is usually so enclosed that the injection grout

Book Contents

i/

Grout supply hose

Compacted ballast
Fairly open ballast
L Lquefled

Farly

streak

open ballast

Ltauefled

streak -

Fig. 44. Common types of water pockets and treatment.

Grouting of multiple track (left) is usually required only under the outside rail because lateral support is weakest along
the shoulders. Treatment from both sides is usually needed
for single track (right). On fills, bulges usually appear farther from the track than in cuts and often down the slope.
Reference 12.

displaces the liquid material at depths well below the

tip of the injection point. Long points frequently are
required in grouting high fills, and for these it is advantageous to use pipes in sections connected by threaded
couplings. Adding lengths of pipe as required eliminates the necessity of driving long points from a platform, which is difficult. Besides, there is less chance of
the points bending as they are pulled.
Injection points are generally driven at the outer
ends of ties at an angle to bring the tip approximately
under the rail. The angle of driving is not critical and
may vary from 45 to 15 degrees with the vertical, but
adequate clearance should be given between the points
and passing trains. In caseinjection points are installed
between rails, they may be set either vertically or at an
angle, but the top of the pipes must be below the top of
the rail.
When slides or other areas of yielding soil are grouted, injection points should be spaced to give maximum
grout distribution. For sliding fills or sidehills of cuts,
grout points spaced about 5 ft apart should be driven
at the toe of the slope, up the sides and on the shoulders
in addition to the points driven along the ends of the
ties. Location of the points and depths to which they
should be driven will depend on the conditions encountered in the field.
Before grouting, a track level board should be placed
across the rails opposite the point being grouted to
guard against the track heaving out of cross level.
Promptness in cutting the air supply immediately after
grout clears the point will forestall much heaving of
track.
An orderly sequence of grout injections is advisable
for efficient operation and the recording of construction data. Work should start at one end of a pocket and
move progressively ahead. The option of injecting water
into 10 to 12 points immediately preceding grouting
can have a beneficial washing and lubricating effect.
To control the upper limit of the injected grout, pits
may be dug between the ties or just beyond the tie
ends, with their bottoms at the level above which grout
should not rise. Usually this is not necessary because
the top ballast contains too much fine material to
permit much grout to penetrate it except in occasional
porous areas. The affected ballast is usually only weak-

ly cemented and may be easily loosened with tamping

tools. If grout breakthroughs occur in the top ballast or
in the shoulders or between tracks, grouting should be
transferred to another point. Later, after this grout has
stiffened, another injection should be tried. This may
often be done less than an hour later.
Grout injections should be continued at a point as
long as grout is being accepted, provided there are no
breakthroughs that waste grout or the track is not being
heaved objectionably. If grout is refused at a lower
depth, the point should be progressively raised until
grout is taken. Grout welling up or spouting from other
points indicates that a channel has been opened between their tips. The venting pipe should then be
plugged, either by screwing on a standard pipe cap or
by driving in a wooden plug, and grout injection continued at the first point. Grout appearing in the side of
a ditch or down the slope of an embankment indicates
that the grout has found a path of least resistance.
Sometimes this flow may be checked by shoveling and
tamping dirt at the vent. If this is not effective the
injection should be changed to a new point. Should
grout blow back up on the outside of the pipe, the flow
may be checked by stamping fine material around the
pipe, or by letting it rest a few minutes while injecting
grout at another point.
If grout flow ceases while pressure is on, prompt
location of the plug and clearing of the line will avoid
trouble. First pull the point progressively to a higher
elevation while the grout is under pressure. If grout
still will not flow, then open the blowoff valve or
uncouple the hose at the injection point to clear the
line. If the line clears, transfer the connection to the
next injection point while pulling and clearing the
plugged point. If the plug is in the line, pounding with
a wooden mallet may clear it; if this fails apply back
pressure. This is a good time to check the consistency
of the grout. Plugs composed mostly of sand indicate
the amount of sand should be reduced and possibly a
much finer sand should be substituted. Do not add
water to the grout under these conditions.
Should there be doubt as to the effectiveness of
grouting at any location, another injection may be tried
after rodding out the point or additional injection may
be made through new points installed the next day.
51

Publication List

Book Contents

After the second injection, the point should be rodded

out below its tip and grouting attempted at a lower
elevation before the point is pulled up. Other locations
for application of grout should be tried as appear
desirable.
Injection points should be rodded out before grout
hardens. They should not be permitted to remain in
place more than a few hours after grouting because the
setting of the grout and the compaction due to traffic
may make pulling difficult. In case passing trains cause
grout to spout from the points, these should be capped
or plugged not only to prevent loss of grout but also to
take advantage of the wider distribution of grout caused
by pressure from the trains. Special early-strength cements are helpful in opening the rail to traffic.
Before considering the treatment at any location
completed, the record should be reviewed to be sure
that all points have been grouted before moving to a
new location.
Following grouting, the track is brought to final line
and surface and should require little or no further
attention other than normal track maintenance. It is
advisable to mark the treated locations with stakes so
that comparative maintenance records may be kept.
Equipment and accessories should then be carefully
cleaned and checked so that worn and broken parts
may be renewed and spares restocked for use at a new
location. Reference 12.

DEMOLITION GROUTING
Demolition grouting is used to fracture or break up
concrete or stone. It is used in the demolition or
renovation of concrete dams, pavements, buildings,
bridge piers, machinery bases, and other concrete
structures (Fig. 45). It is very useful in removing boulders and rock formations.
The demolition process consists of (1) coring a pattern of 1.5-to 2-in.-diameter holes spaced about 10 to
15 hole diameters apart into the concrete or rock, (2)
filling the holes by pouring or pumping with a special
cement and water grout, (3) waiting for the grout to
hydrate, expand, and fracture the concrete or rock by
exceeding its tensile strength, and (4) removing the
broken-up material with conventional equipment. The
holes in which the grout is placed must not be looked
into for safety reasons. The advantages of using demolition grouting techniques over explosives include little
to no noise, no vibration, no flying debris, no dust, and
the ease of use. The stone-quarry industry also uses
this type of grout in place of explosives.
Demolition grout consists of water and a special
highly expansive proprietary cement. These grouts can
develop expansive pressures in the range of 3000 psi in
12 hours to 9000 psi at 48 hours-far exceeding the
tensile strength of concrete or rock. The grout is mixed
and handled like regular portland cement grout. Follow
manufacturers directions for proportioning the grout.
Ice water is often used as mix water to control the
reactivity of the grout during placement. Usually only
special, highly expansive cements are used; however,

Fig. 45. Illustration of demolition

a thick concrete slab.

grouting used to break up

ASTM C845 expansive hydraulic cements can produce sufficient expansion pressures for some applications. The use of regular ASTM C 150 portland cement
with an expansive admixture also has possible applications in demolition grouting.

REFERENCES
1. McMillan, Franklin R., Basic Principles of Concrete Making, 1929, 112 pages, and Engineering
News-Record, April 18, 1929, both published by
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York.
2. Powers, T. C., Absorption of Water by Portland
Cement Paste During the Hardening Process, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 27, no. 7,
American Chemical Society, Washington D.C., July
1935, pages 790-794.
3. Powers, T. C., The Bleeding of Portland Cement
Paste, Mortar and Concrete, Research Department
Bulletin RX002, Portland Cement Association,
1939, 182 pages.
4. Pressure Grouting, IS023T(ST25), Portland Cement Association, 1942, 2 pages.
5. Grouting Subballast for Track Bases, IS 121R(ST49),
Portland Cement Association, 1945, 4 pages.
6. Steinour, Harold H., Further Studies of the Bleeding of Portland Cement Paste, Research Department Bulletin RX004, Portland Cement Association, 1945, 98 pages.
7. Fastening and Bedding Column and Machine Bases, IS069B(ST-61),
1951,4 pages.

Portland

Cement

Association,

8. Restoring Old Stone Masonry by Pressure Grouting, IS148T(ST50), Structural and Railways Bureau, Portland Cement Association, 1951,2 pages.
9. Powers, T. C.; Copeland, L. E.; Hayes, J. C.; and
Mann,
H. M., Permeability of Portland Cement
Paste, Research Department Bulletin RX053, Portland Cement Association, 1955, 14 pages.
10. Pickett, Gerald, E&ct of Aggregate on Shrinkage
of Concrete and Hypothesis Covering Shrinkage,
Research Department Bulletin RX066, Portland
Cement Association, 1956, 10 pages.

52

Publication List

Book Contents

11. Steinour, Harold H., Concrete Mix Water-How

Zmpure Can It Be? Research Department Bulletin
RX119, Portland Cement Association, 1960, 20
pages.
12. Stabilizing Railroad Track by Pressure Grouting,
IS122R(ST60), Portland Cement Association, 1960,
8 pages.
13. Powers, T. C., Some Physical Aspects of the Hydration of Portland Cement, Research Department
Bulletin RX125, Portland Cement Association,
1961, 14 pages.
14. Helmuth, R. A,, Dimensional Changes of Hardened Portland Cement Pastes Caused by Temperature Changes, Research Department Bulletin
RX129, Portland Cement Association, 1961, 22
pages.
15. Symposium on Grouting, Journal of the Soil
Mechanics and Foundations Division, vol. 87, no.
SM2, part 1, Proceedings of the American Society
of Civil Engineers, New York, April 1961,178 pages.
16. L,ancaster-Jones, F! E E, Some Aspects of Dam
Cementation Practice, Water Power, ElectricalElectronic Press, Surrey, England, May 1964, 6
pages.
17. Specification for Graded Extra-Fine Sand Aggregate, CT1 70-6, Ceramic Tile Institute, Los Angeles, 1970, 2 pages.
18. E M. Lea, The Chemistry of Cement and Concrete,
Chemical Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1971,741
pages.
19. Schupack, Morris, Grouting Tests on Large PostTensioning Tendons for Secondary Nuclear Containment, Journal of the Prestressed Concrete Znstitute, Prestressed Concrete Institute, Chicago,
March/April 1971,pages 3-15.
20. Freedman, Sidney, Post-Tensioning Tendons,
Ducts, and Grout Materials, Post-Tensioning
Grouts and Grouting Equipment, Ensuring the
Life of Tendons, Concrete Construction, The Aberdeen Group, Addison, Illinois, May, June, and
September 1973, pages210-211,245-256,277-278,
306-307,421-422,440,442, and 444.
2 1. Schupack, Morris, Admixture for Controlling
Bleed in Cement Grout Used in Post-Tensioning,
Journal of the Prestressed Concrete Institute, Prestressed Concrete Institute, Chicago, November/
December 1974,6 pages.
22. Warner, J., and Brown, D. R., Planning and Performing Compaction Grouting, Journal of the
Geotechnical Engineering Division, American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, June 1974,
pages635-666.
23. Slabjacking-State of the Art, Journal of the
Geotechnical Engineering Division, Committee on
Grouting of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, American Society of Civil Engineers, September 1977,pages 987-1005.
24. Schupack,
f---Y

Morris,

Grouting

of

Post-Tensioning

Tendons, Civil Engineering, American Society of

Civil Engineers, New York, March 1978,2 pages.
25. Bibliography on Grouting, Miscellaneous Paper
C-78-8, Technical Information Center and Concrete Laboratory, Waterways Experiment Station,

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1978, 330 pages.

26. Precht, K., Grouting Rock Bolts Using a Perforated Sleeve, Tunnels and Tunnelling, MorganGrampian Construction Press Limited, London,
October 1979, pages 54-57.
27. Gebhart, L. R., Foundation Grouting, Bureau of
Reclamation Grouting Seminar, U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, Denver, October 1979,22 pages.
28. Shaw, John, Cementitious Grouts, Civil Engineering, Morgan-Grampian Construction Press
Limited, London, May 1980, 3 pages.
29. Littlejohn, G. S., Ground Anchors: State of the
Art, Concrete Beton, Concrete Society of Southern
Africa, Johannesburg, March 1980, pages 5-18.
30. Concrete Manual, 8th ed., U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, revised 1981,653 pages.
3 1. Cement-Grout Subsealing and Slabjacking of Concrete Pavements, IS212P, Portland Cement Association, 1982, 16 pages.
32. Grouting in Geotechnical Engineering, American
Society of Civil Engineers, New York, 1982, 1028
pages.
33. Building Code Requirements for Concrete Masonry
Structures, AC1 531-79, revised 1983; Commentary
on Building Code Requirements for Concrete Masonry Structures, AC1 531R-79, revised 1983; and
SpeciJication for Concrete Masonry Construction,
AC1 531.1-76, revised 1983; AC1 Committee 531
Reports, American Concrete Institute, Detroit.
34. Schupack, Morris, Water-Retentive Admixtures
for Grouts Serve Post-Tensioning Needs, Concrete
Construction, The Aberdeen Group, Addison, Illinois, January 1984, pages 47-51.
35. Grouting Technology, Engineer Manual EM 1110-23506, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg,
Mississippi, January 1984, 157 pages.
36. Albritton, John; Jackson, Lawson; and Bangert,
Robert, Foundation Grouting Practices at Corps of
Engineers Dams, Technical Report GL-84-13,
Waterways Experiment Station, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi, October
1984, 86 pages.
37. Innovative Cement Grouting, AC1 Publication
SP-83, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1984,
180 pages.
38. Cement-Bentonite Slurry Trench Cutof Walls,
IS227W, Portland Cement Association, 1984, 12
pages.
39. Standard for Sanded Portland Cement Grout
(Wet or Dry) for Joint Widths from t/s to 12 Inch,
CTI-85-8, Ceramic Tile Institute, Los Angeles,
1985, 2 pages.
40. Preplaced Aggregate Structural and Mass Concrete, Guidefor Measuring, Mixing, Transporting,
and Placing Concrete, AC1 30413-85,AC1 Committee 304 Report, American Concrete Institute, Detroit,

1985, pages

23-28.

41. Pavement Stabilization by Undersealing, ChemGrout, Inc., LaGrange Park, Illinois, 1985, 20
pages.
42. Kosmatka, Steven H. Floor-Covering Materials
and Moisture in Concrete, Concrete Technology
53

Publication List

Book Contents

Today, PL853B, Portland Cement Association,

September 1985, pages 4-5.
43. Suggested Non-Shrink Structural Grout Specihcation, Section 03602, Denuspec, Denver Chapter of
Construction Specifications Institute, Denver,
1985, 10 pages.
44. Heavyweight Concrete: Measuring, Mixing, Transporting, and Placing, AC1 304.3R-75, revised 1985,
AC1 Committee 304 Report, American Concrete
Institute, Detroit, 8 pages.
45. Flowable Fill, Promotion Pointer No. 273, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver
Spring, Maryland, 1985, 6 pages.
46. Standards for Wet and Dry Portland Cement Grout
for i/s In. or Less Joint Widths, CT1 64-3, Ceramic
Tile Institute, Los Angeles, 1985, 4 pages.
47. American National Standard Specifications for the
Installation of Ceramic Tile, Tile Council of America, Princeton, New Jersey, 1985, 58 pages.
48. Recommended Practice for Grouting of PostTensioned Prestressed Concrete, Section 3.3, PostTensioning Manual, 4th ed., Post-Tensioning Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, 1985, pages 214-220.
49. Geiker, Mette, and Knudsen, Tourben, Chemical
Shrinkage, Research on the Manufacture and Use
of Cement, Engineering Foundation, New York,
1986, pages 99- 106.
50. Guidefor Cast-in-Place Low-Density Concrete, AC1
523.1R-86, AC1 Committee 523 Report, American
Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1986, 8 pages.
5 1, Self-Leveling Toppings and Underlayments, SC9186, Ardex, Inc., Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, 1986,
4 pages.
52. Winter, Ernest; Clarke, William J.; and Guthrie,
James W., Microfine Cement Grout Strengthens
Foundations, Concrete International, American
Concrete Institute, Detroit, October 1986, pages
59-61.
53. Understanding Grout and Mortar Additives, Field
Report No. CT1 86-2-3, Ceramic Tile Institute, Los
Angeles, 1986, 4 pages.
54. Silver, Marshall L.; Fisk, Paul S.; and Greeman,
Arthur L., Grouting a Sand Dam, Civil Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, New
York, December 1986, pages 34-36.
55. Andromalos, Keneth, B., and Pettit, Paul J., Jet
Grouting: Snails Pace of Adoption, Civil Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, New
York, December 1986, pages 40-43.
56. Fetzer, Claude A., Analysis of the Bureau of Reclamations

Use of Grout

and

Grout

Curtains-

Summary, REC-ERC-86-3, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior, Engineering

and Research Center, Denver, National Technical
Information Service, Springfield, Virginia, February 1986,48 pages.
57. Cement Grout Flow Behavior in Fractured Rock,
REC-ERC-87-7, Bureau of Reclamation Engineering and Research Center, U.S. Department of the
Interior, Denver, National Technical Information
Service, Springfield, Virginia, June 1987,56 pages.
58. Wallace, Mark, Self-Leveling UnderlaymentsAn Easy Way to Level Floors, Concrete Construc-

tion, The Aberdeen Group, Addison, Illinois,

March 1987,pages 268-277.
59. Mortars for Masonry Walls, IS040M, Portland Cement Association, 1987, 16 pages.
60. Smith, Dwight K., Cementing, SPE Monograph,
vol. 4, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson,
Texas, 1987,260 pages.
6 1. Ceramic Tile: The Installation Handbook, Tile
Council of America, Princeton, New Jersey, 1987,
36 pages.
62. Tan, T. S.; Wee, T. H.; Tan, S. A.; Tam, C. T.; and
Lee, S. L., A Consolidation Model for Bleeding of
Cement Paste, Advances in Cement Research, Pallodian Publication Limited, London, October 1987,
pages 18-26.
63. Anchorage to Concrete, SP-103,American Concrete
Institute, Detroit, 1987,322 pages.
64. Lightweight Concrete Floor Systems, Elastizell
Corporation of America, Ann Arbor, Michigan,
1988, 12 pages.
65. Schwietz, Gregory N., Preparation, Placement,
and Protection of Cement-Based, Nonshrink
Grouts, Concrete International, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, January 1988, pages 57-58.
66. Kosmatka, Steven H., and Panarese, William C.,
Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures, EBOOlT,
Portland Cement Association, 1988,212 pages.
67. Smith, Philip A., Specifying Nonshrink Grouts,
The Construction Specifier, The Construction
Specifications Institute, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia,
April 1988, pages 90-97.
68. Berry, G. L.; Shirlaw, J. N.; Hayata, K.; and Tan, S.
H., A Review of Grouting Techniques Utilized for
Bored Tunnelling with Emphasis on the Jet Grouting Method, Construction & Building Materials,
Scientific and Technical Press Ltd., Reigate, Surrey,
England, vol. 2, no. 1, March 1988, pages 34-41.
69. Removing Stains and Cleaning Concrete Surfaces,
IS214T, Portland Cement Association, 1988, 16
pages.
70. Hope, Brian B., and Ip, Alan K. C., Grout for
Post-Tensioning Ducts, ACZ Materials Journal,
American Concrete Institute, July-August 1988,
pages 234-240.
7 1. Grouting, Concrete Repair, and WaterprooJing
Standards, Five Star Products, Inc., Fairfield, Connecticut, 1988, 282 pages.
72. Kosmatka, Steven H., Sulfate-Resistant Concrete, Concrete Technology Today, PL883B, Portland Cement Association, October 1988, pages 3-5.
73. Randall,

Frank

A.,

Jr., and

54

Publication List

Panarese,

William

C.,

Concrete Masonry Handbook for Architects, Engineers, Builders, EB008M, Portland Cement Association, 1976,revised 1988, 228 pages.
74. Utility Cuts and Full-Depth Repairs in Concrete
Streets, IS235P Portland Cement Association,
1988, 8 pages.
75. API Specification for Materials and Testingfor Well
Cements, API Specification 10, American Petroleum Institute, Washington, D.C., 1988.
76. Building Code Requirements for Masonry Struttures, AC1 530-88/ASCE 5-88, American Concrete
Institute, Detroit, and American Society of Civil

Book Contents

.-

P\

Engineers, New York, 1988.

77. Specijicationsfir Masonry Structures, AC1 530.1-881
ASCE 6-88, American Concrete Institute, Detroit,
and American Society of Civil Engineers, New
York, 1988.
78. Houlsby, A. C., Improvements in Grouting of
Large Ground Anchors, Journal of Geotechnical
Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers,
New York, April 1988, pages 448-468.
79. Resurfacing Concrete Floors, IS 144T, Portland
Cement Association, Skokie, Illinois, 1989.
80. Specification for Oil- Well Drilling Fluid Materials
(Marsh funnel test), API Specification 13A, American Petroleum Institute, Dallas, 1988.
8 1. Mech, George J., Rehabilitation of Peoria Lock
Using Preplaced-Aggregate Concrete, The REMR
Bulletin, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi, October 1989,4 pages.

,-

APPENDIX
ASTM Standards
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)*
documents related to aggregates, cement, and grout
that are relevant to or referred to in the text:
c5
Specification for Quicklime for Structural
Purposes
c33
Specification for Concrete Aggregates
C42
Test Method for Obtaining and Testing Drilled
Cores and Sawed Beams of Concrete
c70
Test Method for Surface Moisture in Fine
Aggregate
c94
Specification for Ready-Mixed Concrete
Cl09
Test Method for Compressive Strength of
Hydraulic Cement Mortars (using 2-in. or
50-mm Cube Specimens)
Cl41
Specification for Hydraulic Hydrated Lime
for Structural Purposes
Cl43
Test Method for Slump of Portland Cement
Concrete
Cl44
Specification for Aggregate for Masonry
Mortar
Cl50
Specification for Portland Cement
Cl57
Test Method for Length Change of Hardened
Hydraulic-Cement Mortar and Concrete
Cl91
Test Method for Time of Setting of Hydraulic
Cement by Vicat Needle
C 207
Specification for Hydrated Lime for Masonry
Purposes
C 230
Specification for Flow Table for Use in Tests
of Hydraulic Cement
C 232
Test Method for Bleeding of Concrete
C 243
Test Method for Bleeding of Cement Pastes
and Mortars
Specification for Air-Entraining Admixtures
C 260
for Concrete
Test Method for Time of Setting of Hydraulic
C 266
Cement by Gillmore Needles
Test Method for Time of Setting of Concrete
c 403
Mixtures by Penetration Resistance
Specification for Aggregates for Masonry
c 404
Grout
Test Method for Fineness of Hydraulic Cec 430
ment by the 45-pm (No. 325) Sieve
Specification for Grout for Masonry
C 476
Specification for Chemical Admixtures for
c 494
Concrete
C 566 Test Method for Total Moisture Content of
Aggregate by Drying
c 595 Specification for Blended Hydraulic Cements
C 596 Test Method for Drying Shrinkage of Mortar
Containing Portland Cement
Specification for Fly Ash and Raw or CalC618
cined Natural Pozzolan for Use As a Mineral
Admixture in Portland Cement Concrete
Test Method for Resistance of Concrete to
c 666
Rapid Freezing and Thawing
*ASTM, 1916Race Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103.

55

Publication List

Book Contents

C671
C 672
C 685
C 786

C 796
c 806
C 807
C 827
C 845
C 869
C 878
C 928
c 937
C 938
c 939
c 940
c941
C 942
c 943

c953
c 979
C 989
Cl017
Cl019
Cl090
Cl107

Test Method for Critical Dilation of Concrete

Specimens Subjected to Freezing
Test Method for Scaling Resistance of Concrete Surfaces Exposed to Deicing Chemicals
Specification for Concrete Made by Volumetric Batching and Continuous Mixing
Test Method for Fineness of Hydraulic Cement and Raw Materials by the 300+m (No.
SO), 150qm (No. loo), and 75-pm (No. 200)
Sieves by Wet Methods
Test Method for Foaming Agents for Use in
Producing Cellular Concrete Using Preformed Foam
Test Method for Restrained Expansion of Expansive Cement Mortar
Test Method for Time of Setting of Hydraulic
Cement Mortar by Modified Vicat Needle
Test Method for Change in Height at Early
Ages of Cylindrical Specimens from Cementitious Mixtures
Specification for Expansive Hydraulic
Cement
Specification for Foaming Agents Used in
Making Preformed Foam for Cellular
Concrete
Test Method for Restrained Expansion of
Shrinkage-Compensating Concrete
Specification for Packaged, Dry, Rapid Hardening Cementitious Materials for Concrete
Repairs
Specification for Grout Fluidifier for Preplaced-Aggregate Concrete
Practice for Proportioning Grout Mixtures
for Preplaced-Aggregate Concrete
Test Method for Flow of Grout for PreplacedAggregate Concrete
Test Method for Expansion and Bleeding
of Freshly Mixed Grouts for PreplacedAggregate Concrete in the Laboratory
Test Method for Water Retentivity of Grout
Mixtures for Preplaced-Aggregate Concrete
in the Laboratory
Test Method for Compressive Strength of
Grouts for Preplaced-Aggregate Concrete in
the Laboratory
Practice for Making Test Cylinders and
Prisms for Determining Strength and Density of Preplaced-Aggregate Concrete in the
Laboratory
Test Method for Time of Setting of Grouts
for Preplaced-Aggregate Concrete in the
Laboratory
Specification for Pigments for Integrally Colored Concrete
Specification for Ground Granulated BlastFurnace Slag for Use in Concrete and Mortars
Specification for Chemical Admixtures for
Use in Producing Flowing Concrete
Method of Sampling and Testing Grout
Test Method for Measuring Changes in Height
of Cylindrical Specimens from HydraulicCement Grout
Specification for Packaged Dry, HydraulicCement Grout (Nonshrinkable)

D 2487 Classification of Soils for Engineering

Purposes
D 2488 Recommended Practice for Description and
Identification
of Soils (Visual-Manual
Procedure)
D4016 Test Method for Viscosity of Chemical
Grouts by Brookfield Viscometer (Laboratory Method)
D 4258 Practice for Surface Cleaning Concrete for
Coating
D 4259 Practice for Abrading Concrete
D 4260 Practice for Acid Etching Concrete
D4261 Practice for Surface Cleaning Concrete Unit
Masonry for Coating
D 4262 Test Method for pH of Chemically Cleaned
or Etched Concrete Surfaces
D 4263 Test Method for Indicating Moisture in Concrete by the Plastic-Sheet Method
Metric Practice
E 380

Corps of Engineers Standards

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers standards related to
grout are listed below.*
CRD-C6 11 Test Method for Flow of Grout Mixtures
(Flow-Cone Method)
CRD-C6 12 Test Method for Water Retentivity of
Grout Mixtures
CRD-C6 13 Method of Test for Expansion of Grout
Mixtures
CRD-C6 14 Method of Test for Time of Setting of
Grout Mixtures
CRD-C6 19 Specification for Grout Fluidifier
CRD-C620 Method of Sampling Fresh Grout
CRD-C62 1 Specification for Nonshrink Grout
*Available from U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station,
PO. Box 631, Vicksburg, Miss. 39180.

56

Publication List

Book Contents

,.- ,

Metric Conversion Factors

n

To convert

The following list provides the conversion relationship

between U.S. customary units and SI (International
System) units. The proper conversion procedure is to
multiply the specified value on the left (primarily U.S.
customary values) by the conversion factor exactly as
given below and then round to the appropriate number
of significant digits. For example, to convert 11.4 ft to
meters: 11.4X 0.3048 = 3.47472, which rounds to 3.47
meters. Do not round either value before performing
the multiplication, as accuracy would be reduced. A
complete guide to the SI system and its use can be
found in ASTM E 380, Metric Practice.
To convert from
Length
inch (in.)
inch (in.)
inch (in.)
inch (in.)
foot (ft)

to

multiply

yard W

millimeter (mm)
micron (y)
centimeter (cm)
meter(m)
meter(m)
meter(m)

Area
square foot (sq ft)
square inch (sq in.)

square meter (sq m)

square centimeter

square inch (sq in.)

square yard (sq yd)

square meter (sq m)

square meter (sq m)

25.4
25,400
2.54
0.0254
0.3048
0.9144

by

cubic inch (cu in.)

cubic foot (cu ft)
cubic yard (cu yd)
gallon (gal) Can. liquid
gallon (gal) Can. liquid
gallon (gal) U.S. liquid**
gallon (gal) U.S. liquid
fluid ounce (fl oz)
fluid ounce (fl oz)
Force
kip (1000 lb)
kip (1000 lb)
pound (lb) avoirdupois
pound (lb)
Pressure or stress
kip per square inch
(ksi)
kip per square inch
(ksi)
pound per square foot
(psf)
pound per square foot

cubic centimeter
cm)
cubic meter (cu
cubic meter (cu
cubic meter (cu
liter
cubic meter (cu
liter
cubic meter (cu
milliliters (ml)
cubic meter (cu
kilogram
newton
kilogram
newton

(cu
m)
m)
m)
m)
m)
m)

(kg)
(N)
(kg)
(N)

megapascal

kilogram per square

centimeter
(Wsq cm)
kilogram per square
meter (kgisq m)
Pascal (Pa)?

Temperature
degree Fahrenheit

(F)

degree Fahrenheit

(F)

degree Kelvin (OK)

Velocity
mile per hour (mph)

feet per dav. (ft/dav).

0.09290304
6.452
0.00064516
0.8361274
16.387064
0.00001639
0.02831685
0.7645549
4.546
0.004546
3.7854118
0.00378541
29.57353
0.00002957

multiply

Mass per volume (density)

pound per cubic foot
kilogram per cubic
meter (kglcu m)
(pcf)
pound per cubic yard
kilogram per cubic
(Iblcu yd)
meter (kglcu m)

Permeability
darcy

E
E
E
E

453.6
43448.222
0.4535924
4.448222
(MPa)

to

mile per hour (mph)

degree Celsius
((3
degree Kelvin
()o
degree Celsius
(Cl

by

16.01846
0.5933

tc = (fF - 32)/l .8
ff( = (fF + 459.7)/ 1.8
tc = fK - 273.15

kilometer per hour

(kmlhr)
meter per second (m/s)
centimeter per second
(cmisec)
centimeter per second
(cm/set)

1.60934
0.44704
0.000968
0.000352

*E indicates that the factor given is exact.

**One U.S. gallon equals 0.8327 Canadian gallon.
?A Pascal equals 1.000 newton per square meter or 1MPa = 1 N/mm*.

E
E

(sq cm)

Volume
cubic inch (cu in.)

from

Note: One U.S. gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds (US.) at 60F and has a
volume of 0.134 cu ft.
One cubic foot of water weighs 62.4 pounds (U.S.).
One milliliter of water has a mass of 1 gram and has a volume of one
cubic centimeter.
One U.S. bag of cement weighs 94 lb.
One cubic foot of water is 7.48 U.S. gallons.

The prefixes and symbols listed below are commonly

used to form names and symbols of the decimal multiples and submultiples of the SI units.
Multiplication

Factor

1 ,ooo.ooo.ooo =
1 ,ooo,ooo =
l,OOO=
l=l
0.01 =
0.001 =
0.000001 =
0.000000001 =

Prefix

Symbol
G

109
106
103

giga
mega
kilo
-

M
k
-

10-a

centi
milli
micro
nano

m
/J
n

10-3

1 O-6
1 o-9

For example, one millimeter is 1000 microns and 0.001 meters,

6.894757
70.31
4.8824
47.88

(psf)

pound per square inch

(Psi)
pound per square inch
(psi)
pound per square inch
(Psi)
/7

Mass (weight)
pound (lb) avoirdupois
ton, 2000 lb
grain

kilogram per square

centimeter
(Wsq cm)
Pascal (Pa)?
megapascal

kilogram (kg)
kilogram (kg)
kilogram (kg)

(MPa)

0.07031
6,894.757
0.00689476

0.4535924
907.1848
0.0000648

57

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Book Contents

Index
Absolute volume, 6, 8, 9
Absorption, 6
Accelerators, 2
Admixtures, additions, 2
accelerating, 2
air entraining, 2
alkali-reactivity reducers, 2
cementitious materials, 2
coloring, 2
finely divided mineral, 2
fluidifiers, 2
fly ash, 2
foaming, 2, 18
gelling, 2
grouting agents, 2
high-range water reducer, 2
mineral, 2
nozzolans. 2
retarding (set-retarding), 2
silica fume. 2
slag, l-2
specifications, 2
superplasticizer, 2
volume changes, 4
water-reducing, 2
water-retentive, 2, 21
workability agents, 2
also seegrouting topic
Age-strength relationships, 6
Aggregates, 2, 8-9
bulking of sand, 8
bulk unit weight (bulk density), 8
fine, 2, 8-9
grading, 27
moisture content, 8
normal weight, 8
sand, 2, 8-9
specifications, 2
unit weight, 8
voids, 27
also seegrouting topic
Air-entrained grout, 7, 27
Alkali reactivity, 1, 7
Aluminum, 21
American Petroleum Institute, 2,43
Anchors, 24-25, 33-35
Applications, 1
ASTM standards, 55-56
also seetopic
Autogenous shrinkage, 6
Baseplates, 22-27
Batching, 8-9
Bentonite. 2. 40
Bleeding, 2,4-5,21
Blended hydraulic cements, l-2
Bond, 5
Bonding grout, 19
Brookfield viscometer, 4
Bulk unit weight (bulk density), 8
Bulking, 8
Calcium silicate hydrate, 4
Cellular concrete (grout), l&21
Cement, l-2
blast-furnace slag, l-2

blended hydraulic, 1
cementing action, 4-5
compressive strength, 5-6
consistency (paste), 3-4
content, 9
early strength, 1
expansive, 1
fineness, 2
flow test. 3-4
high early strength, 1
hvdration. 1. 4-5
hydraulic: 1:2
microfine, 2, 40-41
nonshrink, 7, 25-27
normal, 1
oil well, 2, 43
particles, 2, 41
paste, 3-9
Portland, 1
pozzolan, 2
properties (grout), 3-8
relative density, 8-9
setting, 4-5
slag, l-2
specific gravity, 9
specifications, l-2
sulfate resisting, l-2
types, 1-2
ultrafine, 2,40-41
weight, 8-9
Ceramic tile, 16-17
Chemical admixtures, 2
also seespecific grouting applications
Chemical shrinkage, 6
Chloride limits, 2
Clay, 2, 40, 42
Cleaning concrete surfaces, 18
Coarse aggregate,2
Coefficient of expansion, 7
Colored grout, 2
Column baseplates, 22
Compaction grouting, 42
Components of grout, l-3
Compressive strength, 5-6
Consistency, 3-4
also seeSlump
Consolidation, 14
Control tests, 3-8
also seespecific subject
Controlled-density fill, 19-20
Controlled-low-strength material, 19-20
Conversion tables, 9, 57
Creep, 7
Cubes, 6
Curing, 11
Cylinders, 6
Dam grouting, 30-33
Deep-soil mixing, 41-42
Deicing chemicals (deicers) and scaling, 7
Demolition grouting, 52
Desiccation (self), 6
Deterioration, 7
Drying shrinkage, 6-7
Dry-pack grout, 19-20
Dry-set grout, 17
Durability, 7

Early strength, 1
Efflux time, 3,21
Equipment for placing, 9
also seespecific topic
Expansive cement, 2,43, 52
Filler, 2
Fine aggregate,2
Fineness of cement, 1,40-41
Finishes and finishing, 29
grout cleandown, 16
Floor covering, 19
Floors, 17-19
Flow cone, 3,21
Flow table, 3
Flow test, 3
Flowable fill, 20-21
Fly ash, 2,20
Foundation jacking, 39-40
Freeze-thaw resistance, 7
Freshly mixed grout, 3-4
Fundamentals of grout, l-9
Geotechnical grouting, 2, 30-33,40-43
Grading of aggregates,2, 27
Ground anchors, 33-35
Grouting agents, 2
Grout cleandown, 16
Grout properties, 3-8
Grouting
seespecific topic
Handling and placing equipment, 9
Hardened grout properties, 5-8
Hardening, 4
Heat of hydration, 2-3, 7
Height of pour, 10
High-lift grouting, 15-16
Holes and defects, patching, 19-20
Hydration, 4-7
heat of, 7
minimum relative humidity for, 5
Hydraulic cement, l-2
Ice, use in cooling, 52
Ingredients of grout, 1
Jet grouting, 42-43
Joints, 18, 29
Latex-Portland cement grout, 17,21
Length change, 6-7
Leveling structures, 39-40
Lightweight grout, 2, 18, 21
Lime,.2, 10
Low-lift grouting, 13-15
Masonry grout, 9-16
proportions, 10
specifications, 10-l 1
strength, 11
testing, 11-12
Masonry walls, 9-16,29-30
Measuring materials, 8-9
Metric conversion factors, 57
Mineral admixtures, 2
Mix characteristics, 8-9
Mix design, 8-9

58

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Mixers, 9, 22
Mixing grout, 8-9
Mixing water, 2
Mixture proportioning, 8-9
Moisture changes, 6-7
Moisture testing, 19
Nonshrink grout, 7,25-27
Oil-well cement, 2, 43
Oil-well grouting, 43-44
Overlay, 17-20
Particle size, 2, 30-33, 40-43
Patching concrete, 19-20
Permeability, 8
Permeable grout, 36
Permeation grouting, 40-41
Placing grout, 8-9
Portland cement, l-2
Postplaced-aggregateconcrete, 29
Post-tensioning ducts, 21-22
Pot life, 4
Pozzolans, 2, 20-21
Precast panel joints, 26
Preplaced aggregateconcrete, 27-29
Proportioning mixtures, l-9
also seetopic
Pumping, 9, 18,22
Pumping aids, 2
,-

Quality control,
seespecific topic
Railroad track bases,45-52
Ready mixed grout, 9, 11
Reinforced grouted masonry walls, 9-16
Relative humidity, 5
Repair, 19-20
Resurfacing, 17-20
Retarder, 2
Rock grouting, 30-33

/----

Sack-rubbed finish, 16
Sampling, 3
Sand, 2, 8-9
Sand-Portland cement grout, 17
Scale-resistance, 7
Segregation, 15
Self-leveling grout, 17-19
Setting time, 4
Settlement, 4
Shrinkage (drying), 6-7
Sieve analysis, 2
Silica fume, 2
Slabjacking, 35-37
Slag, 2
Slump, 4, 11
Slurry-trench cutoff walls, 44-45
Soil grouting, 40-43
Soil-cement, 41
Specific gravity of cement, 9
Standards, 55-56
seetopic
Stone masonry, 29-30
Strength, 5-6
age relationship, 5-6
compressive, 5-6

cubes, 6
curing, effect on, 6
cylinders, 6
development, 4
evaluation, 6
masonry grout, 11
specified
seetopic
specimens, 6
water-cement ratio relationship, 6
Subsealing, 37-39
Sulfates, sulfate attack, 2, 7
Superplasticizer, 2-3
Supplementary cementing materials
seeAdmixtures, mineral
Temperature, 7
Testing grout, 3-8
also seetopic
Thermal expansion, 7
Thermal shrinkage, 7
Thixotropic grout, 2,4, 21
Tile, 16-17
Toppings, 17-19
Two-course floors, 19
Underlayments, 17-19
Undersealing, 37-39
Unit weight, 8-9
Vibration, 14
Viscometer, 4
Voids
aggregates,27
Volume changes, 6-7
coefficient of expansion, 7
creep, 7
drying shrinkage, 6-7
effect of concrete ingredients, 7
elastic and inelastic deformation, 7
moisture changes, effect, 6-7
temperature changes, 7
wetting-drying, 6-7
Waste stabilization or containment, 40-44
Water, 2
Water reducer, 2
Water retention, 4
Water-to-cement ratio, 6, 9,21
conversion, 9
Weight of cement, 8-9
Workability, 4
Working time, 4
Yield, 8-9

59

Publication List

Book Contents

Publication List

Book Contents